GENERAL SUMMARY.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXII, Issue 2568, 7 September 1867, Page 7

GENERAL SUMMARY.

— ♦ — • 'jTjete work of the session progrt!*. 803 bh slowly. Immediately after the despaic ■of our last monthly summary by th -Panama mail, that pet measure of th ministry, the Local Government Bill, wa defeated by a large majority, and th< danger averted \yhiph it threatened t< Provincial institutions . The Bill was th< keystone of the Ministry's policy. It sei , Tip a strong form of local Government apart from provincial institutions} which had it become law, would have been materially .weakened. This decided defeat seems to have convinced the Ministry that it would be nedcssary to abandon their anti-provincial action, and being wise in their generation, they havo bowed to circumstances and kept their places. The opposition seeing this*) appears to be content with exacting its own terms from the men who are in office, without making any special effort to turn them .out. Mr Fitzherbertte financial statement has however again'r/oused latent antagonisms, and a debate, has been going on about it for five dayjs. : The statement,' which was made on the. < ,22nd. ult, contains a very full and^eqmpjie.hensive explanation of the ■financiaL I ,con{ljtion.of the colony. We have givi^itajjsomeiength.inanother part •of the present issue,- but its main features may be recapitulated 1 here. Dealing, with the paßt financial year, the Colonial Treasurer showsthat the actual ordinary expenditure was £1,063,382, the estimated ordinary expenditure having beeu •£1,057,058. The estimated extraordinary •expenditure was £306,501), as compared with an actual expenditure of £282,370 17s lOd. The total actual ordinary and extraordinary expenditure for tne year 1866-7 has therefore been £17,805 less than theVestimated amount. For the same period there is a difference of '£2o,ooo between the estimated and the actual-ordinary revenue;- :the former being £1,058,500, and the Jatter. £1,028,006. The Stamps, which had; (been (-estimated : to. realise £50,000/' h&vd. .only produced about £34,000.; by some other details, we find that the total receipts, ordinary, incidental and extraordinary, for the year ending 30th June, 1867, were £1,343,495, while the expenditure was £1^345,753. Mr Fitzherbert closes ' his reference to the past by stating that a Bum of £2-1,431, being money belonging . to intestate estates and other trust funds, sometimes . hitherto >«,used by the. Government, has been placed ,. as ja . special deposit in the Bank of -New Zealand. The overdraft of £26,361 &b the ßank of New Zealand has also been paid off. The revenue for 1867-8 is estimated at £l,Oßl,oob.>. xind.: the expenditure at £744,178 7s 6d, but certain items have been taken put: of the ordinary estimates and classed'as extraordinary expenditure. ' In the opinion of the Treasurer taxation j cannot bßi'ftcfeftsed, but it is not intended to reduce it. -It is rjropose.d to divide the consolidated revenue between the colony and the provinces— the latter paying sundry specified charges — to consolidate all the provincial loans by exchanging provincial' for colonial securities ; and, ■inasmuch, aa.- the provinces are in debt to the General ' Government to the amount of £183,000, that is to be wiped, off, on condition that some of the . provinces pay such sums as shall adjust the amount fairly between all. Telegraph extension, lighthouses, .defence, and Taranaki debentures, amounting to £260,000 in 1 ' all, are proposed to be provided for by raising the full sum of £3,000,000 under the ;Act of 1863. It seems the discount was £260,000 on the whole loan, so that sum is now proposed' to be raised. Mr Fitzherbert ma.kqs out to our intense gra-' tification, tjiat w° c\on't. owe the. Imperial Government anything, but that on the contcary we 'have a claim against it of £147.000-, which he expects to get paid, and we sincerely hope ho may. Then certain expenditure under. the loan which it was proposed to charge locally, has not been recovered from the provinces, and Mr Fitzherbert proposes to relieve them of J that 1 debt. Finally, that very costly aiifcl, unproductive estate, the confiscated lands, is to be handed over to the Drnvincos. -Altogether, the Budget is a remarkably able production, but nevertheless' scarcely one of its details has .escaped- adverse criticism. Somo of the leading centralists who have hitherto" supported the Ministry, object to their financial proposals, as being too fav.orajblo for the provinces at the expense of tlie colony ; while on the other haiid ; a few of tho provincialises think the.ih'''the, \ r ery reverse. Besides this, there is "a., growing feeling in the House that -no further loans should bo contracted, -and Unit the ' expendi ure should be 'materially reduced. The Goe eminent ■'proposal to raise £260,000 lore under the Throe Million Loan Act has been yejj.much. .condemned, and the Government, therefore, agreed, to wil hdraw it s ftiid Jbring .forward -instead a fresh loauv/Aetf :Ibe debate was-. con- ■ tinued laß%MHi"gbfcj- and had not 'concluded as we write. Besides discussing the Budget, the -Assembly has done some other work.

