THE BUDGET.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 8, Issue 451, 13 September 1866, Page 1

THE BUDGET.

(From the Hawke’s Bay Times, 16th August.) Since our last issue, the arrival of the p.s. * Sturt,’ from Wellington, has placed us in possession of the financial statement of the Colonial Ministry, as given by Mr Jollie in Committee of Supply on the Bth inst.; and we now proceed to lay an outline of it before our readers. It is, as such documents usually are,, of considerable length, occupying as many as seven pages of foolscap; but without going the length of reproducing it, we think we can convey a fair idea of its contents in reasonable space. Mr Jollie commences by accounting for an unavoidable delay that has taken place in the preparation of this statement; but informs members that, owing to new and improved arrangements for managing the business of the Treasury Department, such delay will not necessarily occur again. He proceeds to describe the nature of the reforms alluded to, which place the revenue under the immediate control of the Colonial Treasurer, which it had not been hitherto. They make it necessary for the Sub-Treasures to account four times in each month to the Treasurer; and for the receivers and collectors to account more frequently to the Sub-Treasurer. Also, to have the examination of these accounts performed by these officers instead of at the treasury, which will allow of the removal of discrepancies and the rectification of errors in the accounts of these officials, and thus save much time and trouble at the chief office. They also require that Ministerial authority shall be given previous to the payment of all accounts, instead of approval afterwards, and requires as well the direct instructions of the Colonial Treasurer. They do away with a system of “ Imprest advances,” by which enormous sums of money have been held by individuals for extraordinary expenditure for defence purposes, &c., under the Loan Act. These reforms will facilitate the work of the Auditor General, and prepare the way for the introduction of the Comptrollers’ Act of last session. The revenue for the last financial year, which was estimated by his predecessor in his financial statement of the 30th August last at .£943,500 (inclusive of £SOOO from Distillation and £37,500 from Stamp Duties) has without those duties amounted to the sum of, £902,094 3s 4d, made up as follows :

• To this amount will have to be added a sum of probably £6,500 on account of light dues.

—Thus the revenue has nearly equalled the estimate made of it, and for the large increase in customs revenue, amounting to £155,000 over the preceding year, much is due to the gold export of the Westland districts, the duty upon which from Nelson and Canterbury alone amount to £65,690. The value of the gold export was £2,859,249, being 33 per cent, over th highest preceding year (1863-64), and the total duty received by Government on it was £92,351, while gold to the value of tea and a half millions sterling has been produced and exported from the Colony up to the 30th June. The returns of exports and imports, though not quite complete, show a very satisfactory state of affairs. The exports amount to a much larger sum than on any former year, and

within £700,000 of the imports—an entirely unparalled state of things for the Colony, whose imports had always largely exceeded its exports on every former occasion, having been in 1859-60 as high as two and a-half times the amount, from which the proportion has, gradually decreased to that it now bears 17 to 19. New Zealand, as regards her revenue, bears favorable comparison with some of the older colonies—raising more than either South Australia or New South Wales, with its population of between 300,000 or 400,000 souls; and even the great province of Canada, with its 2| millions of people, and quadruple extent of territory, only exceeds us by about one-third. Against that revenue there has been an expenditure, as follows:

—To this has, of course, to be added the monthly advances made to the provinces under the three-eighths of their Customs Receipts, on account of Surplus Revenue divisible amongst them in pursuance of the provisions of the Surplus Revenue Act. These advances have amounted for the past year to the sum of .£288,281 lls 9d. Although the above does not quite amount to threeeighths, it is actually more than the surplus revenue would have amounted to, but that a surplus of <£112,378 lls 3d from the previous year, had been applied to revenue purposes, instead of being distributed to the provinces as had been the previous practice. It is also in excess of the actual surplus of the year by £47,650, though short of the three-eighths by £II,OOO, showing that the system of making monthly advances to the Provinces of three-eighths is liable to lead to overpayment of the surplus, and the necessity of altering the practice. Besides the expenditure charged against the revenue there is that charged against the loan. The late Colonial Treasurer stated that on the 30th August last £602,603 remained for appropriation, and calculated that £310,000 would be required to meet the claims of military settlers, &c. The amount actually expended for these purposes and contingent undertakings, as telegraph ahd light-houses, was £411,39118s 7d, and which has not satisfied our liabilities, as will be seen when the estimates for the defence department come before the house. These cannot be less than £200,000 for the current year of unavoidable expenditure, besides a sum of about £109,000, which the Government propose to expend in the enrolment and maintenance of a body of volunteer military settlers to replace as far as possible the Imperial troops and provide for the safety of the Colony, against which there is the unrealized balance of the loan. The Crown Agents have recently disposed of an additional halfmillion of debentures, with the exception of £18,200, which it is likely will also have been sold before the departure of the next outcoming mail, and there is reason to believe that the Imperial Government will yet guarantee the half-million transmitted to it, which would restore credit to the Colony, and enhance the value of its securities. He had prepared and laid on the table a statement of the New Zealand loans authorized and raised, rates of interest, annual charges sinking funds, &c., made up to the 30th June lust, from which it would be seen that the total permanent debt of the Colony on the 30th June last amounted to £3,395,737

