FINANCIAL FOOLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 1989, 7 April 1892, Page 17

FINANCIAL FOOLING.

Under the heading " Financial Foolery " the Evening Post refers to the failure of the Government bringing in the penny post as promised, and declares that the Government have made' April fools of the entire population of New Zealand, who had for months past been deluded with the idea that on an after this (April fool's) day they were, to enjoy the privilege of being able to send letters anywhere within the colony at the cost of one penny. It presumes "that the thing was a joke, that the Postmaster-general was too busy, it being the grain season, to seriously consider such a trifling matter, and that therefore all further action is postponed until June or the Greek Kalends." It adds that " the indefinite postponement of the reduction of the postage may be accepted as a very clear indication that the Ministerial finance of last session is a delusion and has broken 4ffown," and that the expected surplus has evidently disappeared in providing for unforeseen deficiencies ; consequently it argues that the Ministerial calculations have evidently failed to come out right, and that as their financial policy has broken down in one of its essential features the only promised reduction of taxation being abandoned, "the stability of the remainder of the structure may well be doubted."

has proved a complete surprise after all, and -;has surpassed the expectations of all the authorities. Instead of falling short of the commissioners' estimate by LSOO or even LIOOO, as was deemed almost certain, the revenue has actually exceeded that sum by over L7OOO, the total gross revenue being LI, 121, 236, or within L2OOQ of last year's unprecedented yield. It should be explained that these figures are the >Treasury results and not those of the Railway department, which When published will be found to differ slightly owing to the fact that the two departments do not proceed on the same basis of computation. Certain "recoveries" from the Treasury have to be added to the actual receipts in cash. These recoveries are payment for carriage on behalf of various other departments — such as Education, Surveys, and Public Works — which are reckoned by way of couuter accounts instead of being paid for at the time. The "refunds," by which the total is reduced, represent sums collecti'd by the Railway department for various bodies such as harbour boards or private companies (such as the Union Steam Ship Company and the Manawatu and Midland Railways Companies.). The money having been received by the Government railways has, of course, to be accounted for in the Treasury books. I had an interview to-day with the accountant to the Railway department, who on various occasions has been constantly authorised by the chief commissioner to explain the details to me, and who on this occasion, as usual, took great pains to make things clear. He explained that the remarkable expansion of the railway receipts at the last moment probably arose from a very simple cause. A considerable number of running ledger accounts are kept of freight due by the larger customers of the railway. These .running accounts are paid weekly by cheque, and usually on the Thursday following the Saturday on which the week ends. When the financial year ends on an earlier day in the week than Thursday the outstanding accounts for the previous week mostly are carried forward to the next year, as the payments do not come in until after the books are closed. In the present case the financial year closed on Thursday, and so the outstanding accounts were nearly all paid up and come into the year's returns. This alone would make a difference of several thousand pounds, and is deemed sufficient in itself to account for the sudden jump of the figures in the last month of the year just expired. The result in any case must be regarded as highly satisfactory, and as the expenditure is under the estimate, it is thought probable that the net profit will very nearly, if not quite, reach 3 per cent, on the cost of construction.