The Financial Statement

New Zealand Tablet, 30 August 1906, Page 24

The Financial Statement

• I] J the House of Representatives on Tuesday evening the Hon. S,r J. G. Waul, Colonial Treasurer, dein/eied his financial statement. The following are the more important features of the first Budget of the new Adininistiation :—: — The ordinary awl tcnitoiial revenue for the year amounted to £7,3b1,.55y , ai.rl, compared with the -rel^n^f. U '?m P lev ' iuus J'wr, snowed an increase 'of «• '*/ „ ie , P«nunent charge, and annual appropnJVcSfnnri ' C £7,122,31U, ,v addition to which £500,000 was paid ovui to the Public Works Fund The estimated cxpendituie foi 1906-7 is £7 575 972 T- ar l, 1 -! 11 a I ,' lea&e1 ea&e of £1 50,U32. Hie estimated revenue' is £ i ,ob /,000. x>,o T i h n c i £^ &S publiC del)tl on lhe 3lst March last was £62,191,040— an increase of £'2,279 010 for the year Authoiity will be asked to raise a loan of £1,000,000 for public woiks pui poses, the money to be obtained locally. It has been decided, ,Uiile not interfeiing with the i-4 rate for book packets and other aiticles not over 2 ooz in weight <xnd for newspapeis, to abolish all o-ther distinctions, and to iix a unifoim rate of postage for inland lctteis of Id for each -Joz. The success of the system of sixpenny telegrams introduced in lh'jfi, has been & o marked that a reduction js announced as fioni November. 1 next of the i ate charged after the fust 12 words. It is l proposed to reduce this liom Id to Wl, making a uniform rate of id per woid, with a minimum charge of bd Authority will be asked for a special \ote of £25,000 for lhe provision of telephones in the more lemote pails of the country, and in cases where" the construction of telephone lines in the ordinary way is not warranted, the material will -be supplied free to those willing, to u-iwleitake the woik Arrangements will also be made for all places connected by telephone to be Within communication of a medical man, both by day and night, all the year round It is pioposcd to put the whole of the Government departments umlri the Audit Department. For this purpose all office-is employed as auditors in any department will be placid uuder the control of^ the Audit Oilice. All the oidinaiy Crown lands now unsold o*r, unleased are to be set aside, with the intention that the proceeds derived from them shall form part of an endowment fund, .to be available solely for the purposes of education, old-age pensions, and the maintenance of hospitals and charitable institutions.