15s lid less the accumulated Sinking Fund of £116,414 Is Bd, against a total authorized debt of £3,650,000. Consequently we were then within our borrowing power by the sum of £250,462 4s Id, or, in other words, that was the unraised balance of the three-million loan of 1863 at the termination of the financial year. A carefully-prepared return of the various Provincial loans had also been laid on the table for ready information. Though £250,000 of the loan be yet unraised, it is not all available for future expenditure. The actual balance to be appropriated is only £179,839. The difference, £71,423, being already spent, and being supplied from the deposit and reserve funds, &c., must be returned as these funds are realized. There is also an unexpended balance of £32,000 out of £36,000 set apart from the loan of 1856 for the purchase of native lands in the Province of Taranaki, which the Government recognizes as a claim on the part of that Province, as also that on the reinstatement fund. He will introduce a bill to guarantee and eventually redeem its debentures, amounting to £38,750. £11,500 balance of £50,000 authorized for purposes connected with the removal of the seat of Government are redeemable in April next, and will have to be provided for by vote, not being chargeable to the loan. The bankers’ account had been overdrawn by £75,190, but covered by balances in the hands of Government officers. Arrangements were also under negotiation with the Inspector of the Bank of New Zealand for obtaining better terms for the Government and greater accommodation, The estimates for the current year had been arranged on an entirely new form, and modelled upon the plan adopted by the British Government, being divided into well defined clases, of which class 1 includes public domains and buildings; class 2, public departments ; class 3, law and justice; class 4, postal, &c. services ; class 5, customs ; class 6, native; class 7, miscellaneous. And two classes that are not numbered—permanent charges and defence. As follows:

—Making a total provision for the service of the year of .£974,500 8s Bd, which with the supplementary expenditure of the past year, including interest on Bank advances, makes a total of .£1,007,885 lls 2d. The Ways and Means proposed by Government consist of. First, a revision of the tariff and Second, stamp duties. The former, not so much with the view of increasing the revenue from that source as to bring under it articles now admitted free; exempting some now dutiable; reducing or adding to the rate on others, and clearly defining, and specifying the rate of each; giving facility to the work of collecting, and abolishing the arbitrary powers now T exercised by Collectors. From the revised tariff the Government anticipate a revenue of £50,000 in excess of that of the past year, providing that there be no falling off in the gold export, nor other unfavorable contingency. The ordinary revenue is thus estimated, as compared with that of the past year;—

—From the proposed stamp duties, and a duty on Bonded Warehouses, a further sum of ,£56,000 is estimated, so that the estimated ordinary revenue for the year is ; Customs ... ... ... £850,000 0 0 Miscellaneous Ordinary Ke-

—The Government purpose to apply the balance of the Loan, minus £20,000, which must be reserved to meet discount and other charges, for defence purposes, and re-iinbur-sing the funds from which supplies have been temporarily obtained. Should peace continue, the estimated revenue will suffice to govern the colony satisfactorily and honorably, but the surplus will not reach the amount it has been usual to award the Provinces. It is intimated that the time is passed iu which it has been possible to allot the surplus revenue to them, and that for the future they must rely more upon their own resources and less upon a fluctuating and precarious surplus of the general revenues. Events for some time past have unmistakeably indicated the course the Government will have to pursue in this matter. The hon. gentleman concluded by moving— That it is desirable that a revision of the Tariff should take place, and that the Hon. the Commissioner of Customs be requested to take such steps as may be necessary, by means of resolution or otherwise, to collect the duties until an Act can be passed to give effect to the same. —which was agreed to. We are compelled to reserve our critical remarks until our next issue.

Customs ... ... ... £798,100 12 8 Postal 49,391 4 7 Judicial 29,209 4 3 Registration 14,981 1 9 Pees on Issue of Crown Grants ... 2,732 0 0 Marine Board #563 6 6 Telegraphs 6.079 16 9 Miscellaneous 2,077 2 2 £902,134 8 8

Civil List General Services, including £27,500 0 0 permau ent charges 391,157 15 2 Provincial Services Supplementary Expenditure 160,480 11 3 prior to 30th June, 1865 167.655 16 2 £746,794 2 7

Civil Lists ... fi 27,500 0 0 Permanent Charges under Acts 266,889 7 6 Government Houses and Domains 7,138 13 0 Public Departments ... 36,560 0 0 Law and Justice ••1 64,843 4 0 Postal 155,150 0 0 Customs ... 46,320 2 0 Native ... 29,986 15 0 Miscellaneous ... 30,922 19 7 Defence ... 309,189 7 7 £974,500 8 8

1865-7 1865-6 Judicial £35,000 0 0 £29,209 4 3 Postal ... 60,000 0 0 49.391 4 7 Telegraphs 9,000 0 0 5.079 16 9 Lighthouse dues, &o. 8,500 0 0 7,300 0 0 Crown Grant Fees 12,000 0 0 2,732 0 0 Registration of deeds & land 17,000 0 0 14.981 1 9 Miscellaneous ... 5,000 0 0 16 10 £146,500 0 0 £110,730 4 2

venue 146,500 0 (Proposed) Stamp Duties (nine months receipts) £50,000 0 0 Bonded warehouses 6,500 0 O Licensed Distillation 3,000 0 0 59,500 0 0 £1,056,000 0 0