FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

9

B.—Xo. 1a

of sums due by the Provinces, under the Surplus Revenues Act, the permanent debt of the Colony. On the contrary, when it yJjj . is borne in mind that under the provisions of the loan j) Eg, £ g , d. Consolidation Act power will be taken to recoup to the Colony Auckland 17 954 15 11 c sum °^9ilT £43,000 advanced to the Province of Southland; Taranaki 4 026 710 a^80» 'na'' there is every reason to hope that the amount Hawke's Bay 4 657 7 7 P"* down for contingent defence will not be required, for it is "Wellineton 10 297 18 10 on^7 an emergency vote (although one that must be provided Nelson 4 526 12 11 f°r)> anc^ when it is further borne in mind that there are sums Harlborough 12,063 12 6 amounting to £34,000 which appear on the estimates of this Canterbury 36,006 15 6 Tear > but arc °^ an exceptional character, and therefore, not Otaco 80,445 4 2 likely to recur every year, I think it may be fairly anticipated Southland 13,709 14 3 tnat if tne Committee consents to our proposal that the sum _ of three millions sterling should be raised under the Act of £183 688 9 6 1863, the Treasury Bills to which I have referred can be This transaction will close the whole of the operations provided for without still further increasing our permanent under the Surplus Revenues Act. debt- At anT rate> 1 do not sec how otherwise the contemBefore I proceeded to the explanation of the proposal for P lated provision for the Provinces can be effected this year; division of the ordinary revenues of the Colony, I alluded to' an <""* if it be not, I do not see how the Provinces can meet their arrangement for relieving those revenues of certain charges engagements, an event which must re-act disastrously, for a and observed in effect that unless some arrangement of the sort time at least> on the whole Colony. were made a system of retrenchment alone would not suffice to From the consideration of the losses sustained by the Colony in enable such a scheme of division to be put in practice this the negotiation of the loan of 1863, I naturally pass on to that year. The Commiteo will have anticipated from the tenor of of the position of the Colony as regards the claim of the those observations that it would be necessary to take up a Imperial Government, for the two questions are dependent on further sum of money. lam now going to explain the each other. exact proposal of the Government in this respect. With It is well known to the Committee that the Imperial Governreferencc to the loan of 1863, it may be here stated broadly that ment have from time to time been most urgent in their desire when the whole of the temporary 8 per cent, bonds are taken up, to adjust outstanding accounts, in which they have been met the Colony will have issued three millions of debentures, on by a like anxiety on the part of successive Colonial Governments, which the discount is upwards of £260,000. An attempt was made towards such adjustment by the appointNow the Government do not propose asking for a new Loan ment of Mr. Crosbie Ward as agent in 1863, and Mr. Reader Act; for the Act of 1863 is held to confer the legal authority Wood subsequently, who placed themselves in personal communecessary to raise three millions sterling. But it will ask for a nication with the home authorities. These attempts were not further Loan Appropriation Act to provide for the following successful, and the Colonial Government, finding the Imperial extraordinary services ; which I may observe are of a character Treasury persistently urging a settlement of past and accruing consonant with the original appropriations of moneys to be claims, determined to evince the readiness of the Colony to meet raised unclcr that Act, viz.:— these demands, and instructed the Crown Agents to hand over £ to the Imperial authorities £500,000 in New Zealand Colonial Telegraph Extension ... ... ... 47,412 Securities. Before long, however, the necessity of appointing a Marine (Lighthouses) ... ... ... 19,725 Commission to examine into these accounts became apparent. Defence ... ... ... ... 109,025 At the close of last year Mr. Commissary-General Jones was Taranaki Debentures 38,750 appointed on the part of the Imperial Government, and my Contingent Defence ... ... ... 45,000 honorable friend Major Richardson, a member of the Executive Government, was commissioned to represent the Colony. I Amounting to £259,912 lay upon the table a report of the Colonial Commissioner on When the proposed Loan Appropriation Bill is introduced the claims of the Imperial Treasury, and also copies of corcstimates will be brought down showing the estimated ex- respondencc which has taken place in connection with this penditure in detail, but I take the present opportunity of subject. stating that one-half of the sum of £109,000, set down against It will not be necessary that I should do more than just the item " Defence," is for liabilities, and, therefore, not a summarize the results, as honorable members will immediately recurring charge. be in possession of the documents themselves. The claims of I also take this occasion of giving explanations of the the Imperial Treasury stretcliing back to 1848 amount to the sum proposals of the Government with regard to Taranaki. There of £1,304,963 9s. 3d., composed as follows : — are two financial matters to be adjusted with regard to that £ s. d. Province. Capitation Charge for Imperial 1. With regard to the Taranaki Debentures, I may state Troops 353,817 10 0 that they form, part of the compensation already awarded ; the Compound Interest Capitalized Aninterest has always been paid by the Colony, but the existence nually ... ... ... 167,278 7 1 of those debentures is an obstruction to further operations of Advances for Colonial Troops ... 582,156 17 7 the Province with the Bank which holds them. It is proposed Miscellaneous 201,710 14 7 to take them up. 2. In 1856 a sum of £36,000 was allocated to that Province £1,304,963 9 3 out of the half million loan. Of this, £20,000 without interest The Colonial Commissioner, after carefully considering these and £16,000 with interest. To the present date a subsidy has charges, and the grounds on which they rested, was of opinion been paid of £2,200 per annum by the Colony to the Province that the sum of £516,130 12s. sd. was inadmissable, thus reducof Taranaki in lieu of land revenue. On final adjustment ing the claim to £759,621 14s. 7d., up to September, 1866. A of the question of handing over the confiscated lands, this few weeks prior to the forwarding of the Colonial Comsubsidy would cease, and the interest and sinking fund on missioner's report on these claims, the Imperial Commissioner £16,000 become chargeable to the Province, leaving on the returned to England, for reasons which may be found in the transaction a relief to the Colony of £3,160. correspondence above referred to ; and in consequence it was If the Committee accede to our proposed loan appropria- not possible to proceed any further in the investigation. I may lions, I believe that it will not be necessary to attach the here mention, however, that the counter claims of the Colony, £150,000 Treasury Bills authorized to be issued last year, to with schedules attached, have been forwarded to the Secretary 3