FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1701, 2 November 1887, Page 2

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Last evening the Hon. Major Atkinson, le Colonial Treasurer, brought down his inancial Statement, of nhioh the following i a summary : — Major Atkinson commenced by saying het on no previous occasion had he exerlencad a greater Bense of responsibility, mt nuve£ pteviously had he felt more onficleat that our difficulties could be vercome, since the colony had deteralned that its difficulties should be met n the right spirit. The Government were ,mong those who fully believed m the easonableness of the determination of the toantry that all possible retrenchment thoultl be made before farther taxation je imposed ; and they believe also . that ;he country was prepared for the neoeijary self-sacrifices which it Involved. To lomo extent, he hoped, retrenchment may 3e effected by greater oare In administration, but there was no doubt, speaking generally, retrenchment meant selflaorifioe m some shape on the part of the sommunlty at large. Before going further lie referred to the position of the land fond aocount. It must be remembered that although the land fund had been kept a separate aooount sinoe 1879*80, Mid very wisely, it was In law a part of tht ooHsolldated fond. Any deficiency In the land fund Is properly t> defiolenoj of the consolidated fund, and should be io treated. On the 31st March, 1887, the land fund was In debt £64,263, so that If to the £92,293 was added this £54,263, the deficit of the consolidated fond at the close of the year which had to be provided for, including the land fund, was £146,656, and as a matter of faot It wai inoluded In the deficiency bills oatstanding. CONSOLIDATED FUM> EXPBNDITUKB. He next proceeded to state what would be the defiatt m the Consolidated Fund aooount at the end of the present year If the expenditure continued at the rate prevaiiit g when the present Qorerament took office and If no additional taxation were imposed. It appeared that the probable expenditure from the Consolidated Fund account for the year 1887*88 would amount to £4,118,395 as against the total of £4,088 7u4 appearing In the estimates of tha late Goveri>meat, The socalled saving on votes whloh ire ordinarily expect to find at the close of the year would not prove so large as usual, beoauie the estimates appear to have been framed wiik little margin over the lami propojedr to be actually spent. Me specified tbe services not appearing on the estimate!, or whioh had been insufficiently provided for. In arriving «t the above estimated total of £4,118,395, he had not allowed for percentage reduction of salaries eitU mated to amount to £20,000, proposed by the late Government, bat which had not been actad on when the present one took office. ORDINARY REVENUE FOB YEAR 1887*88. \ Tue revenue proper received for the six months, ending on 30 oh September last, was £1,510,863. This was £16,844 less than was received during the same period of the financial year 1885-86. The Customs yield £29,446 less, me railways £18,434 more, thai, the previous year. To this mast be added the proceed of debentures, amount* ing tv £258,184, loaned last April under tue O jnaohdaied Stook Act, 1884, on account of the sinking fuud to acorue during the financial year 1887-88, but he did not add the proceeds of deficiency bills sold beoauae the objeot is to show what the probable defioit will be at the end of the year. The total receipts were, therefore, exclusive of the prooeeda of deficiency bills, £1,769,047. Be estimated the revenue on the assumption that taxation was not altered from last year* He adopted the estimates of hiß predecessor except m regard to stamps and railways. The experience of the past six months leads to the probability that stamps will not reaoh the estimate by £32,600, and railways by £50,00 C. Takin? these circumstances into consideration^ he estimates that the revenue for the six months ending 31st March, 1888, will ataouut to 2,019,460, making a total of £3,788,607 for the year, as against £4,156,184 ai estimated by the late Colonial Treasurer, which inoluded the proposed additional taxation. THE LAND FUHD. He had already informed the Committee that on tbe 31 st March. last there was a balance of £54.2b'3 at the debit of the I and Fund Account. On the 31st March. 1884, tLere was a balance of £80,447 at credit. The land fund expenditure hes therefore during the past three years exceeded the receipts by an average of £44,900 a year This excess of expenditure is exclusive of an outlay of £108,266 which has been made from loan during the last three years on opening np land botore sale, and of liabilities £76,908 since incurred on the same account. It is alao exclusive of £1891 expended oa village settlements to 31 et March last, with liabilities of £67,886 since incurred ; but this latter expenditure is to be capitalised and interest obtained for It m the shape of rent if possible* The money, however, has yet to be provided either from loan or Consolidated Fund, no provision having been made for it by Parliament. RESULTS, i: The'revised estimate of expenditure, ordinary revenue account, being£4,Hß,39s, and the revenue being £3,788,607, the expenditure will exceed tho revenue by £329,8d8 on the ordinary revenue account, aua if was added the excessive expenditure on the land fund, £59,417, there was a total of £389,305. The late Government proposed to meet the deficit they anticipated on the ordinary revenue account by additional taxation, amounting to ' £250,000, aud by a percentage reduotion of £20,000 from salaries. With regard to tbe laud fund, they proposed " that for a term of years, until increasing revenue will permit otherwise, the deficiency between land revenue and land expenditure should be made up by charges on the laud Bupplied by such local borrowing as may bo required." How the present Government propose to deal with the deficiency of the Consolidated Fund as a whole, and prevent its recurrence, he would shortly state THE PUBLIC DEBT. The gross pubno debt at 31st March, 1884, was £31,071,572, sxolusive of £398,000 for deficiency bills. At 31st March, 1887, it wen £35,741,653. exclusive of deficiency bills for £279,100 then outstanding, binco that date further defiolenoy bills to the amount of £715,900 have been isaued, tbe total of those now outstanding being £995,000, In addition to debentures for £258,184 issued m April last for increases of tanking fund for oarrent year. After considering the effeot of those provisions of The Consolidated Stook Aot, 1874, which empower the Colonial Treasurer to Issue debentures In each financial year to an amount equal to the accrultions of the sinking fund for the year, Major Atkinson went on to refer to tbe PUBLJjO WORKS FUNDS ACCOUNT, This Aocount Is now divided into three separate accounts, a separation necessitated by Legislation of the session of 1886J No. 1 Account — This is an acoount of the balance of the loans rrlsed before 1886; The credit balance on this acoount was, on 31st March last, £491,245, subject to liabilities amounting to £334,774. On the 30th September last there was a credit balance of £247,262, subject to liabilities amounting to £280,495. Against this fund is charged ail miscellaneous works, auoh as harbor defentee, roads, bridges, sohool buildings, purchase of Native Lands, and telegraph expenditure* Eon members will therefore see that without further borrowing, neither can our liabilities be met, nor can necessary ▼Oiks of the Above deiStlptloß be n.nd.««

