MINISTER FOR TRADE AND CUSTOMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12862, 10 May 1905, Page 6

MINISTER FOR TRADE AND CUSTOMS.

SPEECH AT BLENHEIM. SOME INTERESTING STATISTICS. [r,v TKi.r.-.i:.\n;. -ri:is> ASSOCIATION.] , Blenheim, Tuesday. Tin-: Hon. C. H. Mills. Minister for Trade and Customs, addressed a well-attended meeting of his constituents in Blenheim tonight. Tie Mayor (Mr. F. H. Penny) presided. Mr. Mills, who was 'received with applan said the number present showed that the people were taking a lively interest in political matters. He was sure that they would all be pleased to know thai the Premier was continuing in good health. (Applause.) The expeuditmo to March 50, including the contributions to the Public Works Fund, had amounted to £6,784.281. and the surplus was thus £545,855, which added to the balance from the previous year, gave £649,740. No less a sum than. £550. had been paid to the Public Works fund, while the amount so transferred for the year ended March 51 last was £500.000. (Applause.) Coining to the Departments under his control, Mr. Mills .said the Customs revenue for the last financial year was £2,651,989, being £50,655 more than was collected in 1905-4, and £21,935 over the estimate. Of this increase luxuries had contributed a"i follows:—Spirits, £10.427: cigarettes, £5625; tobacco. £9551, leaving an increased extra collection of only £1972 on the necessaries of life and all other articles, as compared with that ol the previous year. The beer duty had decreased by £510. the revenue from this source amounting to £96,210. or £5789 less than the estimate.

Comparing the cost of collecting New Zealand's Customs revenue with that of the Australian States. Mr. Mills said that whereas in Queensland, South Australia Victoria, and New South Wales it was £5 4s, £3 14s, £2 16s, and £2 4s 6<l per cent., respectively, in New Zealand it was only £1 4<> id, notwithstanding the enormous increase that had taken place in the work of the Department. He mentioned that the number of records amT letters of the head office alone had during the last two years increased by over 50 per cent. He estimated the amount) of loss of revenue on items .m which the rales had been reduced by the 1895 and the 1900 tariffs, during the period from October, 1895, to December 31, 1904. at no less a sum than £1,691,352. The principal items on which these remissions were made, and the amounts remitted oil them, were:—Tea, £573.115: kerosene, £384,820; wire for fencing", £127,134; currants and raisins, £103,053; rice, £83,890; machinery for agriculture, dairying, mining, and woollen mills, £63,470; patent medicines. £47,513; woolpncks, £46.599; and candles, £-16,385. The colony's imports during 1904 were £13.291.696. of which 60 per cent, came from the United Kingdom. The exports for the same period amounted to £14,748,348. II was gatifying to note that 80 per cent., or live per cent, more of ihe exports went to the United Kingdom last year than in 1903.

Another Department under his control was that of Valuation, which had been established by the present Administration. No less than 1000 local valuation roils had been issued for various districts, where rates were levied on capital or unimproved values. To give an idea of the vast amount of work done by the Valuation Department, Mr. Mills mentioned that in the North Island 155.303, and in the .South Island 133.282, or. together, 286.690 separate valuations bad been made. Notwithstanding this immense amount of work, the number of complaints had been very small. Practically the whole of the colony bad been revalued since the general revision of 1897. The cost of this work had been heavy, but would last for a long lime. In 1900 the capital value of the lands of the colonv, with improvements, was £138,700.140. while in 1904 it had risen to £182.796.241. or an increase *of over £44,000,000. The Advances to Settlers Board, of which he was a member, as Minister in charge, of the office, had, under the measure passed by Sir J. G. Ward in 1894, up to the present time authorised advances amounting to £5.042,555. This, he claimed, had helped some 15.000. settlers to establish comfortable homes, and had materially assisted in increasing the colony's exports. (Applause.) Classified according to the provincial districts the advances made were: Auckland. £926,583; Taranaki, £868.449: Hawke's Bav, £262,575; Wellington, l £1,277.543: Marlborough, £184.065; Nelson, £59.045; Westland, £48.640 : Canterbury, £328.670: and Otago, £1,087.185. The amount repaid to the Department during the last three years was a convincing proof of the satisfactory position of their settlers, and of the increasing prosperity of the colony. The Board were now making 50 per cent, advances on the actual value of the leaseholders' interest, instead of as formerly on the improvements only. They had further assisted their clients- by relieving them of the payments for risks under the Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act. (Applause) Mr. Mills quoted figures to show that the statement of the Leader of the Opposition, to the effect that the colony had to spend several thousand pounds yearly in the maintenance of the Cook and other islands, was incorrect. The total expenditure by the colony on account of ordinary seniles connected with those islands was only £4200 for three year;, of which amount about £1250 represented expenditure on permanent public, works.

Regarding' the- criticism of the Leader of the Opposition of the expenses incurred in connection with the Mapourika trip, Mr. MilLs said' that the trip wa.s first suggested by a member of the Opposition, who desired to gain further information by a personal visit to each of the colony's new possessions, li was- not a picnic as staled, much work having been done on the trip, and valuable information acquired, lie had gone in his official capacity as Minister in charge of the Island-.' administration, and all that he drew as his travelling allowance'was the amount authorised by statute. As a matter of fact, that allowance was only about- one-third the amount drawn per day in the old Conservative day, when Ministers visited Australia. and Great Britain on the country's business. In his opinion the lease in pcipctuily was entirely in favour of the lessee. Mr. Mills expressed his satisfaction, at the completion of the purchase of the Flaxbomnc Estate. lie hoped thai on his next visit to thai estate he would find a number of settlers making comfortable homes lor themselves and their families. (Applause.) The amount voted bust year for the work of the Department of Agriculture was £125,587, as against £45,000 some years ago. In conclusion, Mr. Mills said, that, in November next, he will have represented part or the whole of Marlborough for 15 years, and he had nearly completed his fifth year as member of the Government. He intended to offer his services again to the constituency that had so long shown its confidence in him. (Loud applause.) On the motion of Mr. W. 11. Maccv (exMayor), seconded by Mr. .11. Register, the meeting, which was a crowded one, unanimously expressed a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Mills for his address, and again testified its confidence in him.