THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5034, 21 June 1884, Page 3

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Major Atkinson's Financial Statement was made in the House yesterday afternoon. The following are the more important portions: — ORDINARY REVENUE ACCOUNT, 1883-B*. In the Statement I had the honour to make to the Committee last year, I estimated the total expenditure for the financial year ending March 31, 1884, at ■£3,661,496. Of this amount, £1,645,604 was required for interest and sinking fund, and for the civil list and other charges under permanent Acts, and .£2,015,802 for the services, for which annual provision is made by Parliament. The sums voted on the Supplementary Estimates have increased the amount of the annual appropriation to .£2,040,360. This snui, therefore, with the estimated charges under permanent Acts, amounting, as I have just stated, to £1,645,694, gave £3,686,054 as the total appropriations for the year. The total actual expenditure on this account during the year proved to be .£3,681,320, being .£4734 less than the estimated amount. The payments under permanent Acts were .£506 in excess of the estimate, and those under the votes of the year were .£5241 within the amount authorised. These are the net results. Hon members will find, on looking into the Appropriation Account already laid before Parliament, that in some cases the votes were exceeded, and that in others the amounts authorised were not all expended. Eliminating the imprest advances outstanding at the close of the year, which the law requires the Treasury to include in the Appropriation Account, but which do not form part of the financial expenditure of the year, the payments in excess of the votes of Parliament amounted to £27,862, to which, however, should be added .£7266 for services unprovided for, making the total unauthorised expenditure £35,128, chargeable against the £100,000 provided for this purpose by the Public Revenues Act. On the other hand, the unexpended balances of votes amounted to £40,369. As information relating to the so-called unauthorised expenditure and unexpended balances has already been laid before Parliament, it is unnecessary for me to refer to them further. During the year 1882-83, the total expenditure out of the ordinary revenue amounted to £3,638,384, as against £3,681,320 expended last year, the expenditure of ISB3-84 being therefore greater than that of 1882-83 by about £43,000. It will be seen from the table which will be found appended to this Statement when published, that the classes of expenditure mainly accountable for this increase are education, £12,200, and railways, £53,700; but a saving of £39,200 was effected in the constabulary and defence services. The liabilities of this account on March 31, 1884, were estimated at £166,757, being £9773 less than the amount outstanding on March 31, 1883. Particulars of these liabilities have already been laid before Parliament for the purpose of enabling hon members to compare the liabilities outstanding at the close of the last financial year with the liabilities of the three previous years. The present mode of treating liabilities having now been four years in existence, I have had a table prepai'ed which will accompany this Statement when published. The ordi- j nary revenue of the year 1883-84 —that is ! the revenue exclusive of the receipts from I land sales —was estimated in the Financial | Statement of 1883 at £3,573,800. The i subsequent increase, however, in the Property tax of one farthing in the pound brought up the estimate to £3,658,800. The actual amount of ordinary revenue received and brought to account by the Treasury during the year was £3,493,659, being thus £165,141 under the estimated amount. The usual comparative return of the estimated and actual receipts will be laid before hon members. It will be seen that the main branches of revenue in which the estimated receipts have not been realised are Customs and Railways. In Customs the amount received was £123,313 short of the estimated amount, which was £1,520,000. In Railways the amount estimated to be received was £1,020,000, but the amount brought to account proved to be £963,109, being thus £56,881 under the estimate. I have already stated to the Committee that the total expenditure of the ordinary revenue of the consolidated fund during the year ISB3-84 was £3,681,320, and that the revenue amounted to £3,493,659. To the latter sum, I add, however, the balance at credit of the account at the beginning of the year £35,549, making the total receipts £3,529,208. Hon members will thus see that the position of the consolidated fund, for the financial year ending March 31 last, resulted in a deficit of £152,112. LAND FUND ACCOUNT, 1883-84. The amount to be expended during the year out of the money derived from sales of land was estimated at £238,162, of which £36,600 was for payments under votes for the services of the year. The actual expenditure was £23,662, or £500 more than the estimated amount. The expenditure under permanent > Acts was £34,843, and under the votes of the year £203,819. The moneys handed over to local bodies for expenditure on road-making, from moneys derived from lands sold on deferred payments, was £23,358. There was also paid to local bodies during the year £45,446 for rates under the " Crown and Native Lands Rating Act, 1882/' making a total of £68,804 handed over to local bodies, to be expended by them. The expenditure in respect of the Crown Lands, Survey, and other departments amounted .to £158,373, being £3190 within the amount aforesaid, i The amount transferable under section 4 • of " The Roads and Bridges Construction | Act, 1882," to the main roads account in i the Public Works Fund, on account of the [ transactions of the year 1882-83, was found •

