FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Timaru Herald, Volume IX, Issue 342, 5 September 1868, Page 3

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

The following appears m a Chris church contemporary, transmitted I telegraph from Wellington : — Mr Hall opened his budget at 9.40 p.u on Tuesday, by regretting that he ha< for the first time m the history of tl colony, to announce a falling off of r< venue, and to speak of financial diffi culty. He explained m detail the diffi culty of getting into working orde the financial machinery created by th Public Revenues Act, which hai occasioned delay m the accounts be tween the General and Provincia Governments. In spite of these draw backs, he Was able to lay before thi House a detailed statement of account for the past financial year, which ha( never before been done by ani Treasnrer at the time of making hii annual statement. He suggested i change m the date of the terminatioi of the financial year to an earlier period to obviate the otherwise necessarj delay which must occur every session ' before the delivery of the budget Ht congratulated the colony on the satisfactory settlement of Imperial and Colonial claims which was due to Mr Weld sending home half a million oi debentures, and to the exertions oi Messrs Fitzherbert and Richardson. The revenue of last year was estimated at £1,084,000, but "the actual receipts were £980,700, to which must be aided £25,000 Treasury Bills. The decrease m Customs was £80,198; Stamps, £16,595. This was owing to the departure of the troops, no loans to expend, and the low price of wool, &c, which had occasioned general depression. The Post-office and Telegraph revenue, which was a good index of the condition of the colony, had increased. Believing that the use of stamps was largely evaded, the Government had under consideration measures for repressing and prosecuting whenever an evasion of the Stamp Act was discovered. On the expenditure of last year, there was an apparent saving of £154,000 partially because eleven months' salaries had been included, which was equal to £51,000. The clash balance at the Bank wus £46,900,0ut of which £35.000 Treasury Bills have to be paid. There are also an asset from Southland of £55,117.. The trust funds amounted to £167,000 which was all invested. The particulars of the Loan Consolidation scheme shewed a saving to the present time of £11,000 annually to the colony, and about the same vto thie provinces, which more than compensated for tbe increased capitalised debt The total amount received for the loan of £1,114,000 is £1,080,580. There will be, however, £48,000 even of this, not required for the specified purposes under the Loan Act which (after deducting the cost of raising the loan, say at least £10,080), will be appropri- j ated to liquidating old Treasury Bills, still amounting to £125,000, exclusive of the £25,000 above mentioned. A fall statement of liabilities on account of confiscated lands will be submitted, and however unpleasant tb have to pay, where profit was anticipated, the honour bf the Government requires it to be done. The receipts from confiscated lands amounted to £12,000, and the payments to £26,000; there were also further accruing liabilities amounting to £28;000 for surveys, &c. The receipts from tlie sale of confiscated lands would cover this ip two y^ars; and the Government'proposed to issue two year's Treasury Bills, to meet it m the meanwhile. The £55,117, available from Southland, would be appropriated as follows :—j£ls,ooo for a new Government. House, . and increased cffices for the 'Govern-. .' ment and Legislature, £3000 fot marine surveys, and £8,500 fortelegthphs, including an extension to Wangjanui. Tfie remaining £28,000 odd would bb reserved to meet renewed; disdurbances, shoidd they ! occur.' Thp estimated revenue for 1868-9 was as follows:— Cjistoms,,' £Boo,ooo, bonded stores, £6,500, stamp duties, £68,000, telegraphs-/ - £15,v00, ' : post-Office, £60,000* miscellaneous, v; £6&000; ; making a total of ' £1,0^0,500,7 Tbje. estimated expenditure was^>— CivU list . £27,500, permanent charges, including interest and sinking fyaii- £320,542, public domain, £2,880:; pnblic departments, £37,863; Maw -and justic*, ! £65,687; postal, £106,401 ; customs, £41,781 ; . native,, £12 884.j~nH8«eI- ?- laneous, £30,029 ; militia and volunj- . teers, £22,183; defence, £47,4971; making a total of £704,647. /IWe figures show ah increase on, the pei!manent charges of £6,277, and a decrease on all the rest, viz.^-dbipairt, £1196; departments, £5764 ; .'law, £18,561; postal, £42,178; churns, £2,690; native, £ll,ld0; ' miscellaneous, £18,054; militia, £2,355. The 'defence was £109,025 : l#st year, but it wad charged on loan. ' Th^ Defence Minister was to be abolished at the earliest moment 'The proposed saving m items this year, as compared with similar items' last- year, ' was £162,149. ThO Government was unable to announce any: ■ reduction ;• of taxation. The taxes m New .Zealand wew exaggerated. They were. not s^ high as. m England, when t compared ■with the.rate of wage*;— them. ,it w.ijs £8 0s lid, here, ; it was $4' lOs. The most serious obstacles m th^T way of retrenchment wasf'tlte 'present! financial relations betweeii 1 tho Gtfrigral anjd Provincial Governments, i' Four ' provinces out of the nine hgd nothing out of their share of the Consolidated Revenue; as, after paying their, share of Provinoial charges, interest and . finking fund, they were aotually m debt, The provincial cry of every Ministrj .was "more money or yoar fife-." Th« Government ha 4 docided to recommenc that on the Ist of Januaiy next, the partnership between thd General ' GoTernment - and the provinces - ihoulc cease, and th^t fte fand^-rf^pnld.anj be required— fbr provinoial administration shoidd be Specially 'voted by tb< Assembly; also that the provincia . debtrf .qhouhT ©ease tb ber ;fchsrjgW agwnat.tl^e provinces which, had rlisec them; that the harbour mtmagemen

