THE ESTIMATES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2627, 20 July 1904, Page 11

THE ESTIMATES.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, July 13,

The Justice Department vote h £141.831, compared with £14-2,074- last year (of which, however, only £135,984 was expended). The pr*son vcte (which come-: under the heading of Justice) is £36,411, against £32,941 la-t year. Barracks for prisoners and treeplanting- at Waiotapu, Han me r, Dumgreo, and Waipa supply accounts for a poition of the increase, the vote being £6000, against £3000 last year.

Post and Telegraph*.— The Fosi; and Tclegiaph «.atimate= total £552,887, against ±-527,105 last yeir. The following item^ are set down for conveyance of mails by sea: — San Francisco service (three-weekly), £19,500 ; cost of transit from San Francisco to New York and front New York to Queenstown of Homeward mail=, £6132; interprovincial ser\ic3 — Sail Francisco service £4000, Sue/. ser\ ices £4400 ; mail agents and travelling allowance, £1000 : Auckland ateam eervicc-s. £1115; Fiji ?er\ice, £1690; New Zealand and Pacific Inlands strviee, £1200 ; Great Blrrrier service, £250 ; Vancouver service, £450.

Customs "Vo'es. — The total of the Customi vote is £40.859, about £400 more than la=r year. The bonus- on oxpoi tation of canned fi&h is set down at £300 ; refund of duty on memorial statue of Queen "Victoria, £400: refund of duty on memorial to deceased troopers and in commemorat iou of the Kind's coronation, £200. State Coal Mines. — An expenditure of £51,3i:0 is provided for State coal mines* for the current year, made- up a« follows: — Sala.rie< — Manager of Staite coal mines £500, mtnagcr-agent £450, accountant £230, clerk £200: Seddonvilh? colliery (expenses), £14.000; Point Elizabeth colliery (expenses), £26,000 ; completing and equipping tho Gieymouth-Point Elizabeth railway, £10.090.

State Forests.— The total vote for Stato forests this year is £27,658. Amongst the items are- the following: — Nur^erie-.: Eweburn, £1175 ; Rotorua and extension, £4780 ; Starborough, £1525; Tnpanui and extension, £•2320: Wellington, £1200; Hnnmer, £540; Ruatang-ata, £905. Plantations: Survey paddock, Naseby, £l0o; Ginvmerbi.rn reserve, £585; Diusky Hill, £418; Conical Hills, £2515; Hanmer Springs, £205; Whakarewarewa, £2000; Waiotapu and extension, £699; Kningraroa (maintenance), £75; Dumgrce, £455; Dumgree (purchase, of land), £3630.

The "Literary" Bill. — The printing of Hansard cost list year £6400. \ contribution of £100 is to bo made to the co-.t of Captain Jaekeon Barry's book " Experiences of a Pioneo-r OoloniV. '' Other grants for '"literary" efforts are copies of Work' 9 '"Animate of New Zealand," £159; "Mr Oseba's Last Di«covory," £125 ; " New Zealsnd Neuropteri." £100; revising and publishing "New Zealand Flora," £550. On tho early history of t-he colony £63 was spent la it year, and oi early historical i coords of southern New Zealand £250. Other items in last year'- expenditure are: "Handbook of New Zea'and " (co-.i of printing and binding), £373; "New Zealand Flora," £22?.

Other Items — Tlip pfiilißmentaiy vi'-it to the Cook Islands coM; £1565, and telegrams beyond the colony cast £3250,

Provision is made, this year for tho payment of th-i following bonuses: — For the discovery of mineral manure under appioved lcgulations, £500; on ucco'int of the maimiacture of iron end tteel from iron=and or oie, r,n term-= to be agreed upon. £1000, to Taipo Explo-ives Syndicate (on account of £2500), £500: for the di-oo\ery of a el cap and effcetne method of cle^troj-ino noxious weed-. £500 A mm of £5000 is to bo -\otecl for advertising and demonstrating the advantages of the sale of oolomil moat in the United Kingdom: £30.000 is to be provided for a South African steam servif & subsidy, and £600 for a service from New Zealand to Noumea.

