B.—6

XV

upon to make further payments of /rent for the period of from two to four years of their leases, according to the expense of clearing, the rents remitted being capitalised and interest charged thereon for a period of ten years from the date that the rent became payable. CONCESSIONS. For the information of those who take an interest in the concessions that have been made by the present Government since they have been in power it may be convenient to state them, including the reductions proposed in this Budget. Naming only four heads of revenue, the concessions are as follows: Railways, £510,000; mortgage-tax, £25,000; Customs, £738,000; Postal and Telegraph, £181,000: or a total of £1,454,000. As the whole of the land and' income tax collected in the colony in its highest year amounted to £492,000, some idea of the value of the concessions that have been given to the people of this country may be gauged from the foregoing figures. It certainly gives a flat contradiction to those who have declared that the burdens of the people have been added to by the present Government. The facts show quite the contrary, and I am quite confident that the people themselves are fully alive to the many advantages which have, by way of concessions, been conferred upon them, and which form but a portion of a policy that has in other ways done much to help them to more readily carry on the industries in.which they are engaged. CONCBENING OUE PEODUCE. The export of dairy produce is steadily increasing, and it is pleasing to note that the quality is acknowledged by the trade to be amongst the best imported into Great Britain. The frozen-meat market has been fairly good. Prices for wool have been extremely low, and considerable losses have resulted to exporters, but lately there is a decided upward tendency in the market. The harvest was a wet one, and in one or two localities portions of the crops were damaged; prices, however, are good, which will help to make up for the loss in quantity. The export of poultry to South Africa is new, and with a direct steamer service should increase to considerable dimensions. This branch of the work of the Department is making rapid strides, and it was impossible to cope last season with the demand for eggs and birds. Farms are now established at Ruakura, Momohaki, Burnham, and Milton, in the Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago Provincial Districts respectively; also depots for the dressing and packing of poultry for export at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. To meet the general wish of the settlers in the Waikato an experimental farm has been established at Ruakura, near Hamilton. Some 600 acres were purchased, to which a reserve that was vested in the Waikato County Council for the purpose of a model farm has since been added. The soil is in every way typical of the Waikato lands, and should in a few years, after it has been worked up, prove of great assistance to the settlers in determining the most suitable crops to grow. Arrangements are being completed to start the dairy school at Weraroa Farm, Levin. A considerable area of the farm has been cleared and stumped to enable the necessary cultivation to be carried out to provide fodder for wintering the cows successfully. The question of securing a suitable site in the Middle Island for one or two farms is receiving attention. At Wairangi, where the soil is of the poorest description, the growing of vines has been successfully demonstrated, and the vintage, both last season and this, is very encouraging. A further area of 700 acres has been secured for the purpose of planting with fruit-trees and vines. This it is proposed to lease in small areas to practical settlers on easy terms.