THE PROVINCIAL TREASURER'S FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 113, 13 May 1874, Page 2

THE PROVINCIAL TREASURER'S FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

In moving, last night, that tho Council resolve itself into Committee for the consideration of tbe Estimates, Mr. Shephard said :—

Sir — It is well known to all the members of this Council, as well as to most of those persons who take any interest in the welfare of our province, that it is not at the present moment in a flourishing financial condition; in fact it must be apparent to honorable members that my task of explaining our position, and what I think our course should be for the future, is one beset with no small amount of difficulty.

Had I to deal with an overflowing treasur y, my diity would still not have been free from

difficulty, but it would then have been to satisfy members from the several portions of the province that due provision had been made in the proposed expenditure for the wishes of their districts. This is not, unfortunately, the case, but I hope I shall be enabled in my present statement to satisfy the Council, by putting before it as full an I intelligible a statement of our financial position as the lime at my disposal will permit. Honorable members will bear in mind that I only recently became a member of the Provincial Executive, so that I have not to defend the past, but rather to explain. A great part of the tra; sactions on which I have to speak occurred before I joined the Government, and I trust the Council will bear with me when I say that while I have given to our finances all the thought and diligent care in my power, a- y opinion I may express with regard to much of the operations of the past year can be given without prejudice or any personal feeling, and may be regarded as the impressions of an impartial enquirer. I shall first in this statement deal with the estimates of revenue of last year, and compare them with the actual receipts, but must ask the Council to observe that the form in which the estimated revenue for the current year is made out is somewhat altered, and will render comparison between estimates and actual receipts easier than it has previously been, and remove the fair grounds of complaint that formerly undoubtedly existed. ! It was estimated that the capitation allowance would yield £12,500, whereas it actually produced £13,068; the land fund was estimated at £9000, whereas the receipts were £13,784; but from that increase of £4784 it is but fair to deduct £3025, that sum being received for the purchase of sections at Westport; on both sides of the account this sum appears, being, in fact, merely money o' account. Thegoldduty, estimated at £13,000, gave only £8710, but concerning the deficiency a few words are necessary. From the Ist January, 1873, a reduction in the amount of gold duty has taken place from 2s 6d to 2s per ounce, which of itself reduces the revenue from that source one-fifth; this reduction only affected one quarter during the preceding year, but during the past it has been, of course, fully in operation, and yet I must say tint this decline in the amount of duty received does not point to any very serious diminution In tho amount of gold produced, and I feel assured that if we knew all the circumstances we shou : d find the yield to bo very little less. As soon as it became known that the duty would be lower, large quantities of gold were held back, in order that a less rate of duty might be paid. Ido not say it was held back for many weeks, because the loss of interest would soon overbalance the gain of sixpence an ounce, but it was held back for some short tin e so that only the 2s duty should be paid. In the quarter ending March 31, 1873, the quantity on which duty was paid was 32 204 ounc s, whereas for the quarter ended March 31, 1874, it was 23,839 ounces, showing a difference of 8,365 ounces. This truly was a large difference, but was largely due, I think, and as I have said, to it hiving been held over from the previous year. In the other gold-producing provinces the fall was in prop rtion much great r, the total export for the colony being in the first period 194,422 ounces, and in the last 108,947 ounces. No doubt, some small part of the loss arose from a less y icld, and there was one powerful cause lor this diminution — the great length of unusually dry weather experienced. Considering our present gold yield, I see no reason why any one should fear that this source of our revenue will not during the present year materially increase. Before quitting this subject I would ask of hon. members to consider how very favorably matters are looking in the reefing dis ricts of the luangahua and Lycll. Large additions are constsn'ly being made to the machinery tor crushing, and us caeh new mine is fairly tested better hopes are entc-r---tainedof the permanent production of the district. These fields will certainly improve in estimation from year to year, and 1 am led to hope that we shall receive from them largely-increased revenue, but we mu?t not