H.—lB

4

Of the 2,073 new pensions, 125 were Maoris. 1,779 wore born in the British Islands, the rest of the Empire accounting for an additional 54. Of the 1,948 Europeans admitted, 532 only were of the minimum age of 65, there being 73 of the age of 80 and over. Further details regarding the nationality, age, sex, employment, and conjugal condition of these new pensioners will be found in the Appendix, together with a comprehensive return setting out the total number of claims received in each district since the Act came into force, the number made during the past year, and the manner in which these latter have been dealt with. Of the total number of claimants—namely, 28,662 —21,846 have been admitted as pensioners. Annual Payments. As was to be expected, the amount paid by way of pension during the year shows a considerable increase, the actual payments being represented by a total of £254,366 16s. 6d. Deduct from this amount the sum of £404 11s., being overpayments in the early years of the Act recovered by Court proceedings and otherwise, and the net expenditure from the Consolidated Fund on account of pensions is shown to be £253,962 ss. 6d. It is estimated that the sum of £350,000 will meet all requirements for the year now current. The following table shows the payments made in each month during the year :— 1905. £ f. d. April (at £18 rate) ... ... ... ... 16,139 5 3 May „ ... ... ... ... 16,521 16 11 June „ ... ... ... ... 16,431 18 0 July „ " ... ... ... ... 16 364 8 3 August „ ... ... ... ... 16,322 1 5 September (at £26 rate) ... ... ... ... 23,906 8 10 October „ ... ... ... ... 24,455 14 3 November „ ... ... ... ... 24,482 12 1 December „ ... ... ... ... 24,724 7 10 1906. January „ ... ... ... ... 24,660 17 6 February „ ... ... ... ... 25,022 13 3 March ' „ ... ... ... ... 25,334 12 11 £254,366 16 6 A further table is submitted showing the total amount paid since the Act came into force, together with the cost per head of the population (exclusive of Maoris) in each year : —- Gross Payments Population Cost per on Account of at End of Head of Pensions. Year. Population. £ s. d. Three months ended 31st March, 1899 ... 3,124 746,676 0 1 Year ended 31st March, 1900 157,342 758,617 4 1 1901 ... ... 197,292 772,719 5 1 1902 ... ... 207,468 789,994 5 3 1903 ... ... 210,140 814,842 5 2 1904 ... ... 203,164 838,954 4 10 1905 ... ... 195,475 864,971 4 6 1906 ... ... 254,367 889,968 5 8 Total £1,428,372 Recoveeibs. The amount recovered and paid to the credit of the Public Account during the year —namely, £404 11s.—shows a considerable falling-off when compared with the figures of the previous three years. This sum can be taken to represent the balance of the overpayments in the early years of the Act disclosed by the clearing-up under the new system of investigation introduced in 1903. It is only an isolated case that now necessitates the penal clause of the Act being brought into operation. The accompanying table shows the overpayments recovered in each year since the Act came into operation : — £ s. d. Three months ended 31st March, 1899 ... ... ... ... Nil. Year ended 31st March, 1900 ... ... ... ... 25 15 0 1901 ... ... ... ... 63 18 4 1902 ... ... ... ... 127 1 11 1903 ... ... ... ... 1,039 11 1* 1904 ... ... ... ... 2,349 14 7+ 1905 ... ... ... ... 1,526 10 91 1906 ... ... ... ... 405 11 0§ Total ' ... ... ... ... ... £5,538 2 8 • Including £55 fines. f Including £80 flue*. J Indudii g £25 fines. § Including £1 fine.