THE ESTIMATES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3100, 13 August 1913, Page 29

THE ESTIMATES.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

(From Ocr Own Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, August 5. The following are amongst tne votes proposed on tne Estimates which were brought down this evening with the Financial Statement (the amounts given * n parentheses indicate sums expended on corresponding items last year) : Finance Department. —Advance to governors of Wellington College and Girls High School it, 1890 without conditions written off as irrecoverable, £1000; advance to Hokitika Harbour Board (1888-89) for protective works—written off as irrecoverable £3OOO. Post and Telegraph Department. Conveyance of mails by sea, £84,113 (£85.788); conveyance of inland mails, £82,650 (£72,852*); maintenance of telegraph and telephone lines, £71,000 £64,011). Working Railways.—Votes of £oo,ooo and £40,000 appear for the expenses of working the Kakahi and Piha • sawmills respectively. The estimated credits in each case are £5 less than these amounts.

Public Buildings.—Government House, Auckland, £6OO (£387); Government House, Wellington, £823; Buildings, £ISOO (£2577); Waikato Sanatorium —repairs, renovations, etc., £IOOO (last year’s vote of £575 was unexpended). Justice Department. —Expenses in connection with defence of prisoners £250 (£26). Mines Department.—Advances to sufferers from pneumoconiosis, £400; assistance to prospecting, £6009 (£5400); assistance towards prospecting for minerals other than gold, £100; races, drainage, and waterworks on goldfields, £500; bonus for mineral oil, £SOO (£2500) ; expenses of diamond and other drills, £500; expenses of mining court at Atickland Exhibition, £1000; purchase of motor car for Inspector of Mines, £350; Queen of Beauty pumping plant maintenance, £100; School of Mines £3OOO (£2987); Westland Goldfields Jubilee (pound for pound), £3OO. Department of Internal Affairs. —Collection of historical and other matter relating to the Maori race, £250 (£43) ; establishment of historical collection regarding early history of New Zealand, £SOO (re-voted) ; Society for Promotion of Health of Women and Children —subsidies on voluntary contributions, £2400 (£600); St. Helens Hospital (Auckland) inquiry, £600; book on New Zealand birds, £IOOO compassionate allowance to widow of late Major Mair, £250; Veterans’ Home, Auckland, £500; Captain Scott Memorial Fund, £500; expenses of Empire Trade Commission, £6OO (£686); visit of H M.S. New Zealand, £10,000; visit of members of British Association in the advancement of science (on account), £100; grant to British Antarctic Expedition towards cost of publication of scientific material, £800; grants for encouragement of swimming, £3OO (£600) ; estimated proportion of Pacific cable deficiency, £2600; payment to hospital boards and other expenses incidental to issue of licenses under “ Ihe Land Agents’ Act, 1912,” £4750; protection of tuatara lizards. £SO; renovation of soldiers’ graves, £250 (£180) ; Seddon memorial, £IOOO (£7).

Defence Department. —Expenses in connection with detention, £500; Imperial Services Exhibition, £4O; passages and expenses of officers and non-commissioned officers to and from England and other parts of the Empire, £2700 (£3832J; rewards to police for securing convictions for certain breaches of Defence Act, £200; armaments, £14,000; one mountain battery, £500 ; arms and spare parts, £20,000; accoutrements and other c ‘o>jdp' ment, £900; camp equipment, £9000; uniforms, great coats, boots, badges, etc., £39,340; uniforms, etc., senior cadets, £12.283.

Lands and Survey Department.—Grass seed for Crown lands and settlers, £7500 (£569) ; Hauraki Plains—reads, and drains, £5500 (£223); Hauraki Plains —metalling roads, £6500; maintenance of works, £2OOO (£888); value of improvements on small grazing runs (Land Act, 1885), £7500. Agriculture and Industries Department. Auckland Exhibition, £1000; department exhibits at A. and P. Shows, £I7OO (£2535); Auckland Exhibition Show, £SOO. . , Education Department.—Physical training, £10.940 (£4878). Provision is made for a director at £6OO, a chief instructor at £375, a chief woman inspector at £3OO, and 10 inspecting instructors at £2OO each. These arc all new votes, except that the Director of Physical Education was last year voted £l5O. Courses of instruction are allowed £SOOO, and travelling expenses £ISOO. School maintenance is increased by £6OOO to £85.000. Native schools £3500) and industrial schools (£4500) show increases of £ISOO and £IOOO respectively. The expenses of the Forestry Commission were £2500. Nearly all the plantations, etc. receive slight increases. An extra ,£IOO,OOO granted to the Point Elizabeth Colliery increases the State Coal Estimates from £244,000 to £349,649. The sum of £IOOO compensation is granted to Captain Attwood as compensation in connection with the wreck of the Elingamite. £750 is provided for the renewal of the cable to East Cape Lighthouse. The following are the total of the votes in each class (with the amount expended last vear shown in parentheses):—Legislative departments, £34.472 (£358,517); Finance. £66,648 (£55.026) ; Post and Telegraphs, £1,135.240 (£1.065.^72); Working Railways, £2.931,250 (£2,817,141) public buildings, domains, and maintenance of roads, £116,589 (£117,703), Native Depaitmcnt, £24.724 (£23,678); Justice. £428,146 (£403,316); Mines, £33 850 (£29.948' : Internal Affairs, £33i.503 (£514,599); Defence, £505,047 (£505,267) ; Customs, Marine, and Harbours. and inspection of machinery, £149.007 (£134.020); Labour, £28,887 (£29,177); Lamb and Survey, £288,267

(£231,246); Agriculture, Industries, and Commerce, £185,441 (£178.904): Education, £1,133,025 (£1,084,042); State forests, £28,738 (£22,169); State coal mines, £349 (£234,677); scenery preservation, £7185 (£16,843); land for settlement, £10,673 (£10,052); public trustees, £37,997 (£47,271); Government Insurance, £69,605 (£65,114); State Fire Insurance, £7860 (£6677); State-guaranteed Advances Association, advances to settlers, £311,957 (£285,103); advances to workers, £89,117 (£68,401); advances to local authorities, £85,750 (£98,862); Native land settlement, £1250 (£49).