TELEGRAPHIC

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume I, Issue 96, 2 August 1873, Page 3

TELEGRAPHIC

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AGEKCY

Great Masonic Ceremonial.

Caledonians at .C2d.

*V EIitI NGTOJt, Friday evening. The Rangitoto, mail steamer, insured for £lO,l 0 in Southern Insurance Company. (Is she wrecked P> The mads wd( go by Luna to Dunedin. The Alhambra returns ♦ > Melbourne with them immediately. Auckland, Friday' evening. Mr G urge Quick comes to Tauranga by nest steamer to buy land at Ohinemutu, and budd an hotel there, lie also intends running a couch to OhiuemuLu iu September next. Part plant of coaches, buggies, &c. have arrived in Auckland Irom the South.

(from oce own correspondent.)

. Guatiamstown, Friday .Evening. Scottish Volunteer anniversary ball ' iok place on Tuesday evening with groat, success. Over sixty couples were present. A Jad named Stokes was sentenced to fourteen days’ impri mnent yesterday for stealing a gun from a native’s wbare.

These -■ gi-e it activity in the share market in cons quence of rich gold being struck in Caledonian ow level, at a depth of 3t ' feet. Caledonians advan dto £24.

Lodge of Sorrow hold by Sir Walter Scott L/C age - b roeoiiivaons last night* iTreotuasOMS* Hal! dra- diu black, and working tools displayed. Coiumna and other furr turo also craped. One hundred and fifty Mr ions present. Service cxc bn.fitly solemn ;an excellent choir performed she oral part. The oci .isioa was respect to the memory of tbo Earl of iJetlaud, late Grand Master of England, and A. Y. Stewart, late Pa:t Grand Sucre* ry of Scotland. A grand emblematic design was erected iu centre of the hall, containing coffin, other emblems of monalify, and deceaseds’ representative insignia. It was "by far the most eompie j ceremony of the kind ever witnessed in the colony.

LATEST ENGLISH NEWS. [p ee JAV A CAB LB. 3 Lokj jn, July 10. An International Postal Congress will be held at Eorne on Sep' ,'mber Ist. English troops have burnt the city of Clinia, held by friends of the Ashanti s . ijie iiehborne defence commences on the 2ist Au j ust. Chancellor Lowe has contracted with some Loudonmerehan to pay the Alabama award. The French Assembly "is adjourned to the sth November. Mr T. Russel!, agent of the New Zealand Government, at Washington, is understood to have been successful m negotiating for a Californian service. Th mce Arthur is to be married to Princess Tbyra, of Denmark. He is in Sweden representing the ■Qu'-en at the coronation of King Oscar. „ Tll6 consent of the Q.u. en to the Duke of Edinburgh's intended marriage has been officially announced. Parliament will be prorogued during the first week in August. The Khau of Khiva submits himself to the Russians.

UNPUBLISHED TELEGRAMS. Lord (Lord Chancellor) is dead. -i.be Oarlists, under Don Carlos, have sustained another defeat on tiro Ebro. i ho Russians retain Khangrad, The Khan of Khiva visits St. Petersburg.

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT

Wo have to acknowledge the courtesy of the Honorable JTxtnjs Vogei, for a full telegraphic report of the Financial Statement delivered by him in the House of Representatives late on Tuesday night last, from which we condense the following :

The Colonial Treasurer (Hon J. Vogel) made his financial statement on Tuesday night at a late hour, following is but a brief outline of it— The Ireasurer said he had pleasure iu being able * i communicate to Parliament information which would prove that New Ec (and had never u. in in a more pro pero-s edition than at present. I be result of the financial operations of 1871-2 were proved to be within £8 3' ) of what was e.-f -mat 1 when he made his -latement last y "• The pro eut total indehp dm r-s of the colony for colonial Jo .ns was £6,881,261. The indebtedness of the provinces for provincial loans was £3,413,475. The colony was con! in gently I ible tor the laiier, and it was no doubt open to i who t.J ired to exaggerate the colonial indebtedness to treat tbe coiitHineot liability as one inquired to oe met out of tlie colonial revenue. Bat the provincial loans were primanlly charged on provincial ordinance revenue, including land revenue, and there was no r; .ion to anticipate any difficulty in recover , the amount. As for the provincial loans, they could certainly be undertaken at the r! fk Gie colony for a com pane i vely small sum. Liabilities at j. 6,881,201, had to be deducted £115,352 for sinking fund secured, leaving a ue t liability of £6,465,908. During the past year £45,, j of Treasury bills, on account of the deacit from 1869-70, had ;.b en paid off, end it was proposed to pay off another £45, > duriim the current year. The deficit could be made good without any addition being made to the permanent debt. It was proposed to pav off £2o,< 3 for Treasury debts issued on account of confiscated lands, and there would then remain a balance of £s> J,C ' of Treasury bills outstanding. These, the Government thought, could be paid during a abort term of years. Therefore, it was proposed to renew them temporarily, instead of making them part of the present debt. The

