THE FINANCES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1369, 21 February 1912, Page 5

THE FINANCES.

AN INTERIM STATEMENT,

SUBMITTED TO PARLIAMENT,

PREMIER'S lIOPEFOL VIEWS,

Before llic com increment of the noronfideneo debate in (he House of Representatives yesterday afternoon, the Priiro Minister (Sir Jo.-'eph Wan)) submitti-d what ho deserilwd as practically a Financial Statement, (hongh for: a broken period, namely, the first ten months; of tlio current financial year. The- House consented to having it'put into Hansard. It whs as follows:— I desire to submit a brief statement showing— (a) The rcvenne and expenditure for tho past ten mouths of the present financial year; 0>) An estimate of the revenue and expenditure for tho remaining months of the year; and (c) Tho general financial position of the Dominion. Prom March .11, 1911, to J.-uiuarv 31, 1912, the revenue under the' various heads was .£8,718,064, as under:— Ordinary Revenue Account— £ Customs 2,72f1,C1S Stamps (Stamp Department) ... 795,807 Post and Telegraph (including stamps) 846,608 Land tax 627,131 Income tax 58,835 Beer duty 98,018 Hallways 2,922,522 Registration and other fees 87,597 Marine 39.674 Miscellaneous 239,727 Total ordinary revenue 8,437,170 Territorial revenue 191,327 National Endowment revenue... 62,365 Other Teceipts 27,202 8,718,064 Tho actual eipenditure brought to account for the ten months was i! 8,060,995, as under:— Ordinary Revenue Account— £ Civil List 26,091 Interest and Sinking Fund 2,399,593 Under special Acts of the Legislature '. 885,751 Legislative Departments 25,167 Department of Finance 40.150 Post and Telegraph Department 661,293 Working Railways Department 1,855,300 Public buildings, domains, arid maintenance of roads 59,271 Native Department' 16,365 Justice Department 277,635 Mines Department 19,452 Department of'lnternal Affairs 278,224 Defence Department 273,646 Customs, Marine and Harbours, and Inspection of Machinery Departments 93,841 Department of Labour 19,971 Department of Lands and Survey ~ 186,878 Department of Agriculture, Commerce, and Tourists ... 152,215 Education Department 787,271 Services not provided for 2,846

8,000,995 I estimate tho revenue and expenditure for the unexpired two months of tho financial year, ending on March 31 next, to be— REVENUE. Ordinary Revenue Account— £ Customs 538,750 Stamps (Stamp Department) ... 175,077 Post and Telegraph (including stamps) 228,307 Land tax 13,000 Income tax 385,000 Beer duty 20,000 Railways 708,000 Registration and other fees 23,700 Marine 7,100 Miscellaneous 125,000 2,223,934 Territorial revenue 51,580 National Endowment revenue... 29,750 2,305,201

EXPENDITURE. £ Ordinary revenue accountCivil list 7,911 Interest and sinking fund 284,715 Under special Acts of the Legislature 313,300 Legislative Departments 4,704 Department of Finance 8,147 Post and Telegraph Department 313,330 Workiv Railways Department 044,700 Public buildings, domains, nnd maintenance, of roads 25,500 Native Department 4,150 Justice Department 93,391 Mines Denartment 4,402 Department of Internal Affairs 110,977 Defence Department 11,843 Customs, Marino and Harbours, and Inspection of Machinery Departments 20,732 Department o£ Labour 4,517 Department of Lands and Sur- ' vey 48,500 Department of Agriculture, Commorce, and Tourists 52,200 Education Department 218,720 .£2,278,859 This will be for the whole year— £ Revenue 11,023,328 Expenditure 10,339,854 Surplus of revenue over expenditure .£083,474 To this should be added the balance on March 31, 1911, £580,483, 'less. £500,000 to be transferred to tho Public Works Fund during tho present year 86,483 Leaving r.n estimated surplus on March 31 next of £769,957 Full details of revenue and expenditure are supplied in papers attached hereto. THE DOMINION'S FINANCIAL POSITION. Tho continued increase in the revenue of the country is most gratifying, affording, as it does, proof of the Dominion's remarkable prosperity and financial strength. PUBLIC WORKS FUND. £ On MaTch 31, 1911, the available ways and means for public works purposes wore 1,140,015 And (excluding moneys obtained for the redemption of maturing loans) additional funds have been received as under— Under tho Aid to Public Works and Land Settlement Act, 1910 181,650 Under the Aid to Public Works and Land Settlement Act, 1911 350,000 Transfer from Consolidated Rind 250,000 Miscellaneous receipts 6,265 Making a total for the ten months of £1,927,960 A further transfer will be mad© from the Consolidated Fund of £250,000 Making a gross total available for the year 1911-12 of 2,177,900 Tho expenditure under appropriations for the 10 months (excluding separate accounts having ways and means of their own) was... £1,452,647 Alid a further expenditure of _ 060,070 i-i estimated for the remainder of the year 2,118,717 leaving an estimated balance on March 31 next of £59.243 To this will have to be added the balance of the 11111 loan vet to be nuV'd .". £1,150.000 Ami the authorised liii.-n under the Aid d- Water - power Work;, Act, 1910 500,000 1.0.50.000 Making an psh'moted total available for nest year of £1.709,245 Tlifl public works of Mi* Dominion to' ..many y«.rs to coin* must require tho

