THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Dunstan Times, Issue 540, 23 August 1872, Page 2

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

[N9TE. of money are, for convenience - £ generally, stated in round numbers.] : < The Colonial Treasurer (Mr. Vogel) do. ' livered the financial statement on Tuesday S evening last. He commenced by remarking , that he had a more- agreeable task than ' that which _ devolved upon him last year, ' v for ho had not now to speak of deficiencies, or of impaired revenue. When, last Session, I he reviewed the results of 1870-1 he led the Committee to understand that, on the clo?e of the accounts for that year, there would i be a deficiency of 70,012/., together with 70,000/. of over-draft, making a total an. ticipated deficiency of 146,000/. He was! glad to say that the deficiency proved- to be only 122,000/. —13,000/. less'than hadb.-enf anticipated, that reduction being mainly: r owing to savings in connexion with the | reserve fund. The House accepted the issue of Treasury bills "for 45,000/. at nr-ef year’s date partially to cover the deficiency, ■#; the deficiency to come out of the current revenue. It would bo found that th> current. revenue of he past year had performed its part df-'the bargain. - Provision wouhi be made this year, out of the revenue to 2 meet the 45,00*'/ increasing bills, due this year with respect to Loans. '66,0 01. under 1, the Wellington Debt Act had been negotiated in Sydnev at a clear net premium of two per ‘ t cent. He believed that tliat was the highest amount ever obtained by public negotiation for any of the colonial debentures unguaranteed by the Imperial Government. Of the Immigration and Public Works Loan,850,001)/. had been negotiated, and of the; defence and other purposes loan, 150,000/, ’ making together one million. That amount! had been negotiated at home at a premium of four shillings and two-pence afier deducting the accrued interest which must he’ considered a very favorahl- negotiation's Inclusive of the 150,000/. recently negotiated M x here had been raised under the defence and* other purposes Loan 635,000/.. of which there was charged under the second schedule I of the Act, to Auckland, 5d,000/. ; Taranaki 60.K)/.; Wellington, 17,000/.; Otago, 90,0001. , | There has been expended 295,688/. to.ether with 18,327/. for discount and charges making together a total of 471,352/., and leaving a balance of 158,000/. available fur expenditure. There had been altogether 1,637,294/. raised, of that sum, 711,611/, was expended up to the 30th June last, leaving a balance of 925,684/., of which, 850,000/. was in London on the 30th June, 40.666/. was in the Colony, in cash, 35,0171. was und r advance. The items of expenditure under the Immigration and Public Works Loan, with interest and sinking fund, 20,000/.,' Departmental expenses, 21,000/ ; roads in North Island, 120,000/.; Railways, 241,000/. ; Water supply, 2,0001,. ; purchase of land in the North Island, * 49,000/. ; Immigration, 42,000/. ; Telegraph 58,000/. j 'Ciial mines, 500/ ; payments, toL j Road-boards, and Provinces, 100,000/.; j Greymouth Protective Works, 3*ool | discount and charges, 39,000/. Refine cot- | eluding his remarks concerning: the I-eiaas, he wished Hon. Members to understand hat piovisi n was made for payment eluriugtbe year of 66,000/., Sinking Fund on Colonial Loans, and 40*000/. on Provincial Linn', | The amount in the Trust Fund had inI creas-el during the year by 96,000/. the Post Office Savings Bank fund had increased, from 294,000/. in 1871 to 365,000/. in 1872. Those accounts it should bo clearly understood were kept entirely distinct from ordinary revenue arid ordinary payments, and he had taken tire strictest precaution S to secure tlrat tire interest bearing accounts were sufficreutly covered for all accrued in terest. He would next speak of the Kevctrue of the year 1871-72. The actual revsnneoftho year was „ 1,007,000/., against f 936,000/., the actual receipts of previou year, being art increase of 71,000/. ova the actual receipts of 1870-71, and of 17,0001 over tiro estimates. The Customs showed an tncrease of 25,000/. on the.. 1 mates, and of 42,000/. over the amount's// utally received during the previous year Tire exports during the year had exceeds/ those of the previous year by 1,180,000/.. and the imports showan increase of 427,' Oft Tire year’s increase as regarded revenue ani the events of the year as a whole showed! revival of prosperrty in the colony. Goldmining was improving wool increasi. git value, the land >evenue had been largely, increased, building was going on all ova s the Colony, not only as regarded- dwelling houses, but as regarded erections for busiucsi and manufacturing purposes, an generally 1 much more attention was being