THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 965, 4 November 1910, Page 2

THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS.

A SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT, Tho Prime Minister has already given particulars of the national revenue for the quarter ended September 30.' The details of expenditure, which are required to complete the account, are printed in last night's Gazette. The quarter. opened with a balance in hand in tho Consolidated Fund amounting to J541.719. The revenue amounted to .£2,201,785, and tho expenditure to £2,048,174. This increased the balance in hand to. .£398,360. Of this balance, .£133,000 was transferred to the Public Works Firnd, leaving a final balance ■in hand of ..£265,360.' The revenue was thus made up:— Ordinary, .£2,121,775; Territorial, .£82,938; recoveries, .£l2. Of the ordinary revenue the chief items were:—Customs, £818,739; railways, £758,6-18; stamps (Stamp -Department), £196,321; stamps (Postal), £188,440. The increase in Customs receipts amounted to .£99,209, as compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The increase under tho head of railways was £51,633. The expenditure (apart from the transfer to tho Public Works Fund) was thus made up:—Permanent appropriations, £606,249; annual appropriations, .£1.441,925. The annual appropriations (Departmental expenditure) are tlnis accounted for-.—Legislative, £12,316; Finance, £20,191; Post and Telegraph, £225,265; Working Railways, £593,569; Buildings, Domains, and ttoads, £21,513; Native, £5147; Justice, £102,182; Mines, £4752; Internal Affairs, £55,291; Defence, £51,821; Customs, etc., £20,014; Labour, £5418; Lands and Survey, £42,8-13; Agriculture, Commerce, and Tourists, JK33 *«• Education, £229,216. .There .were increases in eight Departments and decreases in seven. For the half-year (April 1 to September 30) the figures are as in the following abstract, which shows the 1909 figures also:— . ■ EEVENTJH. 1909. 1910. £ £ Ordinary revenue ... 3,702,252 4,061,509 Territorial revenue 95,980 111,285 Endowment revenue 67,142 55,862 Recoveries 2 '12 Total income £3,865,382 £4,228,6(58 EXPENDITURE. 1909. 1910. £ ■ £ Permanent approp.... 1,507,942 1,071,762 Annual approp 2,-182,381 2,590,801 Total expenditure £3,990,323 £4,262,0231 Increase of income £363,286 Increase of expenditure- £272,300 For the half-year under notice the expenditure exceeded .the revenue by £33,955. . It is worthy of note that the Departments for tho half-year cost £108,480 more than for the first half of the preceding financial year. The outstanding Treasury Bills, which stood at £100,000 on March 31 last, have risen again to £533,000. ' ■ • • Th« balance in the Public Works Fund at the beginning of the quarter was £281,814. During the quarter £310,757 was spent (£17G,285 -being on railway works). The receipts were made up of loan money and £133,000 from revenue.