BUDGET PARAGRAPHS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2135, 18 July 1907, Page 4

BUDGET PARAGRAPHS.

THIS CIVIL SLR VIOL. Tho following remarks regarding classification ami superannuation schemes for the Civil Sorvico are ruled from tho financial.;Staturnout, deli\ored by Tlio Premier on Tuesday Cloning:As h ■ i. memliers know'. Two great Depaiimont*. "the llailway ami the tW and are already classified and a superannuation fund oxisis in- connection \vu.n tlio .Department of Hallways, and tlio results have liocui advantageous both to tlio Stale and the oJueei.s concerned. >Tho odicers work with hotter spirit,,and const(luontly more oilicicnUy. Tlio Government are aat.fslioil that tlio

same advantages will follow from an extension of the system to the public service generally, and Hills will bo tilt odllOvd Ini' v ! l*i {'U't'O.i. J lio classification scheme will in some cases involve a- slight increase in salaries, and moreover it is intended to supplement the officers’ contribution cj the superannuation hind by a

'r rnn t of public money. Jins year 1*30,000 will be asked i'or for tho purpose, anil 1 am satislied that* -Parlinment will readily approve it. lho country is prosperous, its nuances are buoyant, and tho Government

proposal’s are ft matter ns much of justice as nenerosity to the public servants who labor so loyally anti so well in the service of the State. Classification by statute is necessarily inelastic, and this is accentuated by the steady expansion of the Departments concerned. 11l the easo of

tho Post and Telegraph various modifiontious have been made from tune lb time by Act, but further alterations are'required. Moreover, to meet future eases it is proposed that

statutory authority lie given to the Governor to modify hy Order-in-Couneil the stntutary classification list of any Department, the order liein- subject to the approval of both Houses l>y resolution. In this way eases for’ alteration can he dealt with as thev arise, and the authority of Parliament preserved. In addition to the classification of the Civil Service, amended classification tor both Railways and the Post and Telegraph service will be submitted as promised last session. 1 am hav-

iiiS prepared a return showing 1,0 names and salaries of tlio civil servants of tlie colony, which I propose laying on timetable of the Houso tor tlio information of lion, members before the Estimates are considered. 1 XTEItNATIONAL EXHIBITION The International Exhibition which closed' in April, proved to be tlio most successful held in Now Zealand or Australia. It stands hist in point of attendance and in excellence and variety of exhibits, it has never been surpassed by any Exhibition south of the Equator. Iho advantages to the colony of the Exhibition are threefold :——lst,. educational and social; 2nd, financial; 3rd, advertising. The total expenditure in connection with the Exhibition amounted to about £200,000, of which £75,500 was paid from tlio Consolidated Euuds, the amount being made up of receipts from admission and royalties on selling rights and side shows, payments for 'space and realisation of exhibition materini. Of the amount paid from the Consolidated. Fund £150,000 has been unpaid so that the cost at present stands in round figures at £00,500. but there will be a further reduction upon this amount. Sales are now in course of prosecution and 1 hope before the session closes to lay a bal-ance-sheet with full details before members. For the sake of coniparision I might- mention that the Melbourne Exhibition of 1838, which was an undertaking of similar magnitude conducted in a city oi between 100, 000, and 500,000 "eople resulted in a loss of £23< ,000. The total attendance was something less than at our Exhibition. ' Even were the Exhibition to cost £60,500 it must bo pronounced from a financial standpoint i a remarkable success. A car.'ful esj timate of the gain to the co!.nv las been made ns followsgain to railI ways £75,000, customs £75,000, other departments £IO,OOO, total £160,000; tourists 10,000, at £2O, £200.000; total £360,000;- less loss £60,500, the net gain is £299,000.

SHEEP TAX. The sheep tax was imposed in the year 1879, and as will he seen from the statute for a specific purpose, viz., for inspecting sheep with the view to eradication of the then widely spread disease, “scab.” Happily the flocks of this country aro now entirely freo from this trouble, and the cause for the tax having now disappeared the reason for its continuance no longer exists. Moreover, cattlp horses and pigs entail more expenditure for the eradication of diseases peculiar to them than sheep over did, and yet there is no tax imposed in respect to this class of stock. The amount collected under the sheep tax is barely £20,000 a year and 1 propose to' ask Parliament to repeal it altogether. This Concession, lam satisfied, will meet with general approval, us tJijj sheepfarming industry has reached to such dimensions that it behoves us to assist it in every legitimate way. ItEGI PItOGIT V.

When in London recently, the Prime Minister of Canada expressed himself favorable to the establishment of reciprocal trade between Canada and New Zealand, and negotiations with this object in view are proceeding. Anything that can be done to provide fresh avenues for our trade is of great importance to the country, and 1 am hopeful that before long fair proposals between New Zealand and Canada to bring into operation reciprocal trade will be made, and a scheme duly submitted to Parliament for ratification. I propose to ask the House to be given power to vary duties either on dutiable or free goods between New Zealand and British countries with whom reciprocal treaties will be entered into, such reciprocal treaties being afterwards subject to ratification of Parliament. LOCAL BODIES’ INTEREST.

During the crisis which took place a few years ago it became necessary to raise the rate of interest at which the Government borrowed, and this necessitated an increase in rates on loans granted to local bodies. I think the time has arrived when the latter rates should bo re-adjusted. These local bodies do a great deal to promote settlement, and thereby perform a very useful function in the general work of government. In order to further assist them, I propose, from the Ist February next, to reduce the rate of interest on existing and future loans by a half per cent!, but not making it lower than 3J per cent., the lowest rate at which we obtain money for lending to local bodies.