snouia oe com Oi nea witn me customs ._ and placed solely under 'General Government management. A capitatioi y grant of seven shillings, based upon th( census population returns is to be paic i. t ) the provinces m aid of police, gaols. :, <fee, and to be spent under audit, b Besides this, the provinces would re- - tain their land fund, and such local - revenue as might be raised by Acts oi - the Provincial Council. Had the plan r been m operation last year, Auckland •would hnve gained L 919 5;. Taranaki, I L 1967; Hawke's 8ay,L3093; Marl- • borough, L 2132; and Southland, 1 L 17,974; while Wellington Would have lost Lll,loo, Nelson, L 20,453, i Canterbury, L 767, Westland, L 2,213, : and Otago, L 10,894. Southland, by reason of the largeness of its debt, would have to pay L 12,000 annually from its land fund, while to Nelson , L 90,000 cash down would have to be paid, and to Wellington Ll 5,000 by the General Government m full. A compensation lump sum down would be preferred instead of an annual payment. The sinking fundß of all provincial loans to be vested m comptrollers and two trustees, as also those of the colonial loans. ; A sum of L 193,948 wiU shortly accrue m the hands of these commissioners, out of which the Nelson and Wellington- compensations are to be paid. The debt of L 200,000 charged on the territorial revenue of the Middle Island, and the Ll 80,000 expended on land purchases m the North Island ui.der the arrangement of 1856 to be released.. The proposed new provincial scheme could only trench on the territorial revenue of the Middle Island provinces m the event of their consolidated revenue not .coming up to their interest and sinking fund, <fee, which was an improbability. By the first of the following resolutions he now proposed, the Government would stand or tall. In the others they would accept amendments m detail : — 1. With a view to simplify relations between the Colonial and Provincial Governments, &C-, the present system be abolished, and the Consolidated fund be at the service of the General Assembly charged with the loans, interest, &c, and also the expenses of the Colonial Government, harbour!*; &c. '2,, That, L 20,000 be paid to Nelson, . and L15,00b to Wellington, and Southland to have L 12,000 deducted annually firom her territorial revenue. 3. Capitation grants to be appropriated annually for police and gaols. 4. Tbat leave be given to bring m a bill as above commencing on January 1, 1869.