expect any very rapid change. It will come surely though probably slowl', and the West Coast members will agree with me that in alluvial mining there neither has been ror is ii likely to be any material falling off. In future yeirs whoever may have to lay before this Council the Financial Statement, it witl be found the Lake Hochstetter wntorrace—whicb I hope is only the precursor of many such — will have largely increased our gold revenue by enabling the miners to carry on their operations at higher levels and on a larger scale without any necessity f r teasing work in dry weather. fchould there ba merely this one water-race, it might not effect a very large amount pf permanent good, but my earnest belief is that other races will be constructed, and thai mining in our province will gradually assume proportions never before seen. Tlie goldfields revenue wai o timated at £21,000, incuding miners' rights, business licenses, fees, rents, &c. 'J he receipt was only £16,270. The heavy falling short of what was expected was to some extent caused by the great exodus of miners to tho Palmer Kiver, but tbis cannot account for the whole, and I have failed to discover any satisfactory explanation. Publicans' and other licenses estimated at £2,000, produced about that amount; harbor dues £800, yielded £832; wharves £850, returned £850; Scab Act £1,000, yielded £1809, and sorry am I to say so, because this large excess has been produce! not fro.o an increase in the number of sheep, but from fines levied on sheep ownera. Whilst the law must be maintained, I feel sure that all will regret that so many should have Buffered their flocks to get into so bad a etate as to require the infliction of these heavy penalties. Education estimated at £2,200, yielded only £1629, a sum much emalier than that realised for some yearß past, and the Provincial Government are endeavoring by inquiry into the modes ot collection in the different parts of the province to ses if some means cannot be found to make the rate yield much more. It yields or has yielded much leas than it ought to have done. I hope, however, that the irquiry now being made will tenl t'> a largely improved revenue from thi9 source. The Brunner coal mine has yieldol only £5,640, but it must be remembered it passed out of the possession of the Government at the end of last year, and while the receipts are less, the disbursements have also been reduced. The miscellaneous receipts hwe exceeded the estimate by £497. The total receipts then are £77.840, but from this must be deducted capitation allowance advance £5000, Lunatic Asylum loan, JSSOOO, and £3025 previously mentioned as received and paid on account of Westport sections, the final result after these deductions showing an actual revenue of £64,818 against £63,318 in the former year. Now I thiijk you will agree vith mp that it is f omewhat cheering that during one oi the worst years our province has experienced, our revenue has increased by £1500, and that better hopes may reasonably be entertained for the future. The expenditure it is true has been in excess of the receipts, but that excess it is seen has not been occasioned by any falling off in our revenue, but rather by a perhaps too liberal expenditure on public works. It may be interesting to compare the outlay in this direction for the two past years. For the year ended Mareh 31, 1873, in the settled districts, tho cost of public works was £2897, and of Road Boards £23 25, making together, £5222; on the Goldfields, public

works, c istinu £1 1 027, were executed, making in aU £16,249 For tl e year ended 3st Mareh. 1874, for the settled districts public works, £1984 was paid, and £2365 to Road Biards. giving £7349; while on tho Goldfl lis £:3,6fil was exptnird on public works, producing a total for the year of £21,010. It wi 1 be renembered that last year the Council inc cased the vote for education by £600; educition buildings co?t £120 mote, and £102 was also paid from land receipts under tlie Waste Linda Act, making the increase of payment for Education £822. Another considerable addiricn wa3 for Electoral chargea which increased about £-100, inconsequence ot the clecion of Superintendent mid Provincial Council. That the , amount of expenditure chiefly avoidable by cither the Council or Executive was £22,232, or an increase of £5938 over the previous ye<u | This accounts for the growth of the overdraft. | In the expenditure of £11027 in public works, during 1872-3 no less a sura than £2667 was nn ivoidHb'e, having been ocoasionj cd by the disastrous flo ds at Westport and the necemty thence arising for prompt action to prevent lha population being scattered. Such emergencie- were always po3siMeand must at once be met, but cannot of course be so if the province have, as at present, a crushing overdraft. .. To the difference of outlay on public works for the two years, it is but fair tor purposes of comparison to add this £2667 compulsory expenditure, bringing np tha excess to £8650. This extra outlay will be found to more than account for the last year's increase of overdraft, it hiving t eccme £7,496 greater. On tlie 3lßt of March our debt to the Bank appeared to bo £7,008, but the ba'auce against the Provincial account is no less than £ 1 5,221 as £5000 advance must ba repaid to the General Government and £3212 remains of the Lunatic Asylum Loan. On tbis question if any hon member should desire farther information, I trust he will give me nn opportunity of furnishing it. Two ye irs since I whs taxed with parsirnon<because I reduced our overdraft by £2,000, but I maintain that unde* ofdiuiry circumstances it is a much sounder p ,licy to keep this liability low, po that we may be able to ("eal with circuities tbat in the course of events are sure to ari.