The Evening Star. THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 1876.

Evening Star, Issue 4156, 22 June 1876, Page 2

The Evening Star. THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 1876.

The financial operations of the Provincial Executive during the twelve months ending 31st March last may be summed up without much trouble: they began the year with £64,976 to their credit and ended it with £68,396 to their debit. Such is the statement made by the Provincial Treasurer officially to his Honor the Superintendent, and. it is accompanied by the further cheering observation that the revenue has fallen short of the estimate by £92,702. To some extent, this deficiency is not to be imputed to sanguine calculations on the Treasurer's part. Three items, on loan accounts, amounting in the whole to £38,651, were expected to be received from the General Government, but did not come to hand during the year, for which the Executive can hardly be held blameable; nor can it be safely asserted that it was their fault (since the matter has not yet been properly ventilated) that delay occurred in proclaiming the Hundreds agreed to by the Provincial Council at its last session, whereby the land was not thrown open for sale until too late for the receipts to appear in the 1875-6 accounts, so that the receipts from Crown lands during the financial year, while reaching the handsome figure of £193,347, nevertheless fell short of the estimate by £31,652. When, however, the Treasurer only gets £9,279 from the risky item "Sales of Government buildings and lands," instead of the £30,000 he reckoned upon, one cannot but feel that, with a large contemplated outlay before him, he yielded to the temptation to stretcli bis estimates of receipts

beyond reasonable proportions. These three sums make up £91,024 of the £92,702 by which the revenue fell short of tho Treasurer's anticipations. There are, besides, two other items upon which a deficiency is conspicuously apparent. One is a sum of £IO,OOO which it was expected would have been received ere this from the Government of New South Wales, to whom the old plant of the Bluff and Winton Railway has been sold; the other, a sum of £9,141, to which extent the returns from the assessment on stock fell short of the £62,000 estimated. Per cmtra, the goldfields revenue yielded £9,696 more than the estimate, and there were excesses on other items, making the net deficiency the amount just mentioned.

It has always been a failing of both General and Provincial Governments to regulate their expenditure, not by the amount of their income, but by the gauge of popular likes and dislikes. They do not cut their coat according to their cloth, but according to the latest and most extravagant taste. Hence, Mr Davie, while artlesslynarrating the fact that the revenue exhibits a deficiency of £92,702, does not accompany his simple tale with the commentary that the expenditure has been correspondingly reduced. Quite the contrary. It seams to have struck him that to have begun the year with an available credit balance of £64,976 and to end it with a debit of £68,396—in other words, to have spent £133,372 more than the income proper of the year—could scarcely be deemed a financial feat worthy of applause; but he evidently thinks that the matter is satisfactorily explained by the remark that " looking to the liberality of the last Provincial Council in passing appropriations largely in excess of the estimated revenue it must be matter of congratulation that the various departments have succeeded in keeping down the year's expenditure to the extent that has been done." We really cannot share in Mr Davie's jubilation. Donbtless the votes of the Provincial Council were extravagant; but whose fault was that? The Council cannot be held blameless, but the prime offenders are the Executive, who should have put theii foot firmly down and told the Council that if sums were voted beyond the limits of prudence another Executive must be got. It is the express duty of the Executive, as guardians of the public purse, to check the extravagance of the Council, and if the Council takea the bit in its teeth and persists in a course which, in the long run, could only lead to bankruptcy, then the Executive should resign and not be parties to financial proceedings which they know must injure the country. Nor does their responsibility end with the prorogation of the Council. They are bound to " cut their coat according to their cloth,'! and if the revenue yields less than was anticipated to lessen their expenditure proportionately. In the present case the Executive had £589,100 of income to spend, which, it must ;be admitted, is no contemptible sum. Of this amount £104,807 was derived from iailways, being £4,800 more than the- estimate, which is worth notice, inasmuch as many persons thought the estimate too high. The working expenses of the different lines appear to have been £66,500, thus leaving a handsome balance as a contribution towards payment of the interest upon the money spent in the construction of the railways. It is, however, too soon yet to form a sound opinion upon the financial results of our railway system. We must wait until the system—branch and main lines —is in full working order before coming to a definite conclusion. At present we can rest well satisfied, knowing that the Otago lines, taken altogether, pay better than the lines of any other Province. £101,292 was spent during the year upon railway extensions ; and the very considerable .sum of £110,850 was laid out upon roads; " works and buildings" (including £25,000 for school buildings) absorbed £50,538; bridges, £34,454; and jetties and harbors, £17,641. Grants-in-aid to Road Boards, benevolent institutions, public libraries, &c, were disbursed to the extent of £32,337. There is a formi-' dable list of "miscellaneous" items, mounting up to £80,104 in the aggregate, and disclosing a vast variety of methods by which the Government gets rid of its money—from a sad-looking item of £3Ol expended in burying paupers, to a sum of £789, which his Excellency's visit cost the Province. It would take too long to critically analyse the list, although it is well worth readirg : but it shows, amongst other things, that the last salmon ova experiment cost £W597 ; and that the litigious propensities of the Executive involved the expenditure of £969, besides the Provincial Solicitor's salary and allowances.

