The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 1888. NOTES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1872, 20 June 1888, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 1888. NOTES.

The Wanganui " Herald " seems to havo been able to pufc before its readers the essence of the Budget which is usually a complex question to all save J the initiated. Even to the old politician and financier the figures are not always easy to follow. It would appear that the deficit on March 31st, 1888, after borrowing £400,000 m reduction of former deficit of £528,603 was £128,603. The estimated ordinary expenditure is £3,953,593 and the estimated extraordinary expenditure : Buildings, £GO,OOO ; sundries, £64,000, or a total estimated expenditure of £4,206,196, including the £128,603 of deficit. Against this there is an estimated ordinary revenue of £3,897,400 and an estimated extraordinary revenue by additional tea tax £34,000, additional Customs duty £178,000, Primago duty £58,000, or a total extraordinary revenue of £265,000 and a gross estimated revenue of £4,162,400, leaving a deficit at the end of the financial year of £43,79 6. Wo often hear complaints of the dirty, greasy, contagion carrying character of the notes circulated by our banking institutions and very often we think there is ground for complaint. Notes ef such a decayed and tattered condition should be withdrawn from circulation, and if a remedy is not supplied by the banks cancelling dirty notes legislation will havo to be brought m to compel them. Recently a judge from the Bench spoke of the vile character of the notes m circulation, and pitied the o#}cers yyho had the handling of so many of them. We do not pity them at all and we blame the management of our banks m jthis as well as other places for issuing from their agencies notes which, to say the least of it, are far from being clean, and which are occasionally repellant to the touch, During the half year ended March, it is shewn by papers laid before the House that the settlement schemes instituted fry jbhe late Government were most m favor. Th,e Return shows that 767 settlers took up land under the different syMejflo, Bujt m addition i,o ibis there were 8/5 village homestead setjtlers who wero virtually op fcbuo land m the previous half-year, TJiis system was discontinued as Bflon a« fcho present Ministry came into power. The game remark applies to 846 Special Settlers who had obtained their land m the first part ,o/ the year, but ballotted for their sections i» yie /sejepad part. Tho perpetual loasx) system enjoyed a tyrge measure of favor, exceeding ma number of deferred payments applications by 20, the respective numbers being perpetual lease 1(60, deferred payment 140. The small grazing runs were al;o popular, #1 sections having been taken ,up, .wijth an orcA of P/?,o°° acres. Next year wo may expect a ycry /considerable fallU)g off m the number of now settlers unless the present Government are prepared to carry out Mr Ballance's schemes. They have everything to recommend them, and no argument of any weight hag ever been brought to bear against them. The amount of mortgages paid off during the past year was £2,853,820, and tho amount secured by mortgage during the same period was m excess of the ameant pn.id off being £3,603,857. Tho total amount remaining secured on mortgage m the colony is £28,lil,<ilJ, or an increase for tho year of £750,031. lp jieems that the falling off m securities i>y ijUoiig&go on land is set down as owing to Jand. not freing considered such a good security, and perhapc %ero j is some truth m this. On tho other' hand we jknow that advances on good land j are as easily got as eyer, and that there ' are plenty of men srith capital ready to j invest it m good landed securities. There , seems no dearth of capital for invest- < ment m landed-property, ap.d we think the security which can be offered just now is of the very best.