WELLINGTON.

Evening Star, Issue 3913, 8 September 1875, Page 3

WELLINGTON.

[By Telegraph.] (From our own Correspondent.)

Wellington, September 8. Major Atkinson, in his speech last night, said he did not propose on the present occasion to follow the speeches of all the hon. gentlemen opposite who had addressed the House on the subject, for the sufficient reason that they already appeared to have been conclusively answered l)y gentlemen now on the ether side of the House. He, however, excepted the speech of the member for Akaroa. He would not go into the speech of the member for Parnell (Mr R. Wood) on the present occasion, because his figures, as he before staled, were only fragmentary. He had not addressed himself to the as a whole, ami therefore it would be waste of time for him (the Treasurer) to follow him, especially as the objection.-! that the him. member had raised were really included in the speech of the member for Akaroa. Therefore bo proposed to address himself almost entirely to that speech, which was one lie had heard with great sail faction became that member had undoubtedly grappled with the financial position of the Colony as a whole—he had announced in most umnistakeablo terms that the revenues of tire Colony should be used if necessity required it for services all over the Colony. He (the Treasurer) confessed that that declaration, coming from the member fur Akaroa, was a source of great satisfaction to him ; at the same lime that hon. gentleman declared the land revenue should be localised by relieving it of some charges now imposed on it by law. Jlc evidently recognised the fact, which must be apparent to any hon. gentleman who considered the Colony as a whole, that the large and wealthy Province* ©£ Otago

and Canterbury bad already incurred liabilities to the full extent of their land fund (Mr Ileid : No.) Ha repeated his assertion: the land revenues of those Provinces would be all practically taken in two years from this date to meet liabilities voluntarily undertaken by those Provinces. (Opposition noes.) J'he position was simply this: the land funds of the various Provinces were liable to the whole of the interest upon all sums of money expended upon railway works within thoir respective Provincial boundaries —that was the position according to law. His hon. friend took the financial year 1877 8 in which to apply the crucial test of expenditure, and he satislac torily proved to his own mind that we could not stand that test, and that therefore there would be a large deficiency. Ho now proposed to give his view of what ho conceived would be the financial position of the Colony and of some Provinces during 1877-8, but before proceeding to do so he would like to say a few words with regard to the land fund. His hon. friend estimated the land fund for 1877-8 as likely to amount to the average of the last six years, namely L 580,000. He was prepared to accept that estimate as reasonable. The Government were fully aware to the necessity and duty of fixing the large number of immigrants whom the Colony had introduced.at a cost of some thing over L 1,000,000 sterling, and also of ’fixing the young men who are bom in the Colony upon the soil by making, as far as possible, the land readily available for occupation —(hear) —therefore, he accepted the estimate of his hon. friend—Lsßo,ooo was a reasonable amount. After giving his estimate of the land funds of the different Provinces, he said ns he was only going to examine tho position of the two larger Provinces he need not go further into particulars. In the following calculations he had taken three per cent, as the probable return from railways at tho end of the third year from now, over and above working expenses. It was possible that the estimate might be a little too high, he was not prepared to say it might not be so, but the effect of its being too high would be this : a larger sum would have to be raised by the Provinces as a charge against the land funds, or by means of local rates on land greatly benefited by railways passing through them. There could ba no doubt that a very grave question would arise for the consideration of the Government, namely, how far it is possible that tho land funds can be relieved of present charges by some means hereafter to be fixed. For himself, without committing the Government at all, he wished to say the Government were quite alive to the matter, and it would be their duty during the recess te consider how this could be done. He had proposed to consider the probable position of Otago as it would be in 1877-8. The figures he was using were founded on the estimates of revenue for the present financial year, prepared by the Provincial Government, and from them he had eliminated such items as interest and sinking fund for loan deposits, refunds of passage-money, sales of Government buildings, &0., and he had also increased the capitation allowance. He had taken the estimate of the population, not as it is at present, but had estimated it at what it would be during 1877-8, and added that to the Province’s revenue. He took their revenue for the year at L 200,000, and neither increased it nor reduced it. He had gone upon the assumption that there would be an increase generally during that period, though ho rather differed with the member for Akaroa on that point. While Otago’s revenue for tho year was estimated at L 344.474, the Provincial services as now provided for under the Appropriation Act amounted to L 112.000; education, L 50,000 ; surveys. L 32,000 ; interest on Provincial debt, L77,0U0 : and interest on railways—that was, the Province’s moiety of the interest for railways—--1.75,000. The total expenses that would have to be incurred were L357.5G7, so that there was a deficiency of L 13,093, (Mr Reid; “That is Colonial finance/’) It was Provincial finance. All the figures were perfectly correct, and if the member for the Taieri could point out where his figures were fallacious, be would be glad to be shown their error. This year, without abolition charges, were imposed on the land fund by the present law of the Province of Otago, and without providing a single pound for Road Boards, Municipalities, or Works, there was a deficiency of L 13,000. To his mind those were very instructive figures. (Mr Reid : “ Quite alarming.’’) Next he would take Canterbury, and again he had estimated from the Provincial Estimates, eliminating the •large balances which of course would be spent before then, and also extraordinary and uncertain sources of income, such as refunds from the Rakaia bridge and items of that sort. Adding the increase of capitation allowance for increased population he found the total income of Canterbury would be L2D0,972. The expenditure would be, according to tho Province’s estimates, for Provincial departments, L 07,000; education, L4G,000; lands aud surveys, L 37,000; interest on railways, LOO,OOO. if these figures were right it was quite evident, as he stated at the beginning, that the land funds of the Provinces had already by law been pledged almost to the fullest extent to which they were capable. If those land funds got to be sold for revenue purposes, there would be practically nothing for tho Provinces for public works at the end of two years. His friends opposite were not tube allowed to dip their hands into the Colonial chest, aud in (preventing that, he felt sure he would have the support of the member for Akaroa* who had spoken so eloquently on the sins of the Government, of the House, and of those hon. gentlemen who had done that great wrong to the State. It was very evident there could be no great inducement for a Colonial Treasurer looking forward to take over those two Provinces, or to getting up this stir and hubbub with a view to getting a possible 1 ,<30,000. He thought his friend would admit that the (figures he had adduced cut away the ground from under his feet that it was with a view of laying their hands upon the Provincial funds that the Abolition measure had been submitted to the House. The member for Akaroa proposed to take us the ordinary revenue of the Colony for tho year Li,400,000, that was to say he proposed to go at one jump from an increasing revenue to a revenue rate. We collected during one of tho periods of tho greatest depression ever experienced in the Colony —(Air Murray : No)--the hon. member might be correct ; but so far as he (the Treasurer) knew, in 1870 the custom ; were at the lowest ebb. Subject, of course, to the correction of the member for Bruce, he would ask what possible foundation could the number for Akaroa have for such an assumption? The Government were going to expend fully 1.2,000,000 on public works this year, and neatly L‘2,000,000 next year, besides the large sums the Provincial Governments—especially Canterbury—were going to spend on public works. There would be altogether spent this year two and a half millions, and in the next ho had little doubt two millions. He contended tbat_ it was perfectly reasonable and fair to consider that our revenue would certainly increase this year, and slightly increase the next. 1 He did not wish to put a glowing color on the statement, therefore he had no desire to exaggerate. What, was the experience when our customs gradually diminished in years gone by ? It was this ; it took three or four years of great depression to reduce the customs to the 1 lowest ebb. It was a matter beyond dispute that people who had been earning large wages, as people here have been doing—and with the means the Colonists of New Zealand had obtained dining the last live or six years, they would certainly continue within the next two year.-; their usual habits of expenditure-would not draw in suddenly and absolutely thoir expenditure within one year. The member for Akaroa, said tin: true revenue would allow a. falling oil' of one sixth in oi eyear. (Mr Montgomery I did not say so.) Ho said if «ncli a crisis oeciirrod the Colony would be practically in a state ot bnnkrnplcy. Ho must absolutely refuse (o make provision for any such contingency, If any such disaster 'falls on the Colony wo will be prepared to meet it. Wo must apply extraordinary remedies to extraordinary diseases, but as prudent men they had no reason to anticipate such a state of affairs. It was reasonable to expect from the consolidated revenue in that year L 1,730,000. He took the receipts of railways at 1.220,500. and assumed the cost of railways at L 7,500,000 ; interest on Provincial Joans LIGG.OOU ; for loans and surveys, LI 30,000 ; and for grants to road boards, L 455.000. He thought the Hous. would agree with him that neither that nor any other Government-and it tin- Government did the House weuld refuse it—would increase the

