THE NELSON EXAMINER. Saturday, October 20, 1855.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XIV, Issue 59, 20 October 1855, Page 2

THE NELSON EXAMINER. Saturday, October 20, 1855.

Journals become more necessary v men become more equal •nd individualism more to be feared. It would be to underrate their .importance to suppose that they serve only to s«cur« liberty: they maintain civilization. P« TocaoiTiLLi. Of Democracy in America, vol. y., p. 9SO. ON THE STATE AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PUBLIC FINANCES. In our last article on this subject, we laid before our readers the views of the Committee of the House of Representatives as to the rules which should govern the appropriation and expenditure of the revenues for the periods from Ist January to 30th September, 1853, and from Ist October, 1853, to 30th June, 1854. We will now proceed to consider the actual receipts and expenditure during those periods, as shown in the accounts of lhe Auditor-General. As before stated, there was, on the 31st December, 1852, a balance of expenditure in excess of appropriation, of "at least £2,000." The Auditor-General makes the following statement as to the receipts, appropriation, and expenditure of the revenues, t from Ist January to 30th September, 1853 : — £ ». d. Total receipts from Ordinary Revenue . 57,393 6 \\ raised in the several Provinces as follows— .

Total receipts from Territorial Revenue £41,148 2 8 raised in the several Provinces as follows —

Making a gross total of Revenue, from all sources, of .... £98,541 8 5 The Ordinary Revenue was deemed (as stated in our last) to be subject to a. pro tanto appropriation under the authority of the Ordinance of January, 1853. The sum authorized to be expended was ;£41,401 3s. 6d. ; but inasmuch as- provision was made in excess for certain services, the amount actually expended in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance was only £34,076 2s. 9d., lea|ing a surplus of unappropriated revenue of £$£ \J 3a. 2<L, which the Committee considered the absolute and honafide property of the Provinces, and divisible amongst them accordingly, under the provisions of the 66 th clause of the Conititution Act. The Land Revenue amounted (as before stated) to. £41,148 2s. 6d., and was held by Dr. Knight to be chargeable with the follow-

ing payments, said to lufte I>«en made under the of the Constitution Act.

The General Government not having incurred any expenditure under the clause in the Land Regulations quoted in our last, this balance of £10,513 17s. Bd., was treated by Doctor Knight as divisible amongst the Provinces. According to the majority of the Committee, the amount divisible amongst the Provinces was £33,831 Os. 10d., whilst, according to the Auditor-General, it was only £24,392 Is. 5d., which he'made of

and that his surplus of £24,392 11s. sd. would be divisible as follows —

Canterbury and Otago not having received anything on account, were stated to be entitled to their entire distributive shares. But, lstly. The Provinces never received the balances admitted by the Auditor-General to be due as above mentioned; and, 2ndly. The Committee considered that those balances ought to have been increased by a proportionate part of the further sum of £9,438 9s. 5d., being the difference between the unappropriated residue as found by Dr. Knight, and that residue as found from his own figures by the majority of the Committee. So that there was actually due from the General Government to the Provinces, on the 30th September, 1853,

£ *. d. According to Dr. Knight . . 18,619 17 11 According to the Committee, assuming the correctness of Dr. Knight's accounts, and statement of advances (£5,772 3s. 6d.) . 28,058 16 4 The Committee held very properly, that the balances in favour of the Provinces, on the 30th September, 1853, ought not to have been carried forward into the accounts of the -succeeding financial period as mere credits ; but Dr. Knight most ingeniously did this, and these balances have gradually melted away from various causes, but especially under the peculiar operation of the Native Land Purchase arrangements. The Committee considered that the accounts ought to have been absolutely closed on the 30th September, 1853/ and treated the above sum of 16s. 4d. as a debt due from the General Government to the Provinces, utterly irrespective of any results flowing from the appropriation and expenditure of the revenues during the succeeding financial period.

