FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume I, Issue 65, 28 September 1872, Page 2

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Is the following summary shillings and pence are omitted

The Hsu so went into Committee of Supply. The/ Honorable Treasurer, T. B. Grillies, made his Financial Statement.. lie said his object would be to clearly state the financial position of the colony and the state of the several funds constituting the public accounts. He would endeavour to do that, not from a sanguine nor from, a despondent point of* view, dealing with figures only with a desire to render them valuable because accurate. Certainly he would not knowingly permit any feeling as to the position of parties in the House to cause him to impugn the crcdit of t l -:e colony or retard its real progress. The real amount of the colonial debt at the present time is £9,985,930, but there was a sum of £576,848 of sinking fund accrued. The amount charged consequent on the debt, and which must be provided out of general and provincial revenue was £616,895. From a carefully compiled balance sheet of the consolidated fund account, he concluded that on 30th January last there was a deficit of £33,345 on that account to be provided for, and not a surplus of £10,562, with which to commence the current year, as was stated by his predecessor. The discrepancy therefore was £45,908. He accounted for it thus. He believed the amount recoverable from the provinces was £28,917, or £5,360 less than set down in his predecessor's statement. He could not treat as an asset any part of the £13,650 for which his predecessor took credit as recoverable from the confiscated land account. The Government meant to grant a considerable portion of those lands to the natives from whom they were taken, and the balance would not more, if indeed it would do so much, than meet claims and pay Govornments for management. His predecessor omitted from his calculations £2,311 of interest due on 30th June, upon temporary loan debentures, deficit bills, &c. He also omited a liability of £17,585, in respect of saving oil Civil List, the Native Schools Fund, and the Armed Constabulary Reserve Fund. In addition to these four sums, he (the Colonial Treasurer) had ascertained that £5,000 of additional liabilities had existed up to the 30th of June, a great part of the amount having been paid since that date. Thus the discrepancy of £43,908 was accounted for, and the deficiency of £33,345 on the consol "dated fund at the commencement of the financial v-.sar was shown to exist under the Defence and Other Purposes Loan Act. There had been received up to June 30, £630,000 of which, at that date, there remained available for Defence Services during the current year £106,922. His predecessors estimated tlie amount available to be £158,247. So that there was a discrepancy of £51,324 to be accounted for. Of that discrepancy £23,792 was accounted for by tlie fact stated by his predecessor, that the £158,247 said to be available, was inclusive of their existing liabilities. To that amount, therefore, the sum available for the current year was reduced. Of the remaining £27,531 of discrepancy, £8,358 was accounted for by his predecessor having taken credit for that sum in the Conj solidated Fund account as receivable from Defence, but having to debit it as a liability

