THE PUBLIC FINANCES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2915, 26 January 1910, Page 34

THE PUBLIC FINANCES.

A BETTER OUTLOOK. HASTINGS, January 24. The Prime Minister delivered at) important speech to-night in which he gave particulars of the revenue and the expenditure- for the nine months ending December 31. He received an excellent hearing, his address being punctuated with much applause. Sir Joseph commenced by saying that at the present time one of the most important- matters and one in which all classes in the country were deeply concerned was the progress the country was making financially, inasmuch as a good many people had predicted a downward tendency in connection with the public finances, following a. period of temporary depression, brought about by various causes during the last- 18 months. He said he proposed to give some information that, he was sure, they would be able to regard as extremely satisfactory. The financial results for the past quarter were very good, and when compared with the returns for the corresponding quarter of last year were an indication that the depression was over and that the Dominion was starting the new year with brighter prospects. Taking the revenue, the position was as follows : Dec. quarter. 1909 £2.647,073 1903 £2~591,388 Increase 55,635 The stamp revenue showed an increase of £23,435, Land and Income Tax £48,556, and miscellaneous £5753, while on the other hand the decrease registered by the customs was £21.821, registration and other fees £12.000 (Chinese poll tax), and territorial £10,048. Turning to the expenditure side of the account, permanent charges showed an increase of £48,525, principally in respect of interest on loans ; and departmental appropriations are £28.022 more than the corretpending expenditure in the same quarter last year, the respective figures being; : Dec. Pernint. Depth approerr, charges. priations. Total. 1909 ...£1.158,846 £1,367.532 £2,526,373 1908 ... 1,110,321 1,339,510 2,449,831 Increase £76,547 The quarterly amounts showed decreases m expenditure on various departmental classes amounting to £96,503, and increases of £124,525, or, as already stated, a net increase of £28,022. Railways were responsible for £95,514 and education for £16,833. Deafftig with the nine months from April 1 to December 31, IQO9, the position was as follows : Revenue, £6,512,453; 1903, £6,421,029; increase. £91.424. The details were as follows :—Customs (decreased), £142,072; stamps (including post r\r,d telegraph cash receipts, decreased), £54,865: land and income tax (increase), £55.565; beer duty (decreased, £1411; Railways (increase). £185,733; registration and other iees (decrease), £24.517; marine (de- j crease). £429; miscellaneous (increase), £31,053: territorial (decrease), * £24,595. In addition to this increase there was the national endowment revenue, amounting to £339,313. Looking into various classes it would be seen that all the de- | creases in expenditure amounted to . £174.454, the increases giving a total of j £187,52ft. The expenditure on post and j telegraphs was £52,209; on rail- | ways, £86,850; and on education, ! £30,015. It might- be pointed- out that i while the increased expiendiiture on the railways was £86.850 for the nine months ( tb'p lincreiaised- Srom the. same j source was not less than £185,753 for the j same period. Another fact worthy of re-

■ mark was that while {.he revenue for nine months was £91,424 better than for the corresponding period of last year, ohe total expenditure, including permanent charges only, increased by £64,764. In the House it had been -told more than once that the effects of the Government s i action in the direction of economy were I comparatively small, and therefore it was * a cause of great satisfaction to him to | state the real position. It would be seen I from what he bad stated _ that the m--1 crease in the annual appropriations for the : nine months amounted to the comparatively small sum of £13,070. When it was remembered that the two great commercial departments, Railways and Post j and Telegraphs, had between them in- ! creased expenditure totalling £142,059 1 due to an increase in business and the I necessary provision therefore —that the I demand for education ran into £30,015, I even the most fastidious critics must reI gard it as extremely satisfactory that the I expenditure showed an increase of only ! £15,070. The decrease in the Customs ! for the past quarter was considerably I lower by comparison than the. average reduction for the nine months to which he had alluded. This was no doubt duetto increased trade for that particular period of the year. The expenditure for the nine months as compared with the same period of 1908 was £174,434 less, and there were heavy reductions in no less than 18 departments.—These were as follows : Legislative, £6215 ; fianance, £3792 ; old- ' age pensions, £7084; public buildings, 6799; printing, £15.854; stamps and, deeds, £1476; native, £8961; mines, £3005 ; internal affairs, £14,536; defence, £11,825; Customs, £3361; marine, £3150; labour, £6173; lands and survey, i £142,238; agriculture, £17,420; valuation, £4727 ; public health, £6811; mental hospitals, £11,046. Increases took place in eight departments, the largest of these being ;—Post and telegraph, £55,209 ; , railways, £86,850; education, £50,015. In I the remaining five departments the largest ■ increase was £154, in the Industries and ' Commerce Department. It would there- | fore be recognised that the expenditure ' had been kept well and strongly in hand by the Government, while for the Decerni bar quarter, as compared with 1908, the reduction in expenditure more marked still. In 20 departments the total reduction for the quarter was £96,503, while there were increases in only six departments. The reductions were a.s follow ; Legislative, £450; finance, £2289: post and telegraph, £3419; old-age pensions, £2550: public buildings, £273; printing, i £13.017: stamps and deeds, £24; native, i £6544; justice, £273; mines, £4120; inj terna.l affairs, £13,235; Crown law, £2; i defence, £17,013; Customs, £3984; marine, £4473 ; labour, £1192 ; laaids and j survey, £7484; agriculture, £13,922; ! valuation. £3292; public health, £4847. ■ It was clear that 'the improvement for j the nine months had bettered consider- ! ably during the last quarter of 1909. and ' there was. no reason why this should not continue in view of the improvement in trade and generally brightening prospects. Indeed, ho was hopeful that at the end of the financial year in March next the balance of revenue in the consolidated account, which on December 31 amounted, to £180,729 would be materially increased. It must not be forgotten that the economies effected by the Government were now in force, but the full benefit was not .yet being obtained. The total reductions effected amounted to £363.000, but naturally only a portion of it had actually taken pia.ee up to the period named. He would like to call attention to one of the safest barometers, and that was the , post and telegraph revenue. The December quarter disclosed that the total revenue, which in 1908 jus.t exceeded a quarter of a million, had now reached ! £256,000. The increase in the Post and i Telegraph Department for the year ended : December 31 amounted in round figures to £91,000. The savings bank deposits for the December quarter amounted to £2,283,0y5, and the withdrawals to £2.252,574—an excess of deposits of £30,401. The post and telegraph figures increased in every department except private boxes, which showed a reduction of £SO. The banking returns for the December quarter revealed very satisfactory conditions. The increase in deposits, including Government deposits, amount to £1,339,191, while 12 months ago there was a marked shrinkage. The gross revenue from the railways to December 11, 1909. was £2,105,454, as compared with £1.855.435 for the corresponding period of 1908. The Government and the people were looking forward with special interest to the visit of that distinguished soldier Lord Kitchener, who was coming here at a most opportune time, inasmuch as the new Defence Act, which made material changes in connection with the Imperial protection of the country, would ' soon come into practical operation, and the advice which Lord Kitchener would be able to tender the Government would, he was sure; be most valuable. It was indicative of closer union between Dm oversea dominions and the Motherland when we found that in the common desire to promote a more concrete union one of the most remarkable soldiers of the time was coming, not only to visit the country, but also all the other portions of the Empire. His visit would mean a practical system of unified defence in the scattered portions of the empire.