'doso attention of its Ministers. Until its largo necessary public undertakings approach completion the country will not bo properly developed. I estimate that it will take about fifteen, or possibly twenty, years from the present time to construct all the main tnink and branch railway lines, main roads, and other uselul ami necessary works. When finished (here will )h> a change in the character of our political outlook, now in a large measure wee-warily concentrated on such projects as these—a vital necessity to our national growth.

Our present position is that of tho owner of a tip.li estate who has two courses open to him—(l) To allow his heritage to remain unilcvolo]>cd, or (2) by vigorous action (« brinif it to its highest'producing capacity as soon as possible. Tim people of ihe Dominion havo wisely chosen the hocoikl course, and so the question of public works will iccupy a very large part of our national affairs for some time to corns,

OVK PHESEXT PUBLIC DEBT. l l ' l has largely arisen through tho Mate s action in undertaking works and duties which in other countries are left to privato enterprise. ]f the cost of constructing the railways of, sav, Canada and the United States, for example, were added lo the liabilities of these countries their public indebtedness would, of course, ho very greatly increased. In addition to our expenditure on public works, such as railways, roads, and bridges, public buildings, harlxnirs nm l lighthouses, largo sums have been borrowed by tho Government for purchasing estates for clcscr settlement, for loans to local liodics, to settlers and workers, and for other useful purposes. Much, therefore, of our public debt is directly inter-est-bearing, or indirectly profitable. On tne whole, less than one-fourth of our total indebtedness is a, dead-weight debt, and this propcrtion to tho wholo will decreases in future.

EXTINCTION OF TIIF, PUBLIC DEBT. Ex-cry penny of our public debt is nowprovided xvith means for its extinction xvithin a reasonable time. The greater portion of it, representing about .£65,000,004, which had no special internal reserve or sinking fund for its repayment, is now under tho operation, of tho Public Debt Extinction Act, 1910. This Act has established a system whereby tho whole of this £05,000,000 will be repaid in soventy-hxTo years. The Act also applies to all future loans, which will bo extinguished by. it in sex-enty-fix-o years after I heir origin.

Until the funds are required for repayment of loans falling duo thoy are to ho invested in Xcxv Zealand in loans (o settlers, xvqrkers, and local bodies, and their investment xvill thus greatly assist in tho development of the Dominion. The first year's contribution the Consolidated Fund under tho Act, amounting to .£144,885, will bo invested in such securities before the end of the present financial year.

THE FUTURE.. Tho financial position oC the Dominion is absolutely sound in every way. It lias vast reoiurre-, a vigorous and enterprising population—small, it is true, in proportion to the area of tho country to be developed; lint it is increasing both by excess of births over deaths and by immigration much faster Uian 'hat of many other countries. Taxation is light compared with that of other less-favoured lands, and is imposed on those best able to bear it. Tho settlement of our lands is proceeding rapidly. Tho demand for our principal products is good, and must of necessity continue as the ivorld's population increases.

There need be no doubt whatever of this country's future, which must be'one of general advancement and development.