-e By a contrary ( ours?, danger is invited, and sooner or later a financial disaster will result, f,r the time will turely come when works of imperative necessity must be executed, and then, with drained resources, our credit would utterly Ml. We are undoubte J ly now in a time of trouble, and of necessity the operations ofthe present year must be pinched to pay for the past, a herefore T venture to urge on the Council to aid the Excutive in keeping down our debt. We have been rcpnachei with being too cau'ious in money ni'itterc, but I can see in thing; more likely to imperii our prosperity than too sanguine finance. This sanguine finance is tolerably certain to plunge us hopelessly into debt. I do not say th«t the works placed upon the Estimates are ail that are necessary, but I do bope, before they are sought to be increased, that our probable revenue wiil be remembered other wiee i( largo expenditue is authorised in excess of probable receipts it is but giving the control of public works from this Council to place ii in rhe hinds of the Executive, who would be ab'e to select what votes they wo'ild execute without the possibility of reproach being justly m ide. If, say £20,000 are availab'e it surely is ; ot wiVe fur the Courcil to vote forty or fifty or £60,000, because if that be done what can any Government do but make a choice according to their own particular viewp. Fxcessive vrtes urgj expenditure to excess, rnd, as at present, works votel by tbe Council are contracted for, and even a lirge portion of revenue for tbis year absorbed, so as to leave little for appropriation, this course cannot he siid to arise from anything but too sreat Rnxiety to carry out the will of the Council, in fact, from too much zeal to execute ils pleasure. I have several times referred to our over Iraft, and will now proce d to give the Council a frank statement respect ng it. At the time when the quarterly account to September 30, 1873, was mnde up, the nm:>unt of legalised overdraft was £1#,623, whereas the apparert amount was £13,761, and oi December 31, it was ,£l6 851 I beg honorable members to mark that I sav tho apparent amount In October tbe Provincial Auditor says he felt bound to write to the Superintendent and point out to hitu this excess over tho legalised overdraft, and then he did wbat I feel sure he ought not to have done — he wrote to the Bank as well. No action was takea at that time. In January, 1874, when the overdraft of £10,851 appeared, the Auditor wrote to tlie General Government on he subject. I think his final letter was dated the 12th February, but I did not know of either until some time after, and then not fr_>m him, until, in fact, a communication. had been sent by the General Government to the Bank. Again the General Government were clearly wrong in writing to the BHnk. They should have written to the Superintendent, yet this they never did. The auditor having, he stated, received imperative instructions from the General Govrrnment, refused to sign the usual monthly vouchers in March, though up to that time not the faintest hint had been given by him or the General Government of what was intended. Had the contents of the Auditor's letter of February been communicated to me, I should at once have investigated the matter and shown then, as I was able afterwards to do, that there was never in reality any legal but only an apparent excess. I beg you to understand that I do not speak for the purpose of finding fault with the Provincial Auditor, ho no doubt acted under pri ssure and was bound to obey the instructions he had received. I will now proceed to show how the question actually stood. Section 4of the Audit Act, 1868 directs that all moneys raided by loan which have been by Jaw specially and distinctly appropriated by the Provincial Council shall be earned to a separate branch of the Provincial account, to be c^lleu the Loan Fund. Now in tbe case of the Lunatic Asylum Loan there had be-.n no appropriation by tne Council, and consequently the money properly firmed part of the Provincial Account, and should never have been separated from it. My opinion on this point is confirmed by a very high legal authority. This alone then would reduce the Provincial account below the legal overdraft, the balance being on 30th September £4.592, and on 31st December, £4,360. It was perfectly well known also that a balance in onr