«.—No. IA,

6

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

This very interesting return gives us a bird's-eye view of the particular attention of the Committee to my observations) wm ■whole progress and result of the relative colonial and provincial decided to be made in order that the Provinces might be placed expenditure of ordinary revenues since 1858. Before quitting in the position of being able themselves to make a provision for it, I contrast the grand totals, and if the amounts of provincial outlying and road districts of a character as permanent as that charges and surplus revenue distributed be added together it will which, according to the explanation I have just given, is now be found that the total of provincial charges amounts to contemplated by the proposals of the Government to be made £2,762,000, and that of colonial chai-ges to £2,348,000 ; thus for the Provinces themselves. In further support of the general showing an excess of provincial over colonial charges amounting exposition wliich I have just given of the principles on which to £414,000. (It will now be quite apparent to the Colony, the financial policy of the Government has been based, I where the proceeds of its taxation have been absorbed.) It will proceed to develope our particular proposals, and begin with— be seen that if the sum of £183,689, above referred to as ue scm man w«. buih , , tjie CONgoIIDATION or pkoviNCIAL LOANS. overpaid to the Provinces, had not been so overpaid, the _ . , . , r , , , . ~ It is almost unnecessary to say one word to prove the revenues of New Zealand (exclusive oi territorial revenue) would , . J J; , - - , , , necessity of some such measure. Perhaps no measure has been have been nearly equally shared between the Colony on the ~ ~ , ~ , . , ~ . ~ ~ J H J . , , . more distinctly called for by considerate men of all parties, one hand and the Provinceson the other, during the last nine , , ~. * ~ J .. ~ „ , , , , , b by the public Press, and by those friends m Lngland who watch years; and it is patent that the amounts hitherto appropriated ~ „ . , ~ „,, ~ , . i , . . , T , . „ J ' F m a -3 the financial operations of the Colony with interest. It is sufllfor provincial services have not more than sufficed to provide ... ~ ~, ~ T , , , j. * , - . . - cicnt to say that the appearance on the London market of a for the payment of the interest and sinking funds on provincial . , „ ~ .. ..„, ... r J , , . . . great vanetyof paper, all secured on diuVrcnt parts oi therevenue loans and the eener;il maintenance of provincial administration. „., „ , „,.,,. . , ... , . . h l . of the Colony, all bidding against one another with the lender Unless, therefore, it be decided to force on fundamental changes. - .. . , . , . .. . , , ~, ~ ~, . ' ""olc ' » 'of capital, has had (as it must have had) a disastrous effect on ■which may be effected in either of two ways, according as either , ,„ .., — , ~ , . .. . } . -. 6. the credit of the Colony generally, and has resulted in very Dartv holding extreme views may be dominant: that is to say, , , , , m ~ . „ l»ujr jiuiuui,, iii i ,T „, , serious loss and embarrassment. Two years ago this House the Provinces may be cast adnll and left absolutely to take care . , ... ~ 9 ~, ~ t .-, -r, P wu, j.iuv.iiv.c» may uv «»"u> j awoke to a sense of the evil, and prohibited the Provinces from of their own loans and credit, and brought face to face with . . . ~ , . t, , in v>* »uv & exercising any further borrowing powers. But a general call the people, by being obliged to tax them directly for the special , , , ~ _, ~ , ~ ....,.., f■ ' ' b b ~.,./ , has been made on the Government, to which it would fail in its purposes of provincial administration (in which event the cost , , ._ , „ . ~, , n] , , rl * . ~ ~,...,,, duty to the Colony it it did not respond, to go still further of the necessaries of life might be considerably diminished by a ' * j . JT^.-. ■ , ~ 7. . ~ , ° ' and to deal with the outstanding engagements into which reduction of indirect taxat.on)-or the General Government may ProTinceg ]iaTO already entered _ jdo not conceal from be cast adrift, the colonial debt be disintegrated, and the pay- mygelf ag objec( . ]mg been thought) ft ment of its interest and sinking funds parcelled out as a charge depend Qn the princip i e of the measure for its aeeompUshment on different portions of the Colony, and the General Govern- whether ft meet & general acceptance from the House _ ment reduced to a ahadow-nomims umbra. Unless, I say, one j tek(J i( . tha( . moat men are agreed upQn point &at fte or the other of these extreme views be adopted, it follows that credi( . of