5

H—lB

Cost of Administration. The cost of administration for the past year stands at £1,758. The following table shows the cost in each year since the Act was passed : — Cost uf Administration. £ Three months ended 31st March, 1899 ... ... ... ... 510 Year ended 31st March, 1900 ... ... ... ... ... 2,360 1901 ... ... ... ... ... 2,415 1902 ... ... ... ... ... 2,535 1903 ... ... ... ... ... 3,805 1904 ... ... ... ... ... 3,655 1905 ... ... ... ... ... 3,936 1906 ... ... ... ... ... 4,758 Total ... ... ... ... ... ... £23,974 The percentage of the total cost of administering the Act to the gross payments of £1,428,372 above set out is, therefore, only 1"67 per cent. The increase in last year's figures is, for the most part, due to the increase by £500 in the annual amount paid to the Post Office, and partly to the reorganization of the work of the Department in the chief centres of population, in each of which the Department now has its own officer investigating all claims for the pension. Annual Liability. % The liability at the end of each year since the Act came into force is as follows :— jg £ 8 At 31st March, 1899, 127,319, or an average of 17 2 for 7,443 pensioners. 1900, 193,718, „ 17 3 „ 11,285 1901, 211,965, „ 17 2 „ 12,405 1902, 217,192, „ 17 0 „ 12,776 1903, 211,594, „ 16 19 „ 12,481 1904, 200,915, „ 16 17 „ 11,926 1905,199,081, „ 16 18 „ 11,770 1906, 313,018, „ 24 17 „ 12,582 The accompanying table shows the number of pensions at each rate at the end of the year just closed :— Pensions. Liability. ■■& a 10,398 at 26 ... ... ... ... ... 270,348 301 „ 25 ... ... ... ... ... 7,525 287 „ 24 ... ... ... ... ... 6,888 199 „ 23 ... ... ... .. ... 4,577 167 „ 22 ... ... ... ... ... 3,674 200 „ 21 ... ... ... ' ... ... 4,200 156 „ 20 ... ... ... ... ... 3,120 130 „ 19 ... ... ... ... ... 2,470 166 „ 18 ... ... ... ... ... 2,988 70 „ 17 ... ... ... ... ... 1,190 69 „ 16 ... ... ... ... ... 1,104 73 „ 15 ... ... ... ... ... 1,095 62 „ 14 ... ... ... ... ... 868 49 „ 13 ... ... ... ... ... 637 41 „ 12 ... ... ... ... ... 492 55 „ 11 ... ... ... ... ... 605 47 „ 10 ... ■ ... ... ... ... 470 25 „ 9 ... ... ... ... ... 225 22 „ 8 ... ... ... ... ... 176 26 „ 7 ... ... ... ... ... 182 15 „ 6 ... ... .. ... ... 90 11 „ 5 ... ... ... ... ... 55 4 „ 4 ... ... ... ... ... 16 5 „ 3 ... ... ... ... ... 15 4 „ 2 ... ... ... ... ...■ 8 0 „ 1 ... ... ... ... ... 0 Totals 12,582 £313,018 Charitable Institutions. The total amount paid to Charitable Aid and Hospital Boards throughout the colony during the past year amounted to £14,350 Bs. 2d., the number of pensioners resident in the institutions controlled by these Boards on the 31st March'being 616. In the various homes visited by me during the year I found the pensioners to be well cared for and happy. Particularly was this the case in the Jubilee Home at Woolston, and the Tuarangi Home at