FINANCIAL STATEMENT .

Feilding Star, Volume IX, Issue 129, 31 May 1888, Page 3

FINANCIAL STATEMENT .

The Financial Statement was delivered in the House on Tuesday evening by Sir Harry Atkinson. The following are its salient features : — The Public Debt.— The gross public debt at the 3lst March, 1888. was £36 758 437. Deducting the sicking Funds accrued, £'1,222,056, the net public debt at that date was therefore £35,536.* 381, as against £34,314,454 at the 31st March, 1887. Estimated Results for the Year.— The total revenue from all sources was £4.016,4000, and the estimated expendin ture £4,06 ',838, leaving a deficit of L 64.436 on the whole revenue. But as the Land Fuud was estimated to give a small surplus of L 11.755, and as we do not now use any surplus Land Fund as ordinary reveaue, they had to provide a sum of L 56.103 to make up ordinary expenditure and revenue balance, in addition to the amount required for school and other nublic buildings, and for subsidies to local bodies. The •'amount- estimated to be required for public buildings from revenue was L 60.000, being L 30.000 for school buildings, L 17,000 for the General Post Office, and L 13.000 for other buildings. This, added to the esti mated deficit of the ordinary revenue, and me uding L 30.000 subsidies to local bodies, made the total amount to be pro-vid-d L 146.193. it no further reductions were thought prudent. Property Tax— lt was not proposed to make any alteration in the rate of the Property Tax this year. But he would ask the House to agree to remissions to a certain amount of some classes of ma« chinery. The loss to the revenue, if the remissions are agreed to, would probably be about L4OOO Subsidies to Local Bodies.- -The Go-, vernment, after careful consideration, had come to the conclusion that the pay* ment of subsidies must be continued, or the work of the local bodies would be practically paralysed, causing serious inconvenience throughout the country districts ; but they think that the colony should clearly understand that continued payment means additional taxation. The Government were also of opinion that, if the payment is to.be continued, a special tax, or portion of a tax, should be set apart for subsidies, and that the amount raised should be divided amongst the local bodies on the same plan as is now in force. It was also desirable that the j tax set apart should be one which will increase with the increase of population. They, therefore, proposed that the tax on tea should be increased by 2d per pound, and that one«half of the whole duty received from tea shall be set aside *nd devoted to the payment of these subsidies .-1.../ • Loans to Local Bodies.— The total amount borrowed to 31st March last, under the Government Loans to Local Bodies Act, was L 125.000, of which L 108.841 had been paid to local bodies, aud the remainder was Unissued. The liabilities outstanding, were L29,2i4 Applications for loans this year amounted to L 7&330, of which L 6980 was for second year's loans. Nearly all the appli* cations Ir d been granted, and should all necessary steps be taken to raise loans now applied f<ir, the Treasury would require a further sum of about L 90.00 • to complete them- Authority was given to the Treasure;- to lend up to L2O , ' 0 n year to local bodies, but as the appll ' cations had not nearly reached that amount Parliament would not be asked in appropriate money under that head this session. He should make a proposal to the H«iu»e to increase, the rate of interest charged to local bodies, the idea tliat the Government could borrow the money at 1 per cent. less. than the rate charged to local bodies' not haying been r.'ulis'd. " ... Reductions in Public "Expenditure.— The House having refused to raise the school a«e to six years*/ "the proposed total reductions of the Government la* 1 session were L 270,000, which was re duced to L 262.000 by a sum of LBOOO having been twice deducted ..from the expenditure. The aV^a! . saving . ; made, bad been L 233.097-. the^avHSg'on defence having been L 42,434. He trusted that this saying, though not what the Government had hoped to make, would be considered as a not unreasonable approximation to their undertakings. Respecting the Civil Service, he said it was proposed; to classify it. and restrict the number of each class. It was proposed to amalgamate the Native Department with that of the Colonial Secretary, making it a branch of that department, and before the end of the year to abolish the Public "Works Department. It was proposed to : continue the construction of such of therailways as are to bf proceeded with under the staff of the constructed rail* ways, and to hand over the whele of the road works to the Surrey Department, already charged with a large part of that work, employing 1< cal bodies, where post sible, in carrying them out. A large saving would be affected by this arrangement, and it would no doubt be strong and satisfactory evidence to the people of the colony and the outside world that we were really briugmg our large borrowing policy to an end when the department which has been its organ and symbol finally disappeared. After a lengthy exposition of the col-: ony's finances, and a review of the Tariff, the Colonial Treasurer summarised the Government proposals as follows:— We find that after the reduction of our ordinary expenditure by £233,000 the expenditure which we deem necessary is some £70,000 for the year more than our income from our present sources of revenue. That to provide school aud public buildings from revenue an additional £60,000 is required. That to continue the subsides to local bodies, and to pay them all from revenue as must be done, if they are to be paid at all, another £64,000 is necessary, and to pay the balance of last year's deficit of £128,000 a sum of £58,000 must be provided, this ' year, and the balance m the succeeding year. Adding then these several amounts together we find there is required to balance revenue and expenditure £56,000, to provide for school and public buildings £60,000, to provide for the subsidies £64,000— £180,000 ; and £58,000 for two years on account of last year's deficit of £128.000. To provide this sum of £190,---0001 have proposed additional Customs duties estimated to yield £207,000. If the estimate should prove correct we shall have a surplus of £17,000 so that the margin allowed is none too much. The Committee will remember that last year the Property Tax was increased by £65,000, but no alterations were made in the Customs duties. I would desire here to call particular attenteon to the fact that of this £180,000 now proposed to be raised by additional taxation £107,000 has hitherto been provided from loan, » namely : £60,000 fpr buddings. £32,000 subsidies, aui £15,000 for defence. -"" Hon. members, will no doubt feel with the Government that the proposed additions to^inlr" taxation are large, but if after wu^dwatioa it is found necessary

to contiuue the services named it is clear the money must be found. My endeavor has been to place clearly before the Committee what our real wants are, to point what services are rendering the increased taxation necessary, and to show how the required funds can be best provided. The matter is now xin the hands of the committee. I have • laid .before it the material facts relating to the ..financial position of the colony as clearly, as fully, and as fairly as I could, if the task has not been the pleasant one it would have been if, instead of providing- for a deficit, we had had to dispose of a handsome surplus, we have the satisfaction of Knowing that a searching examination of the colony's accounts reveals nothing to make us doubt for a moment its financial soundnesss, just, as I believe, a similar examination of the material circumstances of the colony would, in spite of adverse facts, show beyond doubt its substantial prosperity, and I am sure the committee will agree in the opinion which I hold strongly that one of the surest means, or at least the. necessary conditiou of increasing that prosperity is by adhering firmly at whatever present inconvenience to the sober financial policy of last session.