given t manufacturing of various kinds; with re -pect to agriculture he was under the in p cssion that the State did not know si much of what was ready being cl- tie, or give to it the assistance that ought to hj given. During the five years ending 1871. there had been a continual increase in tbi value as per head of the population-of the agricultural produce exported from th colony. The expenditure during the past year for colonial charges was, according tithe apprnpri t-ions, 125,000/., which deducted from tiro total amount of Hi . revenue left, a balance of 10,000/., wil which to commence 1872-73. Stating the matter in another way, the figures st d thus : Assets, 247,000/. against liahilitie * to the amount of 236,000/. ft was tot* observed that the full amount authorised I* bo issued as deficiency bills, namely, 100,000/., Lad been issued ; but the grea'-® . portion o c tiro amount did not bear ink--1 rest, be ing merely a nominal over-draft> ! the bank ; 40,000/. of the amount had beer taken by the Trust Fund. Some objects ; was stated last year to allowing the Coven• ment to issue 100,000/. of deficiency bilsi ■ but in reality it was of no assistance to tb 1 revenue. The greater portion of it *>' s represented by advanced subsidies from tin r Consolidation Fund. The full amount w. ll • more than represented in the assets. Honor--1 able Members would understand that, aitf* paying bill, after^

0 r the expenditure nnauthoriseJ of' Just yeiir, after provi ling for the full expenditure of the year, after providing for the reBer ve fund and for all the liabilities add engagements known’to the Treasury/after havi ig, in fact, provided for interest -and sinking futid; there still remains a balance of 10,500/. with which to commence -.the year 1872-7-3. The Treasury had adopted anew system of keeping the .public accounts, by which the full authority of Parliament was secured over the expenditure, and which enabled the accounts to be made up more promptly than hithe’-to. He had prepared some very interesting statistics, comparing new Zea'aud with other.colonies. Taking the year 1871, which .was the latest for which returns could ha found, it appeared that the revenue of the United Kingdom was 65.000,000/. sterling, of which less than 24,000,000/. were obtained under the Customs and,20,000,000/. excise duties on spirits. During the same year the total I amount collected in New Zealand, including ■ the taxes collected by the Provinces, was B 902,000/. If the same taxation existed in New ■ Zealand as in Great Britain, although there ■ English Customs tariff would not of itself || ji e i,l so much as that of the Col my the I tutal revenue would he much larger than it a was at, present. Stamp Duties in the Uni--9 ted Kingdom represented six shillings per B head of the population, or nearly fifty per S cent more than New Zealand. A compariB son of the quantities of high dutied goods 9 consumed in New Zealand,and the United I Kingdom showed conclusively the wealthier I compaiative condition of the Colony. I The English tariff would have yielded in I New Zealand 643,000/. as against 823,000/ I actually obtai ed here ter Customs duties, I but if other tax ition bore the same proporI tion to Customs duties here as in the UniI t e ,i Kingdom, the total revenue of New I Zealand would have been 1,200,000/ in 1870, I as against 894,000 actually received during I that year, but then the local taxation in t the United Kingdom amounted to over fifty I per cent of the general taxation, while in I New Zealand it was much less.. The secret I of the apparent, heavy taxation in, tjhis I Colony was to be found in the Get that the I rate per head of the value of imports and I exports was considerably higher than it I was in the United Kingdom during 1869I The value of imports into the United King* I dom represented nine pounds fourteen H shillings and four pence per head of the I population, and, the exports represented I valueof seven poun Is sixteen shillings per I head, but in Now Zealand .luring the same I year, the imports represented eighteen | pounds four shillings per head, and the ex- | ports fifteen pounds nine shillings per head. S Honorable Members would recollect that [ our imports represented not merely consumable goods, but articles of lasting value and moans of increasing wealth. During the-five years ending 1871; the total valueof our exports was twenty four.mil ions, of which 5,650,003/; was the value of n.ouconsumable articles, so that to that amount the.articles of permanent value and means of increasing [wealth were add -d to the colony by another return; it appeared that for the year ending f April 1,; 1872, the value of imports into I Great Britain less the value reexports represented eight poun Is three shillings per head of the