PAPERS RELATIVE TO CERTAIN PROVINCIAL DEBTS OF THE PROVINCE OF WELLINGTON.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1868 Session I, B-08

B.—No. &

PAPERS RELATIVE TO CERTAIN PROVINCIAL DEBTS OF THE PROVINCE OF WELLINGTON.

PRESENTED TO BOTH HOUSES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, BY COMMAND OP HIS EXCELLENCY.

WELLINGTON.

1868.

B.—No. 8l

PAPERS RELATIVE TO CERTAIN PROVINCIAL DEBTS OF THE PROVINCE OF WELLINGTON.

No. 1. Copy of a Letter from His Honor I. E. Feathekston to the Hon. E. W. Stafford. Superintendent's Office, ~ tj ,„,, , .... . . Wellington, 2nd October, 1868. I do myself the honor to call the attention of the Colonial Government to the following Loans (enumerated in Schedule), raised under the authority of certain Acts of the Provincial Council of Wellington and which are not included in "The Public Debts Act, 1867." These loans amount to redeemable ™ J re£eroncG to tho Schedule, immediately or shortly Under the present depressed state of the finance of the Province, from the falling of the Consoli dated I und, the almost entire cessation of land sales, and the general decrease of the other Provincial receipts, the Provincial Government finds the payment of so high a rate of interest as 10 per cent on the sum of £/4 000 a very heavy burthen on its resources, and is unable to look forward with certainty to repayment of the capital sum of Loans 2 and 3. Laiuujr Having these facts in view, the Provincial Council, during its last Session, instructed the Provincial Government to apply to the General Assembly or the Government, with a view to obtain their consent to the conversion of these loans, omitted from the Schedule of "The Public Debts Act 1867 " ' intn Colonial Government 5 per cents. ' ' -n i/V? fJIT" 6?,* H, faV°Ur tffte ooMolidation, j would remind Miniaters that undor „ Tho publ; Debts Act 1867 tie Province of Wellington really is charged with £43.321 17s. 9d. more than tho amount of her actual indebtedness on account of loans affected by the provisions of that Act, viz.:— Amount of Wellington Loan upon which interest has hitherto been paid by Havvke's Bay 31 260 Q Q Sinking Fund accrued on— Provincial Loan, £25,000, Session IV., Act 2 ■) Provincial Loan, £50,000, Session XIV., Act 3 ... j 6,526 17 9 Sinking Fund on Land Purchase Loan, 1856 5 535 q q £43,321 17 9 <'TheTpab°£ eDUL tS/l^ n ''aW)S Ci iOn T Pti *S r lude. in the Sc"e<^ of Loans appended to Ihc 1 ablic Debts Act 186/ all the loans which had been raised by the Province at the time of tho passing of that Act and thereby to effect an annual saying to the Province of £7,656 10s I annex a statement showing the amount of the Wellington Loans at the time of the passing of the Public Debts Act, the present annual charge, and the amount of the loans and of the annual charge in the event of Mr. Fitznerbert s proposal for the conversion of Provincial Loans received by this mail being adopted You will perceive that while the indebtedness of this Province under his proDos-ih will he ,W«JI from £250 000 to £272,625, the annual charge on the Province will b" SffiSd Ij £7 656m8J There surely can be no reason why the Province should be prevented from effecting this savin- and therefore I trust that His Excellency's Ministers will enable the Provincial Government to do so by bringing these loans under the operation of the Public Debts Act ° a° So ' I have, Ac, The Hon. E. W. Stafford, Colonial Secretary, & c. L E' schedule a. Schedule of Unconsoltdated Loans, Pbototce of Wellington. 1. Wanganui Bridge Debentures, Session X., No. 6, redeemable £ s a on three months'notice ... ... 16 000 0 1) 2. Mortgage on Eeclaimed Land Harbour Eeserves Amendment Session VIIL, No. 3, to be redeemed 30th June 1869 33 000 0 n 3. Mortgage on Unreclaimed Land, Session XVI., No. 5 redeemable on notice. To be redeemed by 31st March, 1869 ... 25,000 0 0 £74,000 0 0

11—No, 8.

