1904. NEW ZEALAND.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT (In Committee of Supply, 12th July, 1904) BY THE COLONIAL TREASURER, THE RIGHT HON. R.J. SEDDON, P.C., LL.D.

Mr. Millar, — There is ever a wish on the part of honourable members to have the Financial Statement as early as possible, and the desire is commendable when it is incited with the view of obtaining information as to the finances and general progress made during the year, and not for party purposes. Believing that it would be pleasing to all, I have by assiduously applying every spare moment to the task been enabled to bring down the Statement within fourteen days of the opening of Parliament, and forty-three days earlier than last session. It should, however, not be forgotten that over three weeks were spent last session in debating the Address in Eeply. It has fallen to the lot of few men to be continuously at the head of a Government the length of time it has pleased the Parliament and people to maintain me in that position, and it is a privilege and pleasure for me to deliver the ninth Budget since I have been Colonial Treasurer, and in the same to inform honourable members and my fellow-colonists of the results of the past year's financial business, and of the substantial progress our grand country is making in every aspect. The process of empire-making must be by the formation and building-up of the Empire's dependencies, and as these dependencies flourish and increase so will the Empire's solidity and greatness continue to be maintained and expanded. It has been my honoured privilege to be the Prime Minister of our important and lovely colony for the past eleven years, and I have not been a passive spectator of the building-up of our Empire during that period; indeed, I may say without egotism that, so far as my abilities go and opportunities afforded, I have missed no chance of keeping our interesting, unique, and bounteously endowed islands and their resources before our kindred in the United Kingdom, other self-governing colonies, and nations, as a distinctly valuable integral part of the British possessions, and I think we can confidently congratulate ourselves upon being one of the strong links binding the Empire together. The " dry-as-dust" figures forming the summary of the transactions of the past year have already been given to honourable members and to the public through the medium of the Gazette, and thence through the columns of the Press of the colony; but, at the risk of wearying you, it is my duty to announce the oft-reiterated statement that we found, on closing our books for 1903-4, that we had a very large surplus. This time the figures reached over three-quarters of a million. I therefore decided to have a further sum of £125,000 transferred to the Public Works Fund, making a total contribution for the year to that fund of £350,000, and enabling us notwithstanding to shut down with the handsome balance in the Consolidated Fund of £649,740; and the country must be congratulated upon such a result, which is more than double the balance at the close of the preceding year,

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