PARLIAMENTARY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 922, 15 October 1879, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY.

[By Telegraph.] Wellington, This Day. In the Legislative Council, Mr. Whi taker, senr., took the oath, and made a brief statement of the intentions of the Government. He said the principal efforts woiiU be directed to amending the Electoral Laws, and placing the finances of the Colony m proper order and improving the present unsatisfactory state of Native affairs. After some unimportant matters were disposed of the Council ajourned till to-day. The House of Representatives met at 2.30. When Mr Hall made the Ministerial statement as to the couse of business and then asked leave to introduce a Bill to amend the law relating to electors. It would be based on manhood suffrage with residential qualification of 12 months m the Colony and 6 months m an electoral district ; and the rights of property would be recognised by a property qualih'cation of £25. Mr. Macaudrew moved amendment ' ' That while this House is anxious to pass an Electoral Bill it declines to do so until it has been shown that the Government possesses the confidence of the House. The Speaker ruled that the amendment could not be put. Mr. Macandrew said that then all the Opposition was left to do was to oppose all Government motions until the question of confidence was settled. Mr. Pitt asked whether, if the motion, for leave to introduce the Electoral Bill was negatived, could it be introduced again this session. The Speaker replied m the negative. After some discussion, Mr. Sheehan moved that the debate be adjourned till 7.30, so as to allow the Financial Statement to be then made by Major Atkinson, and the debate as to introducing Electoral Bill to be resumed thereafter. This was agreed to, and the House rose at 4 o'clock. On resuming at 7^30, Major Atkinson moved for leave to introduce the Public Revenues Act Amendment Bill, authorising the issue of deficiency Bills for £200,000, to make up for the deficiency m the revenue. He then made the following FINANCIAL STATEMENT. In commencing, he said as the circumstances were of an exceptional character he had to disregard the usual rule that the Statement of the year should be a carefully prepared document, and submitted to the Government. The finance has not been dealt with at all for 15 months. Parliament was m the dark for that time. He would now submit a broad outline of the finance, so as to enable members to turn over m their minds what was best to be done. In 1879, the Treasurer estimated he would begin the year with a surplus of £120,468 ; the actual amount realised was £116.814 ; the expenditure passed was £4,210,000 ; the actual expenditure, placed before the House last session by the then Treasurer, Sir George Grey, was £3,652,048, the apparent saving of £558,000 was recoverable by £348,219 of liabilities. The payments for and made within the year amounted to a little over £4,000,000. The revenue forlß7B-79, wases iinated at £4,045,537 ; the actual sum realised beins/ £3,7.51,598, leaving a deficiency of £233,939. At the end of this year they begun with a deficit of £131,824. they begun the year with £116,000 to their credit and ended, after taking credit for all assets and providing for liabilities, with a deficit of £131,824. He oalled attention to the following items of expenditure, so that they were not exercising any economy m the public service. They had not retrenched m any one way, and it would be seen that some very decided step would have to be taken to place finance on its proper footing. In Law, Justice, Customs, etc., for the year 1877-79, the vote amounted to £866,000, that was an expenditure of £10,000 more than was voted. In 1878-76, the same department got a vote of £903,000, whereas the actual expenditure was £956,000. The Native department was next referred to. In 1876-77, the cost was £34,000; m 1877-78, £43,000 ; and m 1878-79, it amounted to £58,000. The salaries last year were £19.000. They were about the same for 1877-78 ; but m 1878-79, only £15,321 was voted for salaries. j The expenditure for 1878-79, as estimated by the late Government, was £3,972,425, but that did not include £140,000 for contingent defence, proposed to be charsjed to the loan, nor did it include £122,000 of local revenue the Government merely collected and. paid. The expenditure as stated included £1,325,373 for interest and sinking fund ; £63.540, the 20 per cent, of land ; and £259,527, the amount of subsidies. The estimate of reveiiue by the late Government was £3.442,000, — made up from taxation, £1.580,000 ; for services rendered, £1,362,000 ; from land, £500,000 ; but deducting this revenue from the stated expenditure there was left a deficit of £532,034, and adding to this the deficit from 1878-79 of £131,824, there was left the deficit to be met, this of £663,858. Bnt m fact, he feared with the experience of which this Government had had of the receipts for the estimate mad a by the late Government of the cuirent year's revenue would not be realised. Revising the estimates as carefully as he had been able to do, he feared the receipts would not exceed £3,193,900 ; made up of— taxation, £1,512,300 ; on account of services, £1,301,600 ; and from land, £380,000 This would increase the deficit already stated by £129,000, and would leave a total deficit to be provided for this year of £911,000. It was not his business at present to suggest a remedy, or to reasons why he anticipated such results, as the House would only expect a broad statement of 'results. When he took possession of the Treasury, the public accounts stood thu3 : The receipts during the quarter had not come up to the payments made by a sum of £330,000. The late Government had issued £400,000 deficiency bills, and used the whole of the proceeds. No provision had been made for paying subsidies to local bodies now due, or to meet other payments which it was absolutely necessary for them to make. To provide for these, they propose to take power to i^sue a further £200,000 of deficiency Bills, m order to enable them to carry on the necessary services of the Colony. Up to the month of October or

November, and by that time, he hoped the House would have determined how the deficiency was to be made up. It would be improper for the Government to do more than submit a mere temporary remedy, so as to enable the House to take time to determine as to how the matter was to he generally disposed of. That was his reason for asking the House to pass the Bill. Regarding the position of the Public Works account, they began the year with a credit to the department of £507,000 nominally, but of this £300,000 was dae for outstanding debits, so that m reality it was no better than so much money paid away, so that they only actually began the year with £207,000 to the good. The expenditure for the last quarter was £712,000, so that the late Government had actually spent to the 30th September last half a million of the £5,000,000. Then again, he found upon enquiry, that their engagements entered into to the 30th of December next, amounted to £733,000 ; more, and further engagements on which they would have to pay on the 30th June next, £921,818, more, m other words, up to the 30th June, next, on Public Works, they were already committed to, without any new ones being undertaken, a sum amounting to £2,160,000 out of the £5,000,000. He was much startled when he found the amount so very large. He had taken pains to see that it was correct, but he found that it was not possible to reduce the amount below what, he had stated. Included m this £2,160,000, was a sum <»f £200,000 for the purchase of Native lands. Of that, £26,000 had been spent already, 'and there were further engagements up to the end of this' year to spend £84,000. They had a further liability upon these lands, which apparently they had engaged to fulfil, amounting to £957,000. In round figures, a million more had to be provided for to complete the purchase of these lands. They also had contracts on Public Works, upon the 30th June, amounting to £1,281,815 more, so that one million would be required by the end of next June. What he desired to pojnt out to the House was this : they had actually • spent up to the end of September one quarter of a million, which, together with their engagements, would amount to a total sum of £2,000,000, and that before they knew whether the loan was raised, not the slightest intimation having yet been received on the subject. He deprecated m strong terms the impropriety of pledging the credit of the Colony m that way He did not know how far the loan would go off. Fortunately the credit of the Colony was go*>d. Still, that was no excuse for the course pursued m the matter by the late Government. Such, then, was the financial position of the Colony at the present time. He wished the tale he had to tell had been a little mure cheerful, It was clear, however, that it was the bounden doty of hon. members to face the whole question of Colonial finance at once. The position was undoubtedly a grave one, and would demand immediate attention. It seemed to him that it was absolutely necessary that at the present time a Government was required not only capable but likewise one sufficiently strong to legislate- for the interest of the Colony, and not merely for those of a party. It was their bounden duty, he submitted, to dispense with party tactics, and turn their undivided attention immedately to these serious difficulties, and m some way devise a scheme to get the finances of the Colony plaoed on a sound and better position than it stood at present. A long debate ensued, at the conclusion of which the Publio Revenues Act passed through all its stages.