SCHEDULE B.

No. 2. Copy of a Letter from the Hon. E. W. Stafford to His Honor I. B. Feathehston. /at or-i Colonial Secretary's Office, Wellington, 15th October, 1868. ' I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Honor's letter of the 2nd instant, requesting that certain debts of the Province of Wellington may bo brought under the operation of " The Public Debts Act, 1867." , ~, . , ~ ,» I would draw your Honor's attention to an error in your letter, in which you refer to the sum oi £25 000 raised by mortgage of the unreclaimed land in the harbour ot Wellington as a debt which Sed atTetime of the passing of "The Public Debts Act, 1867,'; that mortgage having been effected after the passing of the Public Debts Act, Your Honor is also m error in estimating that the annual savin- in interest to the Province, from a compliance with your request would amount to £7 05(5 10s as that would bo the gross saving which would result if the interest on the mortgage debts were'added to that on the loans which are already brought under the operation of the Public Debts and Loan Consolidation Acts. The saving which would really result to the Province by bringing the Wanganui Bridge Debentures and the mortgages on the reclaimed and unreclaimed lands under tile Acts would amount, on the basis of the statement furnished by your Honor to only SgO per annum, and but a small part of that saving could accrue during the present financial y°arThe thGo lvernment has carefully considered your Honor's proposals, and is unable to accede to *h%t rtbt ffS"TJmed and unreclaimed lands are not debts of that kind which it was intended to guarantee under the Public Debts Act, being merely mortgages on a part ol the lrovmcial anded «to£ which are to be paid off as the proceeds of that estate are realized Had these debts been of the nature of ordinary Provincial Loans, the Provincial Act, which recently authorized the mortgage of the unreclaimed land could not have been passed without the special sanction ot the STourseTuggested by your Honor would entail a material addition to the permanent debts of the Province in opposition to the original intention of applying the proceeds of the land mortgaged to the payment of the debts. Even if your Honor's proposal were not inadmissible for the reason stated above thelateperiod of the Session of the General Assembly at which it is made would quite S2de the Legislature from giving it that careful deliberation which so important a proposa required A question like this, tvhich involves the assumption by the Colony ot a serious amount of pecuniary responsibility, could only be entertained as part of a general financial adjustment and could not properly be brought on at the close of a Session, when many members have left Wellington"after an arrangements been made that no new measure of political importance would be brought forward during the present Session. &0> His Honor the Superintendent, Wellington. ' E. W. Staffoud.

4

PAPERS RELATIVE TO WELLINGTON PROVINCIAL DEBTS.

Interest and SlNKINO FtlND. Present Ahount. Amount When Converted. Present Annual Charge. Annual Charge after Conversion. Land Purchase Loan, 1856 ... Gladstone Loan, 1856 £ s. d. 27,000 0 0 50,000 0 0 £ s. d. 27,000 0 0 50,500 0 0 59,000 0 0 { { £ 1,620 4,000 4,000 1,000 2,000 1,000 s. d. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 j £ s. d. 1,620 0 0 3,036 0 0 3,510 0 0 1,927 10 0 Union Bank Loan, 185G 50,000 0 0 i) » 25,000 0 0 32,125 0 0 Wanganui Bridge Manawatu Loan Reclaimed and Unreclaimed Land Loan 152,000 16,000 30,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 168,625 16,000 30,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 13,620 1,600 3,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 10,123 10 960 0 1,800 0 0 0 0 58,000 0 0 58,000 0 0 5,800 0 0 3,480 0 0 Annual Saving ... 256,000 0 0 272,625 0 0 2-1,020 0 0 16,363 10 7,656 10 0 0 24,020 0 0