OTAGO AND ABOLITION.

Evening Star, Issue 4255, 16 October 1876, Page 2

OTAGO AND ABOLITION.

The following are extracts from a speech by the Commissioner of Customs last week:— The Superintendent at the meeting held in Danedin stated one of the iniquities we have been guilty of is the taxing away of their t j • BAILWAT BEVEOTJE. . ; Take the estimate of receipts and expenditure of the present year, which the Provincial authorities will readily admit is not likely to be exceeded, for some time :

£2,163,100 It may be urged as unfair to calculate the interest on liabilities, therefore I will leave them out, although the money is raised and the Colony is pay ing interest thereon. The value of the Provincial railways,is to be taken into account. Calculate the interest on the 6um already expended on the 31st June last, L 1.739,990 at six per cent., which gives L 104.394, from which take the balance of receipts over • expenditure, LC4.500, leaving a loss of L 39.894 now chargeable by law against the land fund. Next year the amount will be larger. Instead, of profits to take away thero will be a loss on the railways. . One will then know what reliance' to place! on tne statements of the two hon. members for Dunedin in the future. •

THX LOSS TO OTAGO nUOTIUBT. They have continued repeating this imaginary IOBSpf L 150.000 to Otago by our proposals until! really think they begin to believe it. I wonder if the people they were addressing were struck by the difference in the statements of the hon. gentlemen, one stating Otago would lose 1/200,000, the other L 150.000, but neither daring to enter into particulars, although challenged to do so by my hon. colleague the Colonial Treasurer. Then as to the statement made by the member for the Taieri, comparing the amount spent last year In 'Otago with, what they will have to under our proposals.It is "very easy to run into debt, and with that money to say " Look what we have accomplished." That is the case with Otago. Take the actual revenue. v for; last year. After deducting the sums put down as coming from adventitious sources and from the General Government for subsidies,.and deduct that from the actual expenditure, and the deficiency on last year's transactions is L218.81310s 6d, equal to the eleven counties we propose for Otage running into debt L 20.000 each in addition to their income. Had these counties' been in' existence would they not have spent money to as great'advantage as the Provincial Government P One of the merits «f the Government proposals is giving the people local self-government; you bring them face to face with the receipts and expenditure, and. so put a check on extravagant'expenditure of both the Provincial and General Governments. Take the Provincial Treasurer's own abstract, without deducting these sums, and it will show an expenditure exceeding the receipts by L 132.&15 15s 6d. The Colonial Government is accused of going to the bad at a great rate, but if the hon. member for Dunedin were to look at increase at Home he would see he is going in that direction at a much greater rate. Another statement by Mr Stout at the meeting was when referring to

THK MASKS OF THE BUMS falling in a tew years he said," You could have made such arrangements that you could get four or fire times the reveiue you get now." What is to hinder us doing that now? Cacuot the County Councils, which will benefit by the increase of rent, be trusted to bring pressure on the Waste Lands Board to dispose of the runs on the heat terms, and to opea the jands for settlement quite as well as the Provincial Council ever did P Uy bur proposals the Counties will get every shilling over the expenditure put, down as a necessary charge against the land revenue. As far as Otaso is concerned, that Province will sot be a loser but a gainer. ECONOMIC ADMIKIBTBATIOH PBOKISXD. . The hon. gentleman lectured us about not bring-, ing the finances into a proper state.. No membexfu of this House are more alive to the necessity for' doing tbat than are'the members of the Government, or more desirous to bring opr eipenaituroj within our means. But are we to jump from oriw extreme to another and so paralyse the ootitntry F We should paralyse trade were we to suddenly stop Sublioworkt. .If all this expenditure were Buck •nly stopped, and grass growing on the unfinished

lines ofrailway instejtf ©Xi?4"" 1 not that paralyse taj**/ , What if to the Colony t Whatwvenue X We want tooontfaittefljhe wprlm »wi%ffdlcttpM x expenditure' anatoop»l4etethcweporttoai *|s|%i, \ xaflwayß. without which the rest oaßnotjpay of nee. We art in{earnest to I diture. i to take intd-ebnfiideratJoiJ the wholb meats and see what We baa save ments we can pnt together. Tveti?*™ **>*% WB v V shall be able to meet the Assembly t -|S*P uu ' / "WithconsideiableTeddctions. \ ,< r THB CTJBTOXB t A large redaction in the CiMtomß**rewaui«--Ww' referred to, and it has been stated that there woitifl be a large deficiency. What do the returas show f A deficiency upon the quarter of about L 6.000, equal to L 20,000 for the year. But it is no crione .quarter. With a large influx of popuhrtlon-on Hh* Wi«E*f!»wi K *a.»,—.«««» will rather increase than decrease. __^ssk KB HONTQOItSBT ARSWEBBDi ~ i■I will not now refer to the figures of tto hsni'l member for Akaroa. .That hon. gentleman told such in his figures, bnt will allow them toappwlnf&Bt** Maa *' before referring to them, and t&ewjouiall see how theyworkent. lam not at all prepared to.acknowledge that "New! axe to.be pom- „* ' "_~ pared to those of Turkey and Egypt. faith in the ability of KeWZealamTto pay hir dfttt T j .and interest on them, and, if neoeasary, toflompleto; her railways by borrowing mote moneys These " railways; when completea, AT j the consoiidated revenue by then* reeefcts, ajMi*« f shall see'a better state of things in New Zealand ~f t than the doleful itatementa~Df Ibr hon»-menO»er - would lead us to imagine. '•*."■' ;'■"' '* •:' -■ ' v \T|

Estimated receipts for twelve months ... Estimated expenditoie for twelve months £170,400 106,900 Leaving a balance of with which to pay interest' on the amounts. £64,500 following Expended on Otago railways to 30th June, 1876 ,... Liabilities in respect of same ... £1,739.900 428,200