1(0A DING BACK BLOCKS. ('ood progress lias been made with reading and opening up by means of bridle tracks land recently taken up for settlement but notwithstanding the work done during the year just passed has exceeded in quantity that done during any previous year the settlement of new land has been so extensive as to render it impossible to provide access to the whole of it as quickly as could be wished. However, with sustained perseverance and energy and the provision of sufficient funds for the purpose it is 7 hoped to overtake the needs of settlement.

11l addition to road work a considerable! amount of assistance has been piven in the way of grants to local bodies for works in older settled parts of the country. TELEPHONE TO OUTLYING LOCALITIES. JJv a vigorous prosecution of the work of constructing telephone lines to isolated parts of the country the Department lias been euabTed to'open for public business no less, than 14G telephone offices during the year. It I* anticipated that the number for 19Cb will at lenst equal this. The amount expended on telegraph extension during the financial year 190 G to 1907 was £lll,OOB. but there are liabilities amounting to £75,110 on account of works for which Parliament authority was granted too late for the necessary expenditure to be brought within the financial year.

DAIRYING. Dio first essentials to excellence ail'd purity of our dairy products is strict cleanliness in liyres and tlio highest degree of freedom from disease in stock. Til esc objects can be effected only by increased care in inspection., and for this purpose it is proposed to pav £BOOO per annum out of the Consolidated Fund. By this means animals found with signs of disease will be eliminated, thus securing not only purer meat for local consumption and home markets, but purer milk for dairy products. The aim being to ensure best milk being brought to factories under conditions most favorable to manufacture. Whatever promotes the excellence of our products ensures for them higher prices in the Old World markets.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT. A comprehensive measure for the consolidation and general amendment of the local government laiv will he introduced, hut having regard to the magnitude and importance of the stiih.ject and the many other matters which must he dealt with., I do not anticipate that the Bill will pass this session. It- will, however, he circulated so that its provisions may he fully considered hy all parties affected and I hope Parliament will next session put this important legilation on the Statue Book. In oases where amendments of tho existing

law aro urgently needed you will bo asked to innlto them. LABOR. Tho adniinstrntion of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act has disclosed certain defects winch should bo remedied. Tlioso lio clnelly m the delays which have often practically defeated the main object ot this legislation. Those delays have boon due partly to the long intervals between the bearing of the Arbitration Court of disputes, but mainly to the unnecessary and often vexatious appeals made from the Conciliation Board to tho Court itself. Ihon troubles that, luivo arisen regarding t.iio half-holiday in shops and factories will be removed. Bills to moot these points will bo introduced.

INFANT LIFE. . Recent. iinformation which has reached mo shows tlio ncoil ol lurther protecting infant life from the neglect. so often found in connection with tho treatment of cliildron. Legislation will be brought down providing safeguards which experience lias shown to he necessary.

CHINESE. Neither here nor elsewhere lias the poll tax succeeded in preventing the immigration of Chinese for reasons that need not bo discussed. lhe money is always to bo found to pay the amount of th© tax and so enable a certain number of the Chinese to

como. It. is very necessary in the best interests of the European inhabitants of the country that further restrictions should bo imposed. Jtxporienee has shown that the .more ell'ective and justifiable check is by means of a high Educational .test. This, it is hoped, with the present poll tax continued, will liavo the effect of both reducing the number and raising the standard, of the class of immigrants. Legislation on these

linos will bo introduced. NATION AI. ANNUITIES Hon. members will recollect that last vear the Government circulated a Mill to establish a system of annuities. Encouragement of thnlt should ho one of the main objects of every Government. jit not only makes sure provision for declining years and gives a security against want, but in the present serves as a iiealtliy chock upon a disposition" to spend money in various forms of indulgence which are far from bcnificial to our people. The Bill will be introduced again anil will . contain provision for voluntary contributions to a fund for the establishment of annuities. REPLACING GUARANTEED DEBENTURES. As already stated £IOO,OOO. of Imperial guaranteed debentures matured on Ist June last, and in due course will bo cancelled. It has been the practice to obtain advances on the security of t-lio Imperial guaranteed debentures for the purposo of replacin'' the public accounts whenever required. The fact that this power existed was one of great value in dealing with finance. The debentures

were practically available for tlio purposo of mooting any possible unexpected financial ■ contingency that might arise. The question then presented itself as to what is the best courso to follow to ensure tho financial stability of the country in Loudon now that the Imperial guaranteed debentures are no longer available. It is absolutely essential that wo should be in the position of having available securities to lodge from time to time. As regards to maintaining a strong financial position in Kngland, I therefore propose to ask fpr authority to issue debentures for £BOO,OOO to take the place of the Imperial guaranteed debentures. This ium is to bo used exclusively for the

security proposed as occasion requires under the control of the High Commissioner, so that in the event. of a financial crisis at any time arising we may have available security to lodge to provide any financial necessities. I desire to point out that under this proposal the public indebtedness will not be increased. As it is not possible to invest this amount in Imperial guaranteed debentures it will necessarily require to bo invested in gilt-edged securities in London which in time of emergency may be available as soon ns an undoubted sufficient security for advances from the Bank of England or other financial houses through extreme financial pressure existing at any time on the London market;

LOANS TO LOCAL BODIES. The work carried on l>y the local bodies is recognised as of the greatest value to the people whose interests they serve and I am satisfied that in tho carrying out of that work The system of Government loans has proved of great service. That it has been largely availed of ns shown by tho fact that £2,194,138 has been advanced. It is only right that people in the several districts who have shown tho disposition by local taxation to hoi]) themselves should have an advantage over those who have relied entirely upon Givernment assistance for carrying on local works. To meet this position, preference will be given in proportion to the amount of tho rate levied by local bodies and legislation providing a scale to meet this will be submitted to Parliament.