The Financial Statement.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2066, 11 May 1887, Page 2

The Financial Statement.

Tim Financial Statement was delivered in the House last night to the surprise of everybody. Tins morning’s New Zealand Times says of it ; - It is undoubtedly a very clever and skilfully compiled Statement, in which the bust is made of a bad case. It was not pleasant to have to announce a deficit of nearly LIOO.OOO, which would have been double that amount but for an extra sum of 1.101,000 boiug unexpectedly obtained from accrued Sinking Fund. Sotting aside this windfall, the regular revenue tell short of the Treasurer's Budget Estimate by some L 300.000, viz. Railways, L 157,8K < ; Customs, L 124 235; mi ! Stamps, l.lfi .'!.;7 the balance being made up by deficiencies in deer fluty aud Property Tax. it will lm i kserved that the Treasury versions of tlio Customs aud Railway returns are smaller by .wur LIO.OOO than the Jepaitmeniul results I ■ dready published. The discrepancy is apparently due to the full receipts not • i.aviug been brought to account in thu tTettsury books, .vgaiust ibis huge short- i coming uf LSOO.OUO there is (tie LK'-d.l* 1(1 I windfall fioiu thu Sinking Fund, and nearly j •■..10(1,1.00 of savings reported to have In eii 1 •■'"Ob. leaving the net d i licit a little under ' ■ T ‘ «• noteworthy V'd Si! Julius . Utii.tn.H a. - this ... licit, bill Vaad dots nut provide ... •■ . . itiposis til let it stand over until „ i l of next session With his alticttu. ■'< Auijor At kin son’s dclicit still flesh iu ti.v memory, ties will scarcely escape hosli'e i Miuuoni, but will suggest some references to Hansard. fim financial proposals for the current year comprise some very heavy and sweeping increases iu the Customs, an iu- ' crease ; n the Property Tax on properties of JUSOO and upward, a special laconic ti,x on one class of the community, the Civil Ser- , rants e.timated to yicla '/JO.OOO. uu.: eductions u. expenditure to the extent of .160 000 We congratulate the Government . • a being able to show 80 large a savin.t. Thu ■ Try is, it has been so lore driajtu Thu • iroposals as to Property Tex and uu’-uii ve suall deal with on another day, but of ae intended special tax on the unfor.mate Civil Servants, who also will 1 ave to pay Customs Duties and Property | tax. we have no hesitation in expressing an ; pinion at once. It is a most outrageous | 1 ad indefensible class tax which cannot be 1

too vigorously denounced, and which we trust the House will utterly refuse to cmmtera r ce. \Ve cannot help uciicing, too, tiict wherein too Hall Atkinson Ministry in the former time of need reduced their own salaries by 20 per cent., the present Government only offer a reduction of 7 i percent, in th,\, salaries. This is suggestive.