th(j whole Colony gha]]) some form or he some such distribution of revenue as that indicated by the impreaßed upon the proTincial securities, but I foresee that it results of the investigation we have now been pursuing must be d;fficulf . tQ avo;d awakening a very natural jealoußy on 111 the part of those Provinces which have been chary of their The present Government, speaking as a Government, desires to credit) and most econom i ca i i n their expenditure, unless it steer a course between these two extremes ;it seeks to preserve be clearly prov ia e d that each Province shall still bear its own the unity of the Colony. It wishes to maintain existing b ur( j cng . t h a t whilst the consolidated revenues of the whole institutions in a state of efficiency, provided those charged with Co i ony are mortgaged as a security to the outside creditor, still, their administration are willing to be controlled within prudent a 9 between the Provinces themselves and the General Governbounds. It does not intend to propose an alteration in the ment) t]le charges occasioned by the provincial debts shall system according to which the Parliament of the country has fall upon the Province's by which, and in the prohitherto been the great taxing medium ; and it proposes to port ; onß - m w hich, these debts have been incurred. In order to create an interest common to the Colony and the Provinces in see t h at this principle has been rigidly adhered to, it is necesthose very considerable revenues derived from such taxation. sary to road together the Consolidation Bill and those clauses. It takes still broader views, and is unwilling that the unity of of the Public Revenues Bill wliich relate to payments of revenue the Colony should remain a mere idle name, and desires that j- o p rOT ; nces the powerful combination expressed in that term should be There is anot her point in which the interests of the Provinces made to yield its legitimate financial results, by putting in are concerne d wn ich has received much attention. Various motion the vast power of a common credit, which is now op ; mong have been expressed as to the actual saying, both of • frittered away and wasted by being exercised provincially. But pr i nc ipal and of annual charge, which may be effected by such in order that such results may be obtained, it is indispensable measure . am i Borne o f those opinions have been sufficiently that the Government of the Colony should exist as a reality with extravagant. I will not waste your time by speculation which large controlling powers. must be o f doubtful value; but I may say that by ordinary Influenced then by the above considerations, and guided by skill and prudence a very appreciable saying may probably be the results of the investigation wliich have just been traced out, effected in the burdens of the Colony. The question may, the Government now proposes to the Committee that the con- however, be fairly asked, who is to have the advantage of any solidatcd revenues should be divided equally between the Colony such savings ? and I will briefly reply, that the measures of and the Provinces. It only remains for me to show the precise Government are framed with the object of relieving the revenues effect of this proposal in figures. Stating then one-half the of the Provinces to the full extent to which any saving can be consolidated revenues at £542,000, as available on the one effected, either of principal or annual charges, and that the side for colonial, and on the other for provincial services, and General Government forgoes all participation in the profits of taking the colonial expenditure at £540,267, it will bo seen that the transaction. There were several proposals which naturally there is only a very bare margin left. Again, taking the pro- presented themselves to our minds when considering the nature vincial charges at £204,173, I find a balance of £337,827 of the measure it would be our duty to propose, available for provincial appropriation ; and comparing this 1. One plan was simply to affix to the provincial securities, amount with that which would be yielded by three-eighths as they stand, the imprimatur of the General Government— Customs Revenue, viz., £324,000, the result ought to be merely to give the endorsement of the Colony to provincial regarded as one very favourable to the Provinces in measure, and, paper. We rejected that plan mainly for two reasons; first, as will be explained presently, favourable in manner also. because we should then merely have enhanced the value of the This proposal of the Government I observe (and I invite tho property in the hands of private individuals, without gaining