I colony of Ncv- fcalana ..-a issued amoU nt« of 4 per cent d'boutun-s, the price H q n <j; t\ xo d at jX JO <-os. A psircel of £200,( *J offend in New | Zealand were nearly all t ,kon up by \rust fund comtni«s ; onorsof Australia. They bad b. on sold [on Ministerisl recommend.-uion. That in | luturo the rote of interest woo’d be 4 or per cent , and that the sinking or drawing of funds should be abolished. Agents expressed their preference for 4.) pep cent., and had now been instructed to use ihe<r discretion in tlie matter; but he (the Col >n',»i Treasurer) had expressed bis preference for 4 per cent, in (.-rest of 4.|. The receipts for the year 1872-3 showed a total of X 1,110,4 >2, being an increase of £43,432 over the ostiinatj of £1,119,870 receipts during the year 18/1-2. Tho Customs revenue showed an increase oi £32,144 over the estimate of £76,960. Tho actual receipts of previous year, niter meeting or providing for all t he liabilities of tho year, showed a balance ot £3,835 left with which to commence the current year of 1873-4. One of tho most important matters to bo submitted to the Bouse xvas the question of provincial loans for public works. The Government were determined to recommend Barliameut to allow the provinces to borrow money for certain public works in a manner similar to that on which tho Metropolitan bourn of W orks and other local bodies in England were permitted to borrow. The proposal would bo that provinces should borrow money ou specific securities, and that it should bo plainly provided that nether the colony nor the Provincial Councils should be liable beyond the specific security given. As tar as those specific securities wore concerned, the security of the loan would bo absolute, and there would be a power of law to enforce it. The works for which it was proposed that provincial borrowing bo allowed were ro_ds, bridges, harbour works, reclamation, buildings for education, and in some cases charitable purposes. Tho progress of provincial works up to the present time fully answered all expectations held out when, tho policy was originally announced. The money was now being borrowed at a less rate than was anticipated. Tho Government proposed to t ike authority to fill up tho three gaps in trunk line between Canterbury and the Bluff. The House would be asked to sanction tho continuation of line fi'otn Mercer to frontier, and from frontier south in. whatever direction might be found best suited for connection with main trunk lino through North Island. At present the survey for this line had not b en extended further than Newcastle, but this railway it was considered desirable, for public reasons, to hurry on, especially as it would enable the Government to mass numbers on frontier, whose presence offered best possible guarantee against wanton outrages such os those which had lardy occurred. Me would propose that £BOO,C. I of debentures, to be include I in loan a‘ready authorised (being that amount out of the one million guarant ed by the Imperial Government), should.be kept at command of the Government as a reserve to be available in case of need. Authority was now given to borrow £1,500,000 for railway purposes, and half a million for purchase of native lands in tho North Island. A sep *ra‘ * loan will be proposed authorising the borrowing £300,C Jto cover cost of interest on works during construction, including res iration of public works loan (amount taken from that loan for this purpose) ; also, including restoration to public works loan .of £I2O,CC ), taken from that loan for subsidies. There would, iu this Juoan Bill, be included £115,t. ) for public buildings, £35,( ) for lighthouses, and £SO,C ) for telegraph extension. Immigrants paying their own passage would receive free grants of land, subject to occupation conditions. Coming to the finance of the present year, the expenditure for 1873-4 amounted to £1,131,688. The new tariff duties, with some inconsiderable exceptions, would be much less than those in force in Victoria, and tho few exceptions made were for securing uniformity. It was estimated that the Customs for 1873-4, under tho new tariff, would amount to £9OO/ 10, being only £48,000 over the re eipts of 1872-3, and if tho system of duties had not been altered, the same amount would have been estimated as natural increase during the current year. The total of the estimated revenue lor 1873-4 was £i,180,5C 0, to which must bo added the estimated surplus of £62,6’ *, with which the year was commenced. XLe delivery of the statement occupied over two hoars and three-quarters.

TiX<s KJBW 'XiTJXPF. The Honourable Mr Vogel, as Commissioner of Customs, then presented proposals for the new Tariff, which, after discussion in Committee was passed subject to certain alterations. We have again to acknowledge Mr Vogel’s courtesy for full telegraphic report, from which we condense the following for the information of our commercial readers. The Tariff* came info operation on the 31st ultimo: —Certain oilmen’s storej (principally bottled articles), 15 percent, ad valorem. Ready made clothing of nearly every description, blankets, rugs, counterpanes &c. ; shoes, boots, cat pet bags, portmanteus, saddles, harness, leat her, and all leather goods ; fancy glassware, carpet -, druggets, matting, drapery, haberdashery, walking sticks, fancy goods of all description, umbrellas, per cent, ad valorem. Sacking, bagging, empty woolpacks, carriages, carts, drays, and wagons, certain drugs and chemicals, perambulators, hardware, piat.d ware, hoilowaro, nm’s of all sorts, lamps and wicks, stationery of all descriptions, 10 per cent, ad valorem. Fancy biscuits, per lb., 2d. Rope and cordage, 5 per cent.