We understand that the head-mastership of the Ballarat College has been offered to Mr J. H. Pope, of this City, and that the offer has been accepted.

There are fourteen candidates at the halfyearly examination now going on for the students' elass at the Normal School. The examination will conclude to-morrow.

The business transacted at the City Police Court this morning was confined to a number of charges of drunk and disorderly conduct. John M'Brien and Richard Burton were each fined ss, or twenty-four hours' imprisonment; Mary M 'Donald, 10s, or forty-eight hours; Mary Duffus, 40s, or fourteen days; John Mouat, a new arrival, was discharged. Messrs A. Meroer and C. Flexman, JJP.'s, occupied the Bench,

A meeting of the Gardenars* Mutual Improvement Society was held at the Hibernian Hotel last evening. Several new members were initiated, and the adjourned discussion on the aphis, or American blight, affecting the apple tree, waa resumed. The 'Timaru Herald' in noticing the great progress of that town says a large number of very tine buildings are in course of erection, as well as numerous dwelling houses. There are now upwards of 700 houses there, and the population numbers close on 3,500.

The 'Tuapeka Times' in noticing that Messrs O'Neil and Malone are about to open up a large claim on the Weatherstones Flat, says it is a weekly occurrence now for claims to be taken up on ground that has been deserted for the last two or three years. Already grumbling iB heard that a lot of auriferous land has been alienated, and many of the miners are said to be prevented from going into payable ground, owing to the land having been taken up by agriculturalists.

The «Post' tells of a landlord of a " pub» who received a lesson a day or two ago which is likely to make him careful in future with reference to cashing cheques. A man came to him with a cheque for two pounds odd, and asked " Boniface "to cash it. The latter, mistaking the cheque for a twenty-pound one, gave that sum in exchange for the cheque, on the receipt ot which the man coolly walked off. The landlord soon saw his little error, and finding the man in question, demanded of him to return the overplus. This he refused at first to do, but subsequently thought it-might be safer to comply, and so he made his conscience and the heart of the incautious publican lighter. The ' New Zealand Times' says a peculiar incident occurred in connection with the divisions in the house of Representatives on Friday. The lobby into which the ayes were wont to go last session was on that day assigned to the noes, and according to Mr Reynolds, who mentioned the matter to the Speaker, some honorable gentlemen had become confused, and voted on the opposite side to that on which their sympathies were. Mr Reynolds got laughed at for thinking members so stupid; but strangely enough, Mr Curtis, on the second division, found himself in the Opposition lobby. He attempted to get out, but was too late, and the Opposition successfully claimed his vote.