State Fire Insurance. — Tho -vote for the State Fire In-airance Department is only £6360. The following are the items: — Salaries : Geneial manager, £800; accoiuiiant, £250 ; fire purveyor, £200 : two clerks (one at £150 and. one at £100), £250; shorthand writer and typist, £50 ; cadet, £40. Branches at Auckland, Canterbuiy. awl Otago: Three manager-, at £30C— £900 : three clerks at £150— £450 ; three cadets at £40 — £120. Other charges: Commission, £2000; print ng, stationery, aiul advertising, £500 ; travelling expen c es. £300 : preliminary expeu-e-> and contingencies including i - ents, etc., £500.

The salary of the Agent-gen,rral in London is again set down at £1500. Tho co-t of llluminatiov.*., crc v on the departuie ami arrival of th-e G-ovcrnois was £630. £1000 is to he voted for development of tho Cook and other Islands, and £2500 for expanses in connection with tho St. Louis Exposition. £280 !•> voted for a handbook o-i trout, fishing (printing and bindm.g). Vaccination plant and lymph last year co-t^ £5230, a.nd expenses in connection with the smallpox outbreak £3705.

Marine Depaitm-en.t. — The. total vote in this department is about £200 less than last year. The ehi-efi inspector of fisheries gets h:s palary raised to £315. The votes for fi-h hatcheries ha-\e been considerably cut down. The vote for working expense-, of th>e Hmemoa in £9000, com oared with £11.000 last year. Fog M'gnali aie given £700, compared with £116 sppnt last year. A moiety of the. cost of the --urvey off f'e coaat by H.MS. Penguin it. . c <?t down at £8984 ; publishing azimuth tables, £45.

Printing Department. — The Government, Printer get? He salary increased to £560. Linotype and monotype machine*, £500 — £3201 wa<s spent on thc«o la=t year. Tho total vote i* £40.743, as compared with £42,491 last yvar. Railways. Vctr>=.— T'ne workino: railwayvotes total £1,465,000, compared with £1,383.692 la-t yea).

Agi'ieultuial Dep.ntment. — The Agricultural Department veto i-* ineroa-ed . from £105,788 to £111.213. Tl.o ccntnbution towards cool ->torago for dairy produce is reduced, to £5000, thougli the sum expended last year was £15,005. Theie is a vote of £2000 for the purcha=e of stud hoisos and 1 cattle.

Edxieatiom Votes. —^Tlie tcial of tlio education vote" is £599,158, compared -with £590,683 last year, of which £576,490 was expended. The secondary education vote is increased from £23.050 to £28.700. There is an iucrea-o of £1500 for public school cadet. The !Xat^e schools, indu^ti-.al school--, and soliool for th-o blind vet-os are d«ci eased. Tlie vcte fQi 1 techmoal e^j^xtioja

is £16.215. compared with £16,530 las,t year. School building*., furniture, and sites are sen down at £33.615, against £29,725 last year; and th?re i*> a new \oto of £420 for & hom^ei for defective', mi addition to salaries fon the officials in the home. The important! public school grants are the same a-, last; year, with the exept-ion of the gram for th-a learning college- for tcacheis, which i<J £5400— nearly £2000 -more H>an last yeai. Conveyance 'of children is £5500, or £1000 more than !a*t year. The grant to Education Boards for secondary scholarships is increased to £8600 from £8000, anil the capitation for secondary schools and col-lpg-os i« set down at, £11,000, compared with £1000 laH year. The capitation for public school cadets <\ts raised .from £1000 to £2175. Lunatic Asylums. — Th© lunatic asylum voles are about. £1200 higher than last year's. Labour Depaitment — The secretary of the* Labour Department gets his salary raisred to £500, and his chief e'-erk is increased to

Mines Department. — Tiio Mines Department vote is decreased by marly £1000, tho total this" year being £21,166. Naval ami Military.— £looo is to be voted! for the naval training rhip. and £1650 for ■c\pen c cc of the New Zealand rifle team to> Bi' Icy. £5000 is to bo voted for the working expenses of the Lake. Wakatmu .^team. .'■< v r\ire. The total vote*- of the \<arsous departments is £6,601,412, compared with £6,423,082 last year.

IFr Kcddie. the Timaru agent for th i Labour Bureau, states that he has more than 100 men on his books seeking employment, an-d that iho demand for casual laboureis has not been so slack for a long time as it has been for th© past few weeks. Some of the cases on the books are, he says, quite distressing, and he has lately hart at least 20 men calling every day at his office seeking work. — Tiinam Herald.