taken, If we adhere to the wholesome restrictive principle of the Acts of 1886 No 2. Account— Thb 1b the accoont of the Noffh laUnd Main Trunk Railway Loan. The unexpended balance on 3lßt March, 1887, was £674,314. subject to liabilities amounting to £187,981. On the 30th September last the unexpended baUnoe waa £615 258, with liabilities amonntlng to £187.474 There is thereforsa sumof £477,7845ti1l available In thia account, subject however, to the cost and j •hergei of raiting the whole loan In the i ttirkat, which has yet to be done. j No. 3 Account -This 1b an account of; the lean of 1886, being the amount authorised m 1886 to be raised for railway construction, £1,325,0C0, together with £242,890 representing certain district railway debentures sold on behalf of the Pott Office m conjunction with that loan. The credit balance on 31st March, 1887, wss £1,112.080, consisting of •mount In band £620,734 and balance of loan to be received £391,300. The liabilities, exolnslve of the proceeds of the £242,800 district railway debentures since ' paid over to the Poßt Office, were £826,651. On the 30th September last the oredit balance was £556,644, and the liabilities £304.004. There is, therefore, •till available £252,640 m this account. The oredit balanoes, however, of these three accounts jointly are, only m part represented by cash. The total cash available at the 30th September last was £140 649, m addition to which we had £120,387 imprest advanoes m hands of offiotra of the Government. The secori ties consisted of : — Deficiency bills, £19,200; dlstrlot railways and other debentttvt, £139,058 ; and the North Island Main Trunk Railway loan, £1,000,000, the total oredit balance of these accounts being £1,410,194, against which there were liabilities amounting to £782,973. LOANS TO LOCAL BODIES. Up to 30th September last we had bortowed £100,000 under the provisions of the Government Loans to Local Bodies Aot, 1886, for the purpose of making loans to looal authorities. Df that amount, £71,686 had been disbursed at that date, leaving a balance of £28 314 m hand, with liabilities amounting to £99 181, to meet which a farther sum of £100,000 will be required, consisting of balances of loans to looal authorities whioh had elected to take their loans by instalments (£38,580) and £60,601 for loans provisionally granted m the first year of the Aot, bnt awaiting the completion of the steps ne eossarj to give the security required. It is the Intention of the Government to ask Parliament to appropriate a com of £100,000 for the purposes of the Aot, for the current year. Provision would be made In the Estimates oi next year for the creation of a sinking fund for the redemption of the debentures. MAOBI LANDS, Major Atkinson intimated that the polloy of his Government In dealing with Native lands would be to apply, m certain districts, the same laws to Maoris that apply to Europeans ; m other words to Sirmit the Maori to deal with his land as eely as a European, and also to make him liable to the same rates and taxes as kit white brother. THE TARIFF. The revision of the Tariff is a question which has occupied a good deal of attention throughout the colony, and is one undoubtedly requiring the early attention of the Legislature. Uutil this question Is settled with some sort of permanence, the trade of the colony will, m addition to its present unavoidable difficulties, continue to be disturbed and irritated by what oan and ought to be avoided — the uncertainty. The Government during the short time at their disposal have had the matter under their careful oonßldoration, and have come to the conclusion that the question should not be dealt with during the present session, because It Is impossible to deal with it completely. The Government are strongly of opinion that It should not be touched until it can be so dealt with as not to need further •ericas revision for a considerable time to come. We have within the past two years had two serious but unsuccessful attempts largely to alter the tariff, resuiting In great derangement of trade, with ail the loss which that brings, and without the smallest compensating gain, and the causes which led the Bouse emphatically to reject those attempts still exist, and one at all events— the general commercial degression— may fairly be considered, at lesst m its present severity, abnormal and temporary ; moreover, we cannot at present look so far forward m onr finance as now prudently to fix what we shall require from the Qastoms, even for the near fntnre. For, on the one band, the changes the Government propose, and such further economies as they hope to make, will correspondingly lessen the need for revision ; on the other hand, they recognise that it will be necessary to charge against revenue many works whioh are now charged to loan, inch as pnbllo buildings, school buildings, and telegraph extension. So that with these uncertain elements at work, it seems to the Government clearly right that no attempt Bhould be made to revise the tails this so as lon.

IBOPOSALS TO EQUALISE REVENUE TO K.PZHDITUBB.