favor existed on the Coast, and I therefore think it was an error that we were interfered with. These balances amounted at the first date to £2,507, and at the last to £2,413 There had besides on September 27 been telegraph' d to the Auditor a sum of £1094, which should separately have been taken into account. As to the matter of account and the propriety of bringing in the balances from the various districts to ascertain our whole debt to the bank, for that is what it meant, I am confirmed by the action of the Auditor-General who insists that no account should be kept at tho West Coast branches but the provincial account, evidently considering that the balances must be reckoned together whether credit or debit, ivo fault could possibly to charged aga nst the Provincial Governmont, the whole mischief arose from the straining of a legal point. I will not now discuss the right of the Provincial Auditor to refuse his signature to accounts for sums voted by the Council. I firmly btlieve h« had no^ such right, but grant he was coerced into obeying instructons. After this stoppage on the 10th of March application was made to the Colonial Gcvernment for some assistance to relieve us from the difficulties into which we were j

forcej, and the General Government evinced An° , • u hng by advancing temporarily m-nih W ™ * e,, ? d t0 re IW by £500 per •Wn,l i Th^ fi! ; 6t >^talment h * be?n already .elucted, and the fact of these repayments fav r r^ uir , ed > . ls another argu,r,e.t in exl^fcjfthi eC ' Pl . g OUt vote * to some extent within our income n idtXn ,988t9 the rute of paid to the Bank on overdraft. Ic his been alleged that we are paying 8 per cent intcree" on an overdraft of £i6.000. It is true that 8 rtebit, after aU ba'ances in our favor had been deduc ed, tho effeot of this during last year was, that in the first half 3 etr only £U was pail tor interest, and for the second £92 borne years sicca I had the good fortune to huve an opporcunity of bringing before the (jencr.l Government the injustice of large deposus on Provincial matters being longer, so as to prevmt us receiving tho benefit of a reduction in interest Negotiations were ul.imately ended by a brancli of the Receiver bejneral's account bein;' opened here, the tiaiancea being taken into account into estimating interest, and when I inform you that £4413 stood to credit on the 3lst March you will appreciate the relief it affords. Commencing from the Ist of April an agreement is now in force with the Bank for three years in which we only pay 6 per cent on actual overdraft receiving the credit I have mention© 1. Now on deposits five per cent is allowed, and the General Government is charged 6 per cent for their overdraft, so that it will be Been we have made an exceedingly good arißn{.»e:nent as with the maximum legalised overdraft taking into account the Kecetver General's Depositß, the rate is really on our own debt only 4 per cent, and with a redu-tton the proportionate charge will practically be still less. >-uch an arrangement could have been made only with the Bank of New Zealand or we eouM not get the lar^e advantage of these deposits. I will now speak of what will be b iniewlnt more agree 1 bio. In our late short ses- on Bfter aureeing to ra'se a loan of £■250,000. a resolution was adopted that £60,000 should bo borrowed in anticipation of the actual passing of the Loan Act so as to carry out without delay certain npecified works. Our hon. gentleman twitted me last session with having followed somewhat closely the footsteps of the Wellington Government but instead of doing so, thr.ugh tbev had indeed been followed where it was thought they were right, we had b' riven also to avoid their error 3. We had received a copy of the Wellington Bid, and the conclusion we arrived at on diseasing it was that it would probably be disallowed, as it ultimately was, and therefore it was thought bettor to proceed by resolution. Alt.r tho extreme differences of opinion between the General and Wellington Governments were known, it appeared doubtful whether it would be expedient to accept an advpnee except from tie Governraedt itself. It is quto clear that if we proceed 111 opposition tJ fio views of the Ministry, a c 'Hisioc. would occur, and we should find our loan opposed. Besides this, to place ourselves in opposition to the General Government woald obviously endanger seriously the prospect of obta : ning what I believe all d-sire — a railway Irom side of this province. We considered our rosition bit er when we obtained £20,000 from Colonial funis and agrfed with the Govern men-, than |ro get say £30,0:0 from private quarters and quarrel In March another £5' 00 was advanced, so tint on the whole tho monetary result is not far different while there is the in'stimable advantage o£ preserving harmony and friendly relations. It is true the application of the advance U s»rictly limited ti certain roads to connect land 3 reserved for special settlement, and without these reserves p-obably it would not have been obtained, but these r ads con structed to connect the Owen, Matin, Matakitaki, and Maruie, with the li 1© nf road near the Devil's Grip, form an eestntial part ofthe trunk line through the coun'ry, and must be canied forward to obtain their full object. For Bome time a road his been in course of formation from the Motueka Valley to the Buller by way of ihe Hope, *nl whilst strictly binding the Provincial Government to complete the other road, the General Government consented to expming £2000 out of the £20,000 t> complete tho Hope road. Tho Motueka Roid Board, it will be remembered had £2000 apportioned out of the grant to Road Boards, but were unable to complete the work in consequence of coming

