REVENUE PROSPECTS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 932, 27 February 1880, Page 3

REVENUE PROSPECTS.

T’e fa!h"g off (if ih.? land revenue is (von greater than in ticipated by tlie colonial I reasnr. rin his financ a! statement, when he was so warmly attacked by Sir G Grey for understating the revenue. He then ciilou'atfd that the land sales chime the financial year to 31) hj Jane w all produce 1,248 000. U> to the end last monte, hmvcvet, the reoei ts from land sales realised only 1,10,000. or at the rite of Li 20,000 per annum. Instead th refore of die land sales yield! g LlB -.000 up to t c end of next n onth, when the financial (ear will end. flic receipts will be only 1.90.0:10, or less than halt the estimate, unless a slid on and unexpected improvement takes place. It wdl be remembered that Sir G. Grev estimated the land sales to produce 1.5 0,00.) lor the current year up to the HOili Jail"; insiead of which the actual proceeds will be h-ss th n enc-tourth of that amount. I r is feared also th u tlu* R lilwav revenue will not reach the estimate by nenly 1.80 000 ■I d.-inc fro up esent appearances, this has been smiahi to he aeo mined for by the best part of the strain season filling outside of the p c ent financial .ear; hat I am informed that this is a mistake for the conveyance of grain really makes very 'i lie diff re ce, the extra working expens s involve I muni g nwav with tlie additional profits. 'I he pis e -gcr traffic is found 10 pay b st, and this i largest during su niner, so that the i crca-ed returns of the coming gain season are not expected to m ike np for the present talli ig-olf. n these two items alone the expected deficit is LI 70 0 10. A small decrease in the sunups is provable, and the adverse decision of th- Court of Appeal in Rhodes’ will case will compel the Government to refund ne rlv 1, 9 000 succo-si >n duty pai l over in error, al-ii heavy costs, bringing up the whole loss lo about L2O 000. The Customs keep up fairlv to ihe estimate, whi di i, likely to be realised, or very neady so. and the other soil ces of revenue are expected to come up to the calculation. The deficiencies already mooli ned hj wevor, ioc ease the d fieir. to nea Iv L2 I ) 000 over and above that of 1,796 000 n. «liich M ijnr Atkinson reckoned, making the actiid amount very neatly a million, from this, however, has t> he deduct. I the savings in expenditure eff eted hv he Government, but as they did nor. lake office until the financial e r was almost hj If gm-e, these are not tiled v io reach anv considerable amount, although i ui u ri 1 redueiion will he fund in next year’s expenses. Ihe Government are understood to he doing thi ir utmost to retrench, but, that necessarily takes some lima, and can hnrdlv have any npprcciahlo effect on the finances till after M 'eh. when the financial year ends. Ihe authorised 1,600 000 defi ,'ienev lulls are all issued, and indeed I believe LIOO 000 besi ; es. Mod it is tolerably cmt.iin that another i,IOO 000 will be issued before Parliament meets. This seem, .a strong practical refutation -if the allcgiti ns of Mr George Grey and Mr B illance, and Major Atkin on. for a political purp .sc, ne dles-ly depreciated the pnb--hle revenue, for the result is likely to be serions'y nn ler ev. n his estimate. Conespon lc..t ‘ D lily Times ’