i The Maori Representation Bill has '■ passed the Lower Houso, and if it meets 1 with equal good fortune amongst the , * Lords," we shall have in a future scsi ! eion three natives as members of the '• Assembly, and perhaps one or two aboriginal Howorables in the Upper Houso. J We of course ought to.speak highly of this 3 . measure as enabling the natives to help , in making those laws which they are ex- ■ pected to obey, but in truth; we don't expect much good, to come of it. The! 3 natives are not intellectually fit to per- ■ form creditably the duties of the legislator or the statesman, and those who are elected will simply be the tools of a few members who possess influence with 5 1 the race. We think their "presence in the Hous'S will amount to a burlesque ; > however, the experiment is going to be tried, .and -we shall watch it with some interest. Another Bill, the object of which is to exclude public defaulters from tho Assembly, passed its second reading after much discussion. The House wanted to affirm the principle that dishonest: men should not hold seats in the legislature, but nevertheless, it is understood that the Bill will either be very materially modified in Committee or altogether thrown out. The Bill being retrospective, Was aimed at Mr Macaiidrew, the Superintendent of Otago, but the House and the country are very weary of this matter and do not wish it to be further discussed. A new Bankruptcy Bill is also being pushed through, which is a very bad and clumsy imitation of the Scotch Act. We have been talking for six years about bankruptcy law, and have framed three acts, until the code has become a' complete muddle which even lawyers do not pretend to understand. Many other bills have been introduced, but as they have not been printed, the press and the public are" entirely ignorant of their nature. The Government are spending at tho rate of nearly £20,000 a year for reporting, printing, and paper, yet their printing, office cannot do the work urgently required, and not a line of it is allowed to be done by private contractors. The work which is dove by the Government itself costs the country much higher than if it were performed by contract, but the object being to injure newspaper proprietors, and thiis cripple the press, the cost is a matter of indifference so long as that is accomplished. The intelligence brought by tho Panama mail of Sir (s-eorge Grey's intended recall has been received with much dissatisfaction throughout the colony. It can be gathered from the tone and assertions of the Duke of Buckingham's despatch, that the bold stand made by his Excellency on behalf of the colony against the unjust treatment of the Imperial Government, Has helped to bring about the present result. During the last two years Sir George Grey has stoutly fought our battles, alike against General Cameron and the Secretary of S^ate ' for the Colonies. The service which he has thus done' the colonists has earned their heartfelt gratitude', and they will look upon the loss of this warm and able friend as being nothing short 1 of a public calamity. Tho Legislature has framed an ( address to his Excellency, expressive of regret at his recall. , „ ' ; ■ New Zealand colonists, despite the injustice of' the Colonial Office, are at heart loyal to the core, and the approaching visit of the Duke of Edinburgh. is looked forward to with the greatest interest. ' His Royal Highness is expected to arrive at Melbourne about the 14fch I October, and~ will be met there by Sir George Grey and one member of the Ministry, Who intend proceeding there by H.M.S.S Cliarybdk A sum of 4.-0000 has been voted by the Assembly to defray the expenses of his reception Business affairs throughout' the' colony are somewhat depressed We have been living too fast and pur undertakings have been top extensive for. our means , Taxation is; high, the " Permanent charges" for interest and sinking funds absorb a large share of revenue which otherwise might be devoted to developing tho resources ,bf the couulry, and so if we are to prosper; ie!renchment is inevitable. By and bye' we will pull through, but to bring 'that about there must be no more loans —no more in tho meantime of that " great borrowing future" which the Colonial Treasurer so gleefully anticipated to be in store for New Zealand. It is a satisfactory sign that our protest against extravagant expenditure and increased taxation has been echoed in Nelson, where a Financial "Reform Association is being formed. , We shall give the movement our Jhear't jest support.