FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 402, 25 November 1876, Page 3

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

COUNTY Ob' VINCENT. As a guide to the treasurer of Vincent County, we have been at some pains to tabulate for him a statement of ways and means. Th 6 whole available revenue for 18/7, which is calculated uoon the actual results for last year, is £2827 Is. 6,1. The expenditure last year in the same district by the Provincial Government, as by table below, wns £11,271 19s. Sd. Supposing the expenditure and works under the new orde'r of things, which is to briny; prosperity to the outdistricts, does not. exceed that of last year, disregarding fractions, £11,141 must be found from extraneous sources. These sources can only be tapped by the action, in the first instance, of the local tax-gatherer. To obtain £11,41-1 the County ratepayers would have to contribute £3815. So long as the subsidies last they would then become entitled toreceive £3815 from Land Fund, and £3815 fro:n the Consolidated Revenue. This, however, will not be all, for there will be the first year's expenses of the County management itself, which cannot be put, at less than £lsoo—which means another £SOO of rates, or £4 15 to be taken from, the Bparse population of Vincent (always excluding the residents in the Municipalities). Many think that the runs ! can be made to furnish a heavy sum, while others more wildly, and without the slightest foundation, suppose the County will get the pastoral assessments. It does not appear, however, that the dozen stations in Vincent County, or in any other County, can be made to contribute £.OO apiece, even supposing the rate struck is as high as Is. in the £1 on the annual value to let. It will bo evident that the help from this source towards making up the £4: US per year of local taxation will not be very groat. Who, then, is to pay the balance ?—tho agricultural settlers, the few business people at Tinkers, Blacks, Cardrona, Nevis, Albert Town, Bald Mill, and the miners. Mining property is not, it is true, rateable, but; the exemption will not cover the houses in which minora live, and the gardens within which they grow cabbagea. This calculation of money to be raised by rak'a, be it

borne in mind, is to carry on roads and works on the miserable scale of semistarvation to settlement which has been the rule during the few years. To really cope with the stagnation winch has been patent so long, instead of £4315 of rates the County would have to raise three'times the amount. The only revenue available for Counties without local taxation is gold revenue (not including agricultural lease rents or depasturing rents on Uomtnonages); publicans' licenses (not including licenses for houses within Municipalities); dog taxes ; hawkers' licenses ; fines under County byelaws ; and tolls upon roads and bridges (which would be local taxation under another name.) The expenditure set out below for lasit year is the money actually expended, not the appropriations for expenditure, which :n many cases in whole or in part were allowed to lapse : ; AVAILABLE REVENCE. £ g. d. £ a. a. Qoldfields Revenue — Being all revenue collected under the Goldh'elds Acta in force except agricultural lease rents and depasturing rents ■ upon Commonages, —being the actual amount collected for the 12 months ending 31at December, 1875. Cromwell district 1714 12 0 Clyde district 781 7 0 Blacks district 275 0 0 2770 19 0 2770 19 « Deduct Agricultural Lease Rents— Cromwell 231 15 0 Clyde 421 5 0 Blacks 40 17 6 693 17 6 693 17 6 Nett Proceeds Gold Revenue 2077 1 6 'Publicans' Licenses, s[c. — General (say 20) 400 0 0 Bush 64 0 0 Dog Tax, Hawkers', Fines. &c 200 0 0 664 0 0 664 0 0 Residue Land Fund — Proportional share of £1240 to June 30 86 0 0 86 0 0 Total Revenue, without taxation £2827 1 6 LAST YEAR'S ACTUAL EXPSNDITPBB BY PROVINCE. Total vote County Roads — expended. Vincent £ £ Rough Ridge to Dunstan 730 363 Dunstan to Cromwell 1391 1391 Cromwell to Queenstown 2774 700 Cromwell to Wanaka 375 375 Teviot to Alexandra 1286 643 Manuherikia to Dunstan 778 778 Becks to Tinkers 12 12 Cromwell to Quartz Reef Point 71 71 do to Bendigo 129 129 do to Carriek 249 249 do to Nevis 398 398 do to Cardrona 106 63 Albert Town to Makaroa 99 99 Tinkers to Tiger Hill 27 27 do to Chatto 5 5 do to Bendigo 10 10 Nevis to Nokomai 37 37 Alexandra to Insley's 42 42 Lindis to Hawea 101 101 Hawea Lake 56 56 Butcher's Gully to Clyde 9 9 Alexandra Ferry 43 43 Quartzville to i-arricktown 3 3 Luggate to Cardrona 192 192 Alexandra to Waikaia Bush 47 47 £5835 Bridget — Approaches to Clyda Bridge 779 Manuherikia— Blacks 9L Cromwell, repairs 321 Cromwell Bridge (?) 6000 £6191 Special Expenditure — Subsidies to Hospitals 1000 Subsidy to Sludge Channel (Tinkers) 750 District Engineer r 600 £2250 Total Expenditure, 1875 £14,276