population, while in New Zealand during the same years an 1 under the same ' conditions the imports represented fifteen pjun.ls six shillings per head, the British produce and manufactures exported from the United Kingdom represented a value equal to six pounds six shillings p. r head, but the value of Nexv Zealand produce exports from the colony represented seventeen pounds sixteen shillings per head. During the same year the PostOilice revenue in the United Kingdom was equal to two shillings and 11 pence per head of the populate m, as against three shilling and four pence per head in New Zealand, and. the telegraph revenue amounted to five pence three farthings per head in the former case, and one shillingjand nine pence in the latter. ( / The population of England and Wales in ‘ ’ 1861 showed a proportion of males between the ages of 16 and 65 equal to 23 per cent, whilst in New Zealand in 1871, the prop .rtion of males between those ages was 37 per cent. Turning to the neighboring colmiies it appeared that the per centag • of persn .s between the ages of 21 and 40 was 3S per cent, as aga nst 29 per cent, in New South Wales, and 29 per cent in Victoria, the increase of population during the ten yews ending 1371, was in New Zealand epnd to 105 per cent., as against 46 percent in New South Wales, and Sjpercent in Victoria. During the same ten years the increase in the population between the ages of 21 and 50 was, 162 per cent, in New Zealand, 38 per cent in New South Wales, while in Victoria there was a decrease of lOpercent [A comparison between the exports and imports of New Zea’and and the other Col - nieswaslier given]. It was especially to bo remembered that here the smallest aggregation of popu ation asked for and expected to receive all the conv n enees which were only expected by older colonies and larger communities, still the comparison of the departmental cost of Government was favorable. Itshoula be remembered that the capitation allowance to the Provinces represented 8,000/. more than was paid last year. It was also prop ised to relieve the Provinces from payment of 1,900/. a year for salaries of Provincial Auditors, and 23,000/. a year the cost of inland mail carriage. These sums togetlu r, would represent a payment of 32,000/. out of the Consolidated revenue to and on account of the Provinces, more than was paid lastyear. Thetotalestimntes of Re cn u t iei were 1,076,000/., oran inc. easeofß6,ooo/, and of 68,9011/, i n the actual r.c ipts of last year, adding 10,500/., the amount of the surplus with which the year was commenced, there was a total of 10,086/., and deducting the total expenditure, 1,060,000, there wm 1, remain 25,000/. Surplus upon the year, a portion of ihat surplus would 1 e required to meet supplementary estimates and un-»nthorised..exp-ndit«ro. lb roust also be

commeflccd, the report of She Seloei Corny mittee on public buildings had not been received, which report contained a recommendation that a considerable sum should be expended bn the repair of buildings, provision for that expenditure was of Course not included in the estimate's; on the 'o her hand there would be a great saving during the year on votes, and he was inclined -to think that if desired, that further-provision shouldbe made in aid of immigration and Public Works Act, such provision could be made out of the'surplus. In conclusion, he thought he need not apologise for the paucity of hovel features and new proposals in the Budget. After the changes during the last three yea- s, it was gratif ring to be able now to dispense with further large alteration. This was the fourth consecutive Session in which he had made the financial s’atement. When he considered the period co -eredby those statements he could not but congratulate the Committee u-’on the present improved condition of the affairs of the Colony. He hoped he had avoided exciting in the minds of the Committee anything like an impression that the Government took credit not belonging to th-m. The great revival of prosperity in the Colony was ! dife to power All that the Government claimed was that, when there was a disposition to d sagr.ee. they set themselves to do that which seamed best calculated to restore confidence, an'’ they called upon the people not to be discouraged, hut to arm themselves to contend wi hj their difficulties, and to hope for a briahterfuture. That that future hj id shown itself in such bright colors was due to a power beyond all Governments. The T easurer concluded by moving a resolution, That it was expedi nt to reduce the stamp duty on receipts of Id. Tho resolution xvas agreed to by the Committee, was reported to the House, and adopted. . „ j The House then adjourned. 1 The delivery of the Treasurer’s state-, ment occupied two hours and a quarter.