across a bed of cement whore easy cutting was expected. The sum r,ow rendered avnilab.e will soon permit this line to be opened or traffic Anotharroad much wanted is in . the Mdtakitakt Valley. A l«rge amount of _ good land txists there but is difficult of access}^-' und to open up thu road we are authorised to expend £1000. [Mb Maclean: Is that out of the £20,000 ? The Provincial Tkeasdrer: Yes.l 1 will now call the attention of the Council toa paragraph ina leading article on the Superintendent's address in the Evening Mail of Wednesday last:—" Allusion is made to an advance of £20,000 from the Colonial Government ior the completion ofthe main rond connecting the Upper Buller with > elson, and we are told tbat a portion of ihis wo»k is already m hand and that- tenders for the remainder will be called for shortly. We shall be glad to hear what thu Provincial Treasurer has to say upon this matter in his financial ttatement, as * rumor is abrrai that the whole of thjs sum is not to bo devoted to the making ot roads, but ttot a portion of it is to go towards rtdud.g tbe overdraft *t tho •i. k Wlil a !T ord " 8 ereat pleasure, and will be a source of satisfaction to the public, to In ar this rumor contradicted." To this I can give nothing 'less than an unqualified c .ntradn tion . In all my experience, ot the world I have never met with purer fiction. There is no shadow of truth m the statement I have not desired to commit sueh an act we never had the power, but the advance is placed to a sf parate account to be operated on in a manner specified. I will no t deta-n the Council much longer, but there is nn itni ortaot feature in the proposed expendituie to which I wish to call attention. a sum of £1600 is put down for the Goldfield Locd Revenue Boards, this is the proportion of the revenue they were assigned by .Act la<t year. It would be mTair even to comment too soon on the enst of these Boards to the province. All I shall «ay, therefore, is I hope their exertions will prove the benefit . derived by the district v. ill be commensurate with the outlay. Road Board districts on this side of the provia-e get but a sir all subsidy in compa.ison. The popu'ation of the districts on the Coaat, it must be remembered, is mora scattered, aad the districts do not yet contain a very large amount of rateable property, in fact it is wholly insufficient for the purposes of producing enough money for the repair of roads by means of rates. I must say I hope with that better management by the inhabitants of the district, of which we have so often been told, a considerable balance will remain, and be made available for smaller works, as tho sniount is about £1000 in excess of what tho maintenance of roads and bridges in these districts has ever cost the province. Kales most likely will be raised in all districts, and then they will be entitled to share in the grants to Road Boards, having in all a considerable revenue at their command. Of course the amount of money to be dealt with by the Council is reduced, but I hope that placing the cnarge of these roads in the hands of persons livi g near will be the means of doing the work Wi 11. and also of saving money. I will now, sir, conclude. I have drawn a position of our financial p. sition that may be said to be anything but cheering, but- simply because we are so short of funds, I cannot admit that we are poor. True we have no ready money, we have an undeveloped estate of immense value in la d, in timber, and in minerals, yet these we cannot utilise without a large expenditure. I wish therefore t<> impress upon the Council how desirable it is not to engage in party struggles, but to endeavor by all means to urg'> on the loan for the purpose of opening up tho country, for without money the greit work cannot be done. Wo have been told how sad it is that the pressure of poverty should force Nelson to take her place among the - borrowing provinces, but in the same breath we are now reminded that the provinces whih did get into debt are now rich and prosperous. If wo get the money we seek, I am confident our future course of prosperity is as certain as those of other parts of the colony, and when in after years this has been realised, we shall look back to the present time of despondency, and say, Happy poverty J fortunate pressure, that forced Nelson to abandon her stationary policy and enter on the like prosperous career with Wellington, Otago, and Canterbury.

