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1925. NEW ZEALAND.

MARINE DEPARTMENT. ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1924-25.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command, of His Excellency.

Your Excellency,— Marine Department, Wellington, August, 1925. I do myself the honour to transmit herewith, for Your Excellency's information, the report of the Marine Department of the Dominion for the financial year ended the 31 st March last. I have, &c., G. Jas. Anderson, Minister of Marine. His Excellency General Sir Charles Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., Governor-General of New Zealand.

REPORT. The Secretary, Marine Department, to the Hon. Minister of Marine. Sir, — Marine Department, Wellington, 18th August, 1925. I have the honour to submit this, my annual report, on the operations of the Marine Department for the financial year ended the 31st March, 1925. I propose to draw particular attention to matters of greater importance which have arisen and been dealt with during the year, leaving the more detail and routine administration to be summarized under its various headings. Financial. General Departmental Accounts. To a very considerable extent the Department is limited in its ability to earn revenue to the State for the various services which it performs to the fees prescribed by statute or otherwise. As these fees have not been increased during the year, though in some cases the fees do not by any means represent value for professional services rendered, the only means by which the Department's financial position could be improved lay in the careful husbanding of expenditures and the institution of methods designed to assure that the Department received all that it was entitled to claim. In order to ensure this result the accountancy methods were varied during the year with the object of enabling the complete introduction of the double-entry system on the Ist April, 1925. The partial adoption of this system during the past year has shown most satisfactory results, which will be improved upon during the current year, when the system is in full operation. The financial results of the Department's work in the effort to square accounts have been most satisfactory, as the following table will reveal. For purposes of comparison I use a statement of receipts and payments over the years 1921-22 to 1924-25. This is a complete revelation so far as it goes ; but, of course, it does not include interest, sinking fund, and depreciation charges. The reason for eliminating these charges is twofold. At the institution of a balance-sheet the assessment of capital values was somewhat haphazard, and subsequent investigation has shown them to be excessive. Accordingly they have been adjusted to a proper assessment. To base a comparison on a statement which included over-assessed capitalization and its consequential interest, sinking fund, and depreciation charges with a statement based on a readjusted capitalization would, of course, have the effect of giving the Department greater credit than it could justly claim. Furthermore, the charges on past capital expenditure, once that capital is properly assessed, is something the Department cannot control.

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