THE BUDGET.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 1994, 10 December 1863, Page 8

THE BUDGET.

On the 10th November, the Hon. Reader Wood, the Colonial Treasuier, made his annual financial statement to the House. It discloses some very satisfactory indications of the growing prosperity of the Colony during the past two years. The Southern Cross gives the following figures : " In 1860 the estimated value of imported goods was £1,548,333, and the year 1862 makes a return of £4,626,082 — showing an increase of £3,077,749. The difference in exports, chiefly on account of gold from Otago, between the ~year 1860 aud the year 1562, was £ 1,834,734, the amounts being: 1860, £588,000; 1862, £2,422,734. The estimated revenue for the past financial year was £458,000, which was exceeded by £91,163, the Customs revenue alone yielding a surplus of £76,150. A small saving has likewise 6een effected on the sums voted by the House. The estimated ordinary revenue for the current financial period is £691,600. The customs revenue is estimated at £603,600, and the postal at £40,000, the balance being distributed over the other sources of ordinary revenue. The estimated general expenditure is £297,291 4s 3d, and provincial expenditure £146,616; the surplus j revenue being taken at 36247,692 14s lOd. I The main featme of the Budget, how- < ever, was that part which treated of the suppression of the rebellion in the North Island, and the expenditure which would be necessary to accomplish the object thoroughly. It appears that from the Ist of July to the Ist of November, the country has been put to a war expenditure of £200,000. The Government propose raising £2,5 C 0,000 (or by absorbing the half million loan of last year £3,000,000), by way of loap, to meet the present emergency and prevent the recurrence of rebellion by the natives. One million sterling, it is estimated, will quell the rebellion ; and it is contemplated to distribute the remaining balance thus : immigration £300,000; arms, £100,000; public works, £9oo,ooo; telegraph" through the Middle Island and under Cook's Straits, £150,000. With an Imperial guarantee the money will be got at 4 per cent, but failing that the debentures will bear interest at 5 per cent, with 1 per cent sinking fund. It is calculated that after locating military settlers as contemplated, there will be two millions of acres of waste lands in Auckland, Tarauaki and Wellington provinces available for sale to meet the loan. We agree with the Colonial Treasurer that this surplus of land, with the increased revenue which will result from the introduction of several thousand settlers, will enable the colony to meet its vast engagements. Doubtless the undertaking is one of the greatest magnitude which 1 it has ever fallen to the lot of any British colony to carry out, but we are not the less sanguine, on that account, of success. Annexed is an abstract of the Budget ! The hon Colonial Treasurer divided his statemeut into five parts, as follows : First, an account of the position of the various loans; secondly, a statement of the revenue and expenditure for the financial year ending on tho 30lh June last ; thirdly, a statement of extraordinary expenditure incurred on account of the war, since the Ist of July last; fourthly, an estimate of tho revenue and expenditure for the current year; andfifthly, the proposals of the Government with reference to the financial arrangements •which would be necessary in consequence of the present state of affairs. On the firstpoint, he explained that the £150,000 war loan of 1860 was about all expended. The Imperial guarantee not having been yet obtained to the Half-million loan of last session/only £100,000 of it had been raised, and that on Treasury bills. Nearly £90,000 of this sum was expended. The

total amount to which the Treasury was liable on the 30th of June last was j £119,594 Is 9d. The customs revenue for the financial year 1862-1863, which had heen estimated at £413,000, had realized £489,150, the increase being in the provinces of Canterhury, Otago, and Southland. The total ceceipts had been £549,963, as against £458,000 estimated. The year's expenditurebadbeen £286,242 thefcustomsrevenuepaidtothe Provinces £183,280, and refunds £4,42-5; leaving a surplus of 76,016, Upon the sums voted, there had been a saving of £6,000 against an unauthorised expenditure, of £12,700. Against the surplus of £76,016 he proposed to charge the unauthorised expenditure, the cost of a Custom House at Dunedin, aiid an unjust postal charge made by the Home Post-office authorities, leaving still £36,744 for distribution. On account of the native insurrection there had been spent since July Ist to Oct 13th, £146,194 6s. Id. Up to the Ist of the present month £200,000 would cover every expenditure and liability, showing, he thought, an economy for which the Government had not received credit. The hon gentleman next entered into figures showiug the vast progress made by the colony in the past two years. The increase of imports and exports is par ticularly worth notice. For 1860, the value of the imports was. £1,548,333, and of exports £583,000 ; for 1862, the imports were £4,625,082, and the exports £2,422,734 ; and the total revenue had increased from £464,739 to 1,186,009. After some observations on the tariff, the Treasurer proceeded to give the estimates for the ensuing year, as follows : — Total customs revenue, £603,600, of which £105,000 was expected from Auck land ; postal revenue was estimated at £40,000; judicial, et £25,000; and other items brought up the total estimated revenue at £691,600. The expenditure was estimated at £297,840 genarally charged, and £146 314 provincially charged. Of the latter, £21,633 was devoted to Auckland. The fih Customs [ would amount to £226,350, leaving a surplus of £21,096. With regard to his last subject, the suppression of existing rebellion and prevention of it in future, lof course it was impossible for him to foretell the expense that might be required. He did, not believe that a single battle would finish the war, nor yet that it would be iuternainable, but when they saw, as they soon would that all their efforts against us ara practically unavailing, and that we are by far the superior power, then they would submit to the sovereignty of the Crown, and to the law For the suppression of the rebellion the Government would ask for a loan of £1,000,000, and further for purposes of immigration, £300,000: public works, such as roads, bridges, rendering rivers navigable, surveys and general expenses of location of immigrants, £900,000; for the establishment of telegraphic communication throughout the Middle and under Cook's Strait, £150,000, the question of further extension, to Auckland and elsewhere being left open for a year, in the hope that the state of the country would then permit of its being carried overland; thus making a tofal loan of £2,500,000. If the Imperial guarantee to the half million loan pf last year could not be easily obtained on the same terms as were offered Mr. Ward, the Government proposed to absorb that loan in this making a total then of three millions on which they proposed to ask the Imperial guarantee, the expenditure being necessary for the pacification of the country, civilization of the natives, &c. If this were granted, the interest would ba 4 per cent ; if not they must offer £6 per cent interest, and £l per cent sinking fund, to be charged in the first instance on the general revenue of the whole country, but ultimately on the proceeds of the sale ofland in rebel districts, which might be expected before very long to repay the whole of this large expenditure ; for they estimated that the and belonging to the rebels in the Thames, Waikato, Taranaki, aud Wanganui districts would after the location of settlers, leave a balance available for sale " of about 2,000,000 of acres. After thanking the committee for their attention, the honorable gentleman concluded a speech of one hour forty minutes by moving the following resolution, " That in the opinion of this committee, the expense of repressthe present insurrection in the Northern i Island and colonising the rebellious districts, should be provided for by loan."