LAKELAND'S REVENUE.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 399, 3 November 1876, Page 3

LAKELAND'S REVENUE.

The Goldfields County that, in proportion to its needs, promises to fare worst in the distribution of local revenues will in this Province be Lakeland,better known as Wakatipu. It has been found impossible to persuade the Provincial authorities to appropriate sufficient sums of money to open up the mineral resources of the Interior. The mountainous character of the country has made roadmaking a matter of exceptional difficulty. The most virulent "Wakatipu Centralist will, we think, from the expression of opinion, admit that the question now is not Whether £IO,OOO can be spent better locally by a County Council at Queenstown than by the Provincial Executive in Dunedin, but rather—How much more can be got to spend by a change in the jform of local government. If it could be proved that under the existing Government £25,000 a-year would be spent in the district henceforth to be known as Lakeland, and that, under the new proposals, the County Council would have only £24,000 to spend, Wakatipu would become at once a returning penitent to Provincialism. To its credit or discredit, Wakatipu, through its press and elected mouthpiece in Parliament, has never looked deeper in the present struggle between the Provincialists or Centralists than the floating bubbles of finance, The cry has ever been—How ill-used we have been ! How great are our revenues ! Long live Julius Vogel and Centralism! We ask our readers to look at the question on own ground. Last year the Provincial Government expended in the electoral district of Wakatipu about £12,000 on roads, bridges, and other public works. This sum does not include the cost of the Police, the escort charges, or the general charges for administration. The County Council expenditure cannot very well be put at less than £ISOO. TJyon this calculation Lakeland will have to find £13,500 with which to do no more local justice than was done last year fcy the Provincial Government. We proceed further to ascertain what funds will be available to meet this £13,500 required. The Goldfields Revenue last year of Wakatipu was under £3OOO, omitting, as the Government proposals omit, money received for depasturing rents on the sold commonages. Now, will the amounts received from publicans licenses outside boroughs, dog tax, hawkers licenses, <fcc., come up to £5500 ? Par from it. Making a careful calculat-'on of the whole ordinary revenue of the Province available for distribution locally, we cannot put Lakeland's share as high as £IOOO. The only remaining sources of revenue are —share of residue of Provincial land revenue and local taxation. As to the first we take the Government Financial Statement. Major Atkinson, calculating upon last year's land estimate, -allows Otago for distribution among her Counties the magnificent sum of £1244 ss. 7d. Lakelands share of this could not be put at £IOO. But, so far from last year's land estimate being a safe baße for a calculation for this year, it is certain that the real receipts to land revenue for the current year will be from £IO,OOO to £20,000 deficient. In that case would Lakeland be debited with her share of the deficiency less the £IOO to credit ? Laying aside this last consideration the result we arrive at is this—that to find ways and means for the carrying out of roads and works on the same scale aa last year Lakeland must strike a rate to bring in at least £4500. This rate must be struck outside Municipalities. To supply the works most urgently needed the rate would require to bring in—mstead of £4soo—at leant £20,000. Thi-s latter sum eveu would preclude

all idea of further bridge-makiDg. The disadvantages under which Lakeland has been placed, and the injustice of depriving it of the depasturing rents, collected upon the Goldfields commonages, we cannot now more than refer to.