FIJI.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2770, 3 January 1872, Page 2

FIJI.

The regular work of Government goes on uninterruptedly in Fiji. In a recent issue we gaye a description of the opening of parliament thepc, qnd a precis of the policy of the Government. In order that persons interested in the new kingdom may understand how it is intended to carry on the Government, we will now give a brief summary of the financial statement of Thakombau’s Minister of Finance, which appears in a number of the Fiji Gazette, just to hand. The estimated revenue of the dominion for the year ending June 30, 1872, is about L 23,595; and the estimated expenditure L 20,231, which gives the treasurer a surplus of say L 3.000. By far the larger porturn of the revenue is styled territorial, and may mean rents paid by settlers and natives to the King; or it may mean the sum derived from the sale of land to the former. At all events, the Treasurer expects to get over LIB,OQO from this source, while the excise duties are estimated at tlje sip all sura of sum of L 637. The policy of the Fiji government is free trade, pure and simple, and direct taxation. The various items of estimated expenditure indicate liberal provision in the way of salaries; in fact, nearly the whole of the revenue is alloted for what we should call nou-reproductive purposes. The King is allowed a privy purse of L 1,500 a year, and his secretary gets L2OO. The Speaker (Mr Batters) is credited with LSOO, and Ministers (of whom we think there are five) are put down at L 2,500. Again we have the oivil list salaries L 3,150; the salaries' of tjie Legislative Assembly, L 787 ; the salaries' ’ of ' the’ Lauds and Works Department, 1/733 7 Chief 1 Secretary’s Department, L3,d20; Tre^eiirep’s

department, v L5£L; Trade and Customs, L7SI; and Native department, LS.9JWThe highly-civilised and very constitutional item called “contingencies’' swallows up about a fourth of the whole revenue. The administration of justice is estimated to cost L 3,430, and the police L 2,232. The explanation attached to the figures from which we have been quoting seems to imply that the ministers are paid in two ways—as ministers and heads of departments. This is a hint worth bearing in mind by Colonial politicians.