NEW ZEALAND'S REVENUE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 96, 12 May 1900, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND'S REVENUE.

[BUB PRESS ASSOCIATION.] [ Wellington, May 11. A statement of the year's accounts is published in a special Gazette. The revenue, including a balance from the previous year of ,£495,861, was ,£6,195,479. The principal head* were:—Custom*?, .£2,107,566 ; stamps, .£860,898; Land Tax, £293,627; Income Tax, £128,721; beer duty, £80,201; railways, £1,621,612; registration and other fsee, £74,373; marine, £27,820; miscellaneous, £123,138; territorial, £262,228. The expenditure on permanent appropriations was £2,285,318. (This includes interest £1,749,393 and old age pensions £157,095). The annual appropriations absorbed £2,854,809, the principal items of which were:— Minister of Justice, £122,270; Post-master-General, £388,580; Education, £436,304; Minister for Agriculture, £68,162; Railways, £1,039,266; Defence, £142,160; Police, £116,207; Lunacy and Cbaritable Aid, £57,920; Minister for Lands, £121,916. Allowing £450,000 transferred to the Public Works Fund, the balance to credit is £605,251. The Public Works Fund began the year with a balance of £70,856, atid with the receipts from loans and Consolidated the revenue was made up to a total of £1,592,972. The expenditure includedßailways, £417,937; roads, £285,389 ; public buildings, £115,426; Contingent (defence), £42,809 ; expenses loan, £28,321; debentures and advances repaid, £335,000. The balance at the end of the year was £139,749.

The Cheviot Estate Account shows that the balance to credit has increased from .£546 to £6452.

The Land for Settlements Account shows 19 purchases during the year, totalling £383,717, besides £17,819 for expenses connected with these and former purchases. The account has a credit balance of £53,389 under the head of deposit accounts. One item shows a lodgment by the Imperial Government of £72,000 for South African contingents. The Consols Account shows £441,487 invested. Attached to the accounts are the following memos" The Audit Office is unable satisfactorily to verify the receipts of gold revenue through the failure of the Mines Department to comply with a requisition for a certified statement of the amounts collectable as such revenue." Advances in the hands of officers of the Government include payments to the amount of £11,601 12s 6d, though accounts of the same were received at the Treasury before the close of the year.

Accounts making up the sum of £11,601 12s 6d, referred to above, had not been received in the Treasury from the Departments at the time of tbt closing of books for the past financial year, and therefore could not be in eluded in the accounts of the year. I: is, however, admitted by the Audit Office that " such contingency has beet of invariable occurrence, and may it Bomo measure be unavoidable, notwithstanding the requirements of section 71 of the Public Be venues Act, 1891." The Customs returns for the last quarter give £569,618, agains' £508,635 for the corresponding quar ter of 1899. The details are: Auckland, £136,596; Wellington, £128,337; Ohrietchurch, £87,266 ; Dunedin, £119,798. Beer duty, £22,296, tgainst £20,269 for 1899: Auckland, £4834; Wellington, £2033; Christchurch, £4196 ; Ducedin, £5761.