to be .£75,203, but no transfer was "made during the year 1883-84, the necessity for doing so not having arisen. The liabilities outstanding . on March 31, 1884, on this account amounted to .£33,577, exclusive of the sum of .£75,203, transferable to the main roads account. In respect to the transactions of the year 18S2-83, the estimated revenue during the year from sales of land -was .£275,600. The actual receipts proved to be .£232,545, being .£43,055 under the estimated amount. The revenue derived from the cash sales was .£163,758, and from sales on deferred payments £68,787. To the revenue I add the balance with which we began the year, ,£86,564, making the total receipts .£319,109. Deducting from this amount the expenditure, amounting to .£238,662, which includes the sum of .£68,804- paid to local bodies, we get a balance at the close of the year of £86,447, subject to the charge of £75,203 transferable to the main roads account. THE PUBLIC DEBT. On March 31, 1884, the gross public debt of the Colony amounted to £32,367,710, and the accrued sinking funds to £2,792,808. The net public debt was, therefore, £29,574,903. Of this sum, however, there remained unexpended £877,912. In the Financial Statement which I made in 1883, I informed the Committee that when the amount represented by Imperial guarantee on other debentures, amounting to £733,300, temporarily taken up out of the moneys at credit of the Public Works Fund, and which was not, therefore, included in the public debt of the Colony, had been raised, the net debt would amount to £28,508,581. During the past year, £599,399 of the sum mentioned has been raised, leaving £124,000 unraised, which I accordingly deduct, and get £28,384,581. During the year there has also been raised the second £1,000,000 of the loan of three millions authorised in I§B2, together with £250,000 authorised by " The Colonial Inscribed Stock Loan Act, 1882." The debt has further been increased to the extent probably of £161,300 by the conversion, to which I shall presently return, -of a large amount of 4£ and 5 per cent fivethirty debentures into 4 per cent inscribed stock at the Bank of England. The reduction' in the rate of interest in respect of this part of the debt has, however, caused a large annual saving. These increases of the public debt, amounting to £1,411,300, added to £28,384,581, give a total of £29,795,881. From this sum, however, I deduct the sinking funds accrued during the year, estimated at £220,979, leaving £29,574,903, which, as I have already stated, represents the net public debt of the Colony on March 31, 1884. COLONIAL INSCRIBED STOCK. As I have already stated, the loan authorised by "The Colonial Inscribed Stock Loan Act, 1882," was raised last year. It was taken up by the PostmasterGeneral at par as an investment on account of the Post Office Savings Bank, audit bears interest at the rate of 5 per cent per annum. The proceeds were, in accordance with the Act, paid into the Public Wor]£S Fuud. It was found, when preparations were being made for offering the stock to ! the public, that the Act would require ] amendment in certain directions to render j it workable, and it was proposed to offer the stock through the medium of the PostOffice. The whole of the loan has been temporarily taken up by the PostmasterGeneral until the Act can be amended and a favourable opportunity arises for disposing of the stock to the public. PUBLIC WORKS. For the year ending March 31 last, Parliament voted outof the Public Works Fund £2,014,757, exclusive of the vote for land purchase, £77,000. The actual expenditure was £1,278,710, exclusive of the expenditure for land purchase, amounting to £24,450, and also exclusive of the expenditure under " The Roads and Bridges Construct'on Act, 1882," amounting to £106,398, for which, as hon members know, no vote is taken in the annual appropriation. The chief items of expenditure were — Railways, £661,846; roads, £222,243 ; public buildings, £164,375 ; immigration, £107,041 ; and other services, £123,202. In the Public Works Statement made iv 1882, it was pointed out that a large ex- { penditure Svould be required for works upon ! the opened lines, and it was proposed to { allocate a large sum out of the balance of the five million loan for this purpose. The sum available has, I regret to say, been found quite inadequate to meet thenecessary expenditure. Under the authority of the votes of Parliament, liabilities have been incurred and expenditure made upon the open lines during the two years since March 31, 1882, to the extent of £830,000. Of this, £460,000 has been charged against the five million loan, leaving £370,000, which is at present charged under section 4 of the Appropriation Act of last year to the loan account, and ; for which further ways and means will ' have to be provided, or the amount will have to become a permanent charge against I the loan. It will be necessary, also, to ! make some provision for further expendii ture upon open lines, which cannot possibly ibe avoided. I fear that a sum of not less | than £100,000 will be required to be ex- | pended annually upon the open lines, besides all charges for renewal, maintenance, and repairs, jwhich are, of course, charged against the receipts, if the railways are to keep pace with the increasing traffic. THE CURRENT YEAR. Under ordinary circumstances, Mr Hainlin, it would now be my duty to submit, for the consideration of the Committee, the proposed expenditure of the ordinary revenue for the current year, and then to ask the attention of hon members to the estimated revenue with which it was intended to meet such expenditure. But, as matters stand in this House, I have only to ask the Committee to grant sufficient supplies to carry on the public service until the meeting of the new Parliament, and to make temporary provision for the deficit of last year, and such further provision for public works as may be required, until the new Parliament shall have decided how the expenditure upon open lines is to be ultimately charged. I shall ask the authority of Parliament to issue £150,000 of Deficiency Bills, to provide for the deficit in the Consolidated Fund to Ttfarch 31 last. These Bills will be in addition to the £400,000 at present authorised to be raised in temporary aid of the revenue. I may here say that lam of opinion, from the experience of last year, that £100,000 of Deficiency Bills are barely sufficient to carry on the public service without the risk of incurring serious difficulties. These difficulties arise chiefly from our having to pay at certain periods of the year lai v ge sums for interest aud sinking fund before the Consolidated Revenue has accumulated sufficiently to meet the necessary payment. The revenue comes in irregularly from Customs and railways, and especially from the Property tax, which is collected only once or twice a year. I propose, therefore, upon the present occasion, as the Property tax cannot be collected within the current half year, to .ask for further power to issue Deficiency Bills to the extent of £50,000. With this additional amount of ways and means, and if this House sees fit to grant authority to raise the extra £150,000 of Deficiency Bills to $nieet the deficit in last year's revenue, I think there will be no difficulty in making all noccssaiy payments [ until the meeting of the new Parliament. [ la reply to the Hon E. Richardson, the Hon E. Mitchelson said it was not intended to make any Public Works Statement.