A splendid new swing-bridge across Leith Harbour has been opened. The bridge, which is of iron, cost £32,000, and weighs 75 tons. It contains two " lines, for railway traffic, and two roadways for foot passengers. The Medical Home ha* the following recipes : — " A tea made of chesnut leaves, and drunk in place of water, will cure the most obstinate case of dropsy in a few days. A tea made of " ripe or dried whortleberries, and drunk in place of water, is a sure and speedy cure for scrofulous difficulty, however -bad. A tea made of peach leaves is a Bure cure for kidney difficulty. A plaster made of fresh slacked lime and tar is a sure cure for a cancer, which, with its roots, will soon come out." There is a good deal better way of preserving shingles than to paint them. ; We have seen shingle roofs kept till 50 i years old only by the application of lime. Here is a very effective way for preserving Bhingles :—Take a potash kettle or large tub, and put into it one barrel of wood-ashes lye, 51bs. of white vitriol, olbs. of alum, and as much salt -as will dissolve in the mixture. Make the liquor quite warm, and put as many shingles in it as can be conveniently wetted at once. Stir tbeua up with a fork, and when well soaked take them out and put in more, renewing the liquor as necessary. Then lay the - shingles in the usual manner. After '■ they are laid, take the liquor that is left, put iime enough to make it into whitewash, aud apply it to the roof with a brush or an old broom. This wash may be renewed from time to time. Salt and lye are excellent preservatives of wood.— Ohio Farmer. Dr Hall does not approve of the old doctrine which was instilled into the minds of children—that they should spring out of bed the instant they awake in the morning. He says that, U P lo^igbteen years, every child should be allowed to rest in bed, after the .. sleep is over,. until they feel as if they would rather get up than not. It is a very great mistake for persons, old or 7 oun g-"T eß pecially children, and feeble or sedentary persons — to bounce out of bed the moment they wake up; all our instincts shrink from it, and fiercely kick against it. Fifteen or twenty minutes spent in gradually Waking up, after the eyes are opened, and in turning over and stretching the limbs*" do as much good as sound sleep, because the operations set the blood in motion by degrees, tending to equalise the circulation; for during sleep the blood tends to stagnation, the heart beats feebly and slowly, and to shock the system by bouncing up in an instant, and sending the blood in overwhelming quantities -to the heart, causing it to •assume a gallop^: - when the instant v before it Was in a creep, is a great absurdity. The instantaneous bouncing out of bed as soon as the eyes are open will be followed by a weariness long before noon. A late improvement in burglar-proof safes is to line the interior with steel rods which revolve easily. The advantage is said to consist in the fact, tbat after drilling through the outside casing -. of the safe, ibe bit will strike one of these rods and be deflected from its .course. It will either hot take hold or it will broken, thus preventing the lock being cut out. — English paper. Sleep.. — Sleep obtained two hours before midnight, when the negative forces are in operation, is tbe rest -which most recuperates the system, giving brightness to to the eye and a "glow to the cheek. The difference between the appearance of a person who habitually retires at ten o'clock and that of one who sits up till twelve is quite remarkable. The tone of the system, so evident in the complexion, the clearness and sparkle of the eye, and the softness of the lines of the features are, in a person of health, kept r at "concert pitch" by taking regular rest two hours before twelve .o'clock, and -thereby obtaining the "beauty sleep" of the night. There is a heaviness of the eye, a eallowness of •'skin, and absence of that glow; in the face which renders it freßh in expression " and round in appearance, that readily distinguishes the person who keeps •rlate hours.