H—29

operations, Services' vegetable-production work, subsidies on superphosphate, encouragement of flax-production, table-poultry production, pig-production subsidy, and a number of relatively small cost items in support of Primary Production Councils and in publicity relating to drives for food production (for the Armed Forces, for Great Britain, and for consumption within the Dominion itself): —

Reverting to an examination of vote " Agriculture," 1945-46 receipts (£427,601) and payments (£1,495,063), resulting in the net excess of payments (£1,067,462), it is interesting to note that " Administrative services" called for payments totalling £818,157 and yielded £190,568 credits (net being £627,589) ; that " Miscellaneous advances, grants, subsidies, &c.," cost £575,486, with credits of £234,571 (net being £340,915) ; that " Payments under statutes " required £93,426 and yielded credits of £2,245 (net being £91,181); and " Milk Marketing Division," £7,994, less credits of £217 (net £7,777). As usual, the outgoings have been comparatively much more substantial than incomings. There are, however, other receipts (£315,389) not covered by vote figures—Meat Act, £63,261 ; subsidy recoveries, £241,908 ; sundry, £10,220. Also, there are several Deposit Accounts to which credits of £18,102 have passed, and from these £14,121 has been paid out. Administrative Services ~ The major expenditure factor was remuneration for personal services (£490,078) ; locomotion (£76,239) was essential for the efficient functioning of a substantial proportion of the officers receiving this remuneration. Other working-expenses (£251,840) were, in the main, for the three large farms or stations, the many small areas, the two research laboratories, the Seed-testing Station, the field crops and experimental work, the rabbit-destruction work, the Publications Section, the numerous grading services, together with heavy transfer expenditure and the usual substantial charges for office accommodation, telephones, stationery, &c. The year has been one of marked expansion in the activities of the Publications Section. This was to be expected in connection with the bulletins, as in preceding years shortage of paper had caused important issues to be deferred. Of 253,000 copies of various bulletins received from the printers, 212,000 were distributed. There was a monthly output of 25,000 copies of the Journal of Agriculture in the early years of the war, but this declined to under 17,000 in 1942. At the close of 1943-44 demands were met by 20,700 copies, rising to 29,500 in 1944-45 and to 47,500 at the close of the 1945-46 financial year. Both staff and space expanded during the year, and the question of additional mechanical aids has received appropriate consideration. Miscellaneous Advances, Grants, Subsidies, etc. A feature of the payments under this heading is the wide distributive incidence of same. Carriage of lime, fertilizer, and farm produce absorbed £504,051 ; noxiousweeds eradication, £25,365 ; cow-testing organizations, £14,474 ; advances to pig industry, £8,727 ; bursaries to veterinary students, £5,357 ; sundry, £17,512. There are " recovery " aspects to carriage (£207,816), pig industry (£8,776), bursaries (£4,180), and noxious weeds (£12,758). In the long-run the offset effects in carriage and pigindustry items become complete ; in the bursaries item all but about one-sixth is recoverable in due course, and as the Meat and Dairy Boards share the costs, they also obtain similar recoverv benefits in due course.

7

Year. Gross. Credits. . Net. Year. Gross. Credits. Net. 1938-39 .. 1939-40 .. 1940-41 .. 1941-42 .. £ 438,806 £ £ 438,806 1942-43 .. 1943-44 .. 1944-45 .. 1945-46 .. £ 1,281.573 2,089,273 2,740,300 2,694,310 £ 6,887 736,248 998,992 2,598,530 £ 1,274,686 1,353,025 1,741,308 95,780