against- defence. Under tlio amount under schedule 2, £9563 was for the redemption of Otago Dock Bonds not yot redeemed, and wo* therefore a liability against this'fund which might have to bo mot any day. Still .'urther, £9373, then the discrepancy, was accounted for bv that sum which was advanced on account of confiscated lands from J lie consolidated funds having been treated as ail asset, a course which he could not follow.. Add to the amount already stated, £235, which 4 represented the charges for raising the last £150,000 of this loau, but of which his predecessor was not aware, and the discrepancy of £51,323 was accounted for. There had been up to June 30th, roised under the Immigration and Public Works Loan Act a total of £1,(500,000, of which there remained on the day named £5<55,09(>, in cash a\a'lable for works already contracted for, or which might, bo contracted for. ' As regarded this fund, but. little discrepancy existed between the accounts of bis predecessor and those now submitted, except that, his predecessor in stating the available balance at £025.683 omitted to take into account £(>0,250 of liabilities then existing, and that, his predecessor did not include the charges on raising the loan instalment, the accounts of which had not. at. the time been received in the colony. He need not detain thocommittee bv reference to the Land l 4 und, Au\, because he believed the statements made as to them bv his predecessor to be substantially JLe wjuLl next explain the position of the several funds included under the general title of the Immigration and Public Works Loan Fund account. The date up to which his explanation as to those funds would reach, was September 10th, the day on which the present. Government took olhee. l 4 irst as to the .Railway Fund. The amount authorised to be raised was £2,000,000, to which must be added £37,202 narepresenting the moiety of Stamp Duties lb/0-71, less refunds. The total amount, of accounts passed for payment was £3U,361. There were liabilitiesamounting to £982,317 for rails and rolling stock on railways begun or contracted for, and there were further liabilities amounting to £298,1(58, being the estimated cost of rails ordered or contracted for on account, of lines not yet begun or conti acted for.. Then of tlw £2,037,202 there remained £151,321 in cash, and the rails last mentioned, so that on the 1 )th September, there was available for railways not yet begun or contracted for, cash and rails representing £7-10,000. The Engineer's estimate of the probable cost of the railways authorised but not contracted for show a. total of £2,C00,110, so that deducting the £710,000 and considering all the facts and conf ingences, it was fair to estimate that at least an additional million and a half would have to bo provided before the railways authorised by the Assembly could be completed; but this position of affairs did not require to bo dealt with at present, The balance of each on hand of £835,09(5 would enab'o works already contracted for to be carried on during the present year, and would also enable the Government to initiate and push forward ot hers of the works authorised by l'a liamont. The Minister for Pubic Works would inform the House what those works would be, and during the recess the Government would work with a full recognition of the fact that the policy of railways and public works should not bo reversed, and that to bo a benefit to the colony it must be carried on vigorously by the Government, at the same time with prudence, judgment and economy. Of the one million authorised to be raised for Immigration and Defence, there remained on September 10, after providing for liabilities up to 31st December next, as estimated by the lato Public Works Minister, £808,714 of the £300,000. For Gold Fields Water Supply there remained a balance after providing £51,495 from the Thames Water Race £231,755. The sum authorised for Roads in the North Island was £100,000, and there remained £225,084. available after providing for contracts, and after meeting liabilities up to September 10. On the same date £135,175 was available out of the £200,000 for land purchases in the North Island. On telegraph extension account, tlio £(50,300 appropriated had been over-spent, to the amount of £15,383. His predecessor proposed to meet that excess and provide for furl he r extension by allocating for those purposes £10,()(0 unapportioned "of the Immigration and Public Works Loan, and the Committee would now be asked to. allocate for the present £30,000 out of the £10,300. A very disturbing clement existed in the fact that the £100,000 set aside for Road Boards last year was ordered to be paid out of the Public Works Fund, but was not directed to be .charged against any one of the accounts included in that fund. A decision on the point must now become to,and his recommendation, after very careful consideration, was that the £100,000 should be charged against the immigration portion of the loan. He did not propose to again support road boards getting loan, for be beloved that the members of the boards themselves recognised that by such aids they gained merely temporary benefit at the cost of constant future taxation. As to theestimate.s of revenue and expenditure for the present year, he should alter but little from his predecessor, save in a few items. It was unnecessary for him to enunciate a general financial policy different from that of his predecessor, for the present Government were called in office on the one ground that the previous Government had failed in their admin i strati an of the policy agreed upon. His duty was to carry out tlie existing policy subject to such modifications and reforms as he should indicate. The consolidated revenue had on the whole, been fairly estimated. His predecessor had apparently not taken into consideration as revenue about £9000 which would be received from surplus interest on Trust Fund and other accounts as he proposed to provide out of the Consolidated Fund for interest on all the Colonial Securities, including those held by the Trust Fund. It was but fair that surplus interest on such fund should be treated as revenue, therefore he added £9,000 to the items of incidental receipts, with the exception stated. Accepting the esthnstes already before the Committee as correct, his calculation wou'd make the estimated revenue for 1872-3 stand at £1,085,000. As regarded Expenditure on Consolidated Fuud, there were three points on which his proporals wmild differ fiom those of his predecessor. Firstly, he did not propose to continue to charge interest and sinking fund on the Immigration and. Public Works Loan itself, giving as a grant in aid one-half of the Stamp Duties and a further contribution from the Confiscated Land Fund. Instead of" that plan, he proposed to charge the interest and sinking fund in question directly upon the Consolidated Fund, as the law requires. He would retain oen-half of the Stamp Duties towards meeting thecharge. First making the necessary alteration in the law, and he would charge against the Public Works Loan for this year only such balance of the interest and sinking fund as the Consolidated Fund could not bear. In that case the result would be much the same as that proposed by his predecessor, but it could be arrived at directly, and not in an indirect and misleading manner. Secondly, ho proposed to inorease the capitation allowance to the provinces by recognising that Maories were large consumers of dutiable goods, and by substituting a payment of 10/ per head, on account of them instead, of giving an arbitrary allowance* Taking 15/ per head as before, Europeans, 10/; Maories, 10/ and continuing the special allowance of 2/6 perlead of European population to Westland, the capitation pavment3 would stand thus —Anukland > £59,866; Taranaki, £4,626; Wellington, £21,422; Hawkes' Bay, £6,214; Nelson, £17,538; Marlborough, £4,222; Canterbury, £36,983; Westland, £13,442 - t Qtago t

.•655,881 j tho total would bo £200,241. Tn'rJly, ho proposed to calculate upon a reduction during tho remainder of the year of .CI 0,41/1! upon the estimates of ordinary expenditure. Classes J to Ban brought down by his predecessor: There had not, been time to re-east (illri re-print them, nnd to do ho would confuse the account* «f I lie Treasury and tho Comptroller and the gr >hs e timalcd expenditme amounted to .CI,I-8,915. I Jed net tin; £10,000 savings to be made, anil tho rictt expenditure would be £1,008,915, there must be added the debit balance already .stated of £33,345 l(M«t £15,222 on account of Civil List and Native Schools, Havings which would probably not be rcijuircd this year. Then then; would be a total estimated expenditure on Consolidated Fund for tho year of .CI, 117,038, which amount included the whole interest and sinking fund on Public Works Loan, amounting to £90,900. There would t.hii/4 be an excess of £32,038 of expenditure over receipts, and he proposed for this year to deduct the Immigration and Public Works Fund with £34,500 of the interest and Sinking Fund on that loan. Tho difference between tho two accounts would probably be required for supplementary estimates. If lie made the financial statement next year, ho would altogether oppose charging an.f portion of the interest and sinking fund on the Immigration and Public Works Loan to the loan itself. Tie wo uld prefer to see and to propose if necessary hereafter, to augment the revenue by a change in tho incidence of taxation rather than the colony Hhouhl he deceived by the idea that it was getting public works for borrowed money, while that money was really being spent in paying interest upon the loans themselves. He believed that reduction amounting to £25,000 a year could be made on the CMtimat.es, and the Committee fairly complain if lie brought down estimates next year without effecting Hiich reductions, He recognised tho important reforms instituted in the Treasury department by his predecessor, and he hoped during the recess, freed from the cn.re of any other ofliee to devote himself to reducing those intended reforms into a practical shape such as would be beneficial alike to the department and to the public.