The 'Waikouaiti Herald' states in referring to the fire which occurred on Mr Murdoch's farm at Flag Swamp a few weeks ago, that the wheatr consumed was not insured, although negotiations had been entered ints to do so with the local agent, Mr Malloch. Owing to a press of engagements on the part of Mr Murdoch these had not been completed, and he consequently stood in the position to lose the whole of the amount which, it was estimated the grain consumed was worth. Viewing the peculiar circumstances of Mr Murdoch's case in a favorable light, the directors of the National Insurance Company have with praiseworthy generosity paid him threefourths of the amount which it was proposed to insure the grain for—viz., L 75. An inspection of the Richardson Fusiliers was held last night in the drill-shed at the High School by Sub-Lieut. Pollock, ActingAdjutant for the present month. There were fifty members of the Company present when the order was given to fall in, but only fourteen obeyed, the others adhering to their former decision not to drill under Captain Sohwabe. The proceedings altogether were not of a very edifying description. At the conclusion of the parade those inspected gave three cheers for Capt. Schwabe, but they-were completely drowned by groans from the non-contents. It is reported that a petition, asking the Defence Minister not to have Mr Schwabe gazetted as their Captain, is in-course of signature by the members of the Company, ana it is to be hoped that the present state of affairs will soon be put an end to.

A meeting of the Otago District Committee of the Manchester Unity of Odfellows was held at the Oddfellows' Hall, George street, yesterday evening, for the purpose of appointing three delegates to represent the society at the conference of societies to be held on the subject of the proposed Friendly Societies Bill to-mo<row evening. Messrs Anderson, Leslie, and Sligo were appointed, and received instructions to urge upon the conference the desirability of having the Bill amended in respect to audits and valuations, the meeting resolving that the clauses of the Imperial Act dealing with those matters should be substituted for the clauses in the Bill. The proposed measure was further scrutinised in respect to its more important provisions, in order to afford the delegates an opportunity of gathering the opinions of the members. Poets in the Colony, as elsewhere, meet with the proverbial lack of appreciation. There is one in Hampden, and this is what the local of the 'North Otago Times' has the cruelty to say: —"You have at last gratified the heart's desire of poor old John Cochrane, I see, by putting one of his effusions in print, but if you had known him, Mr Editor, you would have taken pity and put his manuscript in the fire. The man is a well-respected substantial cockatoo of this district, and thoroughly up to his fbusiness, but he has a mania for writing such absurdly incoherent productions as that which you printed, and sending them to persons of exalted station. His friends have many a hearty laugh over some of his letters, which are sometimes amusing enough for their very absurdity, but I am sorry to Bee one of them getting into a public print, both for his own and family's sake."

The monthly Government inspection of the North Dunedin Rifles was held in the Company's Shed last evening; present: one captain, one lieutenant, one sub-lieutenant. two sergeants, and twenty-nine rank and file, out of a total strength of fifty-four. They were put through active company drill for an hour by Drill-Inspector Harrison, and acquitted themselves creditably. Captain Reeves then presented the prizes won at the late firing, and in doing so made a few ap?ropriate observations to the recipients, •rizes were presented as follows:—Vols Frew, Fredric, H. Millar, G. Millar, g! Shepherd, and W. Hutchinson, each one cup presented by Captain Reeves, competed for in two matches; Volunteer Allen, the champion belt; and Corporal Frew, an aneroid barometer, presented by Corporal tfichardson. Captain Reeves stated that there were some money prizes to be given; but as a protest had been lodged regarding them, their presentation would be deferred until next parade night.

The Port Chalmew Naval Company will meet in their drill-shed this evening, at eight o'clock.

The regular monthly meeting of the Celtio Lodge will be held in the Masonic Hall this evening, at eight o'clock.

The Star of Freedom Ledge 1.0. G.T., No. 5, met in the school, Linden, last evening The resMent members of the Grand Lodge' Exequ ive were' | formally received, the G.W.C.T., Brother Adams, occupying the chief chair. The G W.C.T. gave an impressive address on Degrees a d their importance to the well-being of the Order.

A Frenchman, writing a letter in FnglUh to t> friend, and looking in the dictionary for the word " preserve," and finding it meant pickle, wrote as follows:—" May you and your family be pickled to »U eternity."