GENERAL GOVERNMENT REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.

West Coast Times, Issue 126, 12 February 1866, Page 3

GENERAL GOVERNMENT REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.

From The Press.

On Saturday last avo published a table prepared by Mr. FitzGerald for use in his speech to the electors, showing the revenue and expenditure of the General Government for the last five years, and v. ' the estimated revenue and expenditure for the next five years. It appears that the increase of the revenue has been at the rate of 29 per cent., Avhilst that of the expenditure has been at the rate of 28 per cent. In this estimate no account is taken of the Military and Native expenditure, or of the interest on loans. The* plan taken iv making this table seems to be one exceedingly Avell adapted to place tho whole financial state of the colony before the public in a form in which it can be most readily and easily understood. The future increase of the revenue is calculated ot 20 per cent, per annum, that is at 8 per cent, less than the annual increase of the past nVe years, Avhilst the expenditure is calculated to increase at the rate of 30 per cent., that is tAvo per cent, above the increase of the, past nVe years, and L 50.000 a year has been added for the Panama service. The calculation is, therefore, less favorable to the colony than may be expected. It appears that the excess of reA'enue over expenditure for each of the five years, commencing with tho 30th ot June, 1866, will be as follows : — 1867 « £570,186 1868 .. .. .. 649,443 1869 .. . . '.. 731,117 1870 '805,661 1871 885,60 ft If it Avere not for the Native and Military expenditure and the loans, the Avhole of these balances \vould come to the Provincial chests ; but they have to be diminished by Avhatovor«the colony has to pay for Military, Native, and Interest charges. The principle of the finance of the late GoA'ernment Avas that tho colony should borroAv no more ; the AA'holo of the Avar was to be wound up with the expenditure of the £3,000,000 loan. The interest on this at six per cent, and two per cent for sinking fund, is £240,000 a year. And' this is a constant charge, neither increasing nor decreasing. The above balance, therefore, diminished by this charge, will be as follows : — 1867 . . . . £330,186 1868 .. .. 409,443 1869 491,117 1870 565,661 1871 ... .. 645,609 The L 240,000 is an inevitable charge which must be paid, except under one condition which Aye shall notioe presently ; but the remaining charges on these balances — those for military and native services are Within the control of the |colony, and may be increased or diminished at the pleasure of the House of Representatives. In the table referred to, the native expenditure is put doAvn at L 20.000, and the military services at L 120,000, But it is ' simply a question of cutting the coat according to the cloth. Every farthing spent on these services is so much taken out of the shares paid to the provinces. Assuming the expenditure to be limited to the above sums we have the balances named in Mr FitzGerald's speech as those coining to the provinces : — 1867 .. .. £190,186 1868 .. .. 269,443 1869 .. .. 351,117 1870 .. .. 425,661 1871 .. .. 505,609 These sums represent something very considerably less than the three-eighths of the Customs which have been hitherto the minimum of the provinces' share. For 1867 and 1868 the balance is under two-eighths, and for the three folloAving years it is still under threeeighths. The practical" questions- then put to the colony are, can the country be goA'erned Avith the above expenditure ? and secondly, is there any way of raising additional income ? We believe that the country can and ought to be governed for tho sums above specified. But there will be no chance of this result unless the House of Representatives insists upon the Estimates being adhered to, and unless Ministers are subject to fine and. imprisonment for spending .public money Avithout warrant of laAv. At present so far as any practical control goes, the Avhole thing is a mere theory. It has no reality. The Ministers are not responsible to law at all. ' The next point is, can the revenues be increased ? They can, in twa ways. First, by direct taxation, such as Stamp Duties, tho easiest and cheapest of all taxes to collect. The great advantage of this form of direct taxation is that it enables the Government, the moment the pressure is over, to relax the import duties, and so to relieve the poorer classes of the community from taxes Avhich press most heavily upon them. ' The other plan is that often proposed, and which avc entirely agree Avith the "Lyttelton Times,"' should be again " and again insisted on until obtained, that England should give us her gua.rautee to the Avhole debt. These tAvo sources of revenue Avould give — the Stamp duties £70,000, and the English guarantee two per cent, on 3,000,000, or £60,000. Add these to the balances "given above, and Aye find that they amount very nearly to the old threeeighths of former times. At all events there is no appearance in all this of any /-necessity for coming on the land fund.

Near Potsdam, in Prussia, gunpowder is being manufactured from wood on something like the gun-cotton principle)