Estimates with a falling revenue. It was possible to increase estimates when things were prosperous, but he was quite satisfied the douse would not permit them to be increased with falling revenues; therefore he did notaccept bis friend’s increases of expenditure though hj e did his figures. The police he. (the Treasurer) proposed toincrease from LOO,OOO to L 120,000. He contended that this L 120,000 was ample to provide efficient police for the Colony ; but if it was necessary to provide more, of course it would have to he met. The management of land and surveys tho member for Akaroa put down at L 124,000 ; he (the Treasurer) proposed to take 1.130,000. For education he put . down L 140.000; Government proposed LloO.OOO—making a total expenditure of L 2,436,056, against a total revenue of L 2,600,000. So that while making provision for the whole of the services of the Colony, there was a surplus of L 175,000, instead of a deficit of L 249,000. It would be observed that, in estimating the land fund, he bad estimated the receipts therefrom as if taken from the land funds as n whole ; he might bo told that was not fair to particular localities, but he would show how tho various Provinces would he affected by that. Auckland would be enabled to meet her liabilities for the services he had named by L 36.27 2; Taranaki would have a surplus of L 5,215 ; Wellington a surplus of L17,3!)8 ; Hawke’s Bay a deficit of L 4,746 ; Nelson, a deficit *'f L 8,271; •larlborough, a deficit of L3,97S ; Canterbury a surplus of L35,%1; Otago a surplus of L 5,754. The surplus altogether- supposing the land funds to bo localised and only subject to charges already incurred upon them according to the districts, would bo L 67,328, against deficiencies of L 64,325 ; so that it might bo fairly said, as an actual matter of cash, that L 64,000 would have to bo provided either out of surplus or any other means the House might think fit to direct, which by that time would no doubt have been ascertained. It was clearly tho duty of the House to consider what was the real position of the land funds of those Provinces that were not able to contribute their share to the general burdens. He held it was a matter of the first importance and one which vitally affected our financial prospects, that abolition should take place as quickly as possible, purely on financial grounds. The Government intended to abandon nothing, but would steadily press the Bill on, feeling sure that a large majority of the House and the country desired it to be carried through this session.—( ffieers.)