We deem it quite unnecessary to show by figures the actual state of Dr. Knight's accounts during the period from Ist October, 1853, to 30th June, 1854, the general result being very similar, although the accounts became more complicated by the circumstance that the balances struck in favour of the Provinces, on the 30th September, 1853, were carried on merely as credits, and brought into account in ascertaining the" . distributive shares of the surplus revenue on the 30th June, 1854. The fact was, that, whilst the Government carried out the provisions of Sir George Grey's circular in relation to the Land Revenue, by paying over a proportion of that revenue to the Provincial . Treasurers, they were utterly unaware of the fact, that the entirety of that revenue was insufficient to defray their expenditure on account of the first charges imposed upon it by the Constitution Act.

Taking the Auditor-General's own figures, the Committee found as follows — Estimated receipts from Land Rcvcuuo for , £ each year ' 100,000 Expenditure made by Government on account of first charges — Costa of Surveys and Manngomont . 17,000 Jfew Zealand Company's Fourths . 25,000 Proportion of charge for General Government, about .... 20,000 Average expenditure, per annum, on purchase of Kative Lands for last two-and-a-hnlf years (the total being £100,000) .... 40,000 making together more than the total land revenue, and therefore leaving not a farthing from this source of revenue for the Provinces. 'It cannot fail to strike our readers, that under this system the Middle Island has been frightfully plundered; that this is the origin of the debts alleged to be due from Canterbury and Nelson. The General Government is, in fact, calling upon them to repay moneys handed over on the faith of Sir George Grey's arrangements, and that in order to make good a deficit arising from their own improper expenditure of the ordinary revenue. A majority of the committee refused to .recognize the propriety of Dr. Knight's views, and held that the financial arrangements of the Provinces ought not to be disturbed, and that they ought not to be deprived of their funds, because the General Government had blindly rushed into error and excess. It was upon this view of the case that Mr. Travers proposed the following resolution, which, after considerable debate, and notwithstanding strenuous opposition from a few of the Auckland members, and from Mr. Hart, member for Wellington, was carried by the house : —

" That, pending a final adjustment of tho public accounts of tho colony, it is just and expedient that the proportion of the Land. Fund now in course of being retained by the General Government iij repayment of alleged over-payments to the Provinces of Canterbury and Kelson, should again be paid over to tho Provincial Treasurers of those provinces for tho public uses thereof, according to the present system of advances to provinces, and that the question of the repayment of such alleged over-payments should remain open until such, final adjustment, and bo Bubject to such arrangements for liquidation as may then be deemed necessary. That a respectful address bo presented to Ids Excellency the Governor, praying that instructions may be issued to the proper officers to carry out the foregoing resolution."

We propose, in our next, explaining the bearing of this resolution upon the two Provinces referred to in it.

The Lady Margaret has brought us no later news from Kngland, having sailed about the date of our last intelligence received via Australia. The Maori, with assisted immigrants for Nelson, was to sail on the 10th of July.

Auckland . New Plymouth . , Wellington Nelson . Canterbury . Otago £ : d. 26,606 16 6 3,005 1 0 17,042 6 9 4,936 16 0 4,946 11 7 1,953 7 1

Auckland . New Plymouth . Wellington Nelson Canterbury Otago 25,917 10 847 0 5,530 0 6,520 3 1,251 5 1,082 13 0 0 0 0 2 6

£ *. d. lrt." Bvaren and coiii of Management 7,239 14 8 2nd. Land purchaies from Natives . 10,100 12 1 3rd. New Zealand CJompany'i fourths 9,806 8 1 4th' Balance of Civil Lut unprovided ■ * by Apropriation Act . . 3,487 10 0 £30,634 4 10 Lowing a balanc* of Territorial Berenuaof £10,513 17 8

£ #. d. BalanoeofLandKerenue. . . 10,513 17 8 Advances to Provinces during the currency of the period, out of Ordinary Berenuo f 5,772 3 6 Balnea of Ordinary Revenue . . 8,106 10 3 £24,392 11 5 The Auditor-General stated that the sum of £5,772 3s. 6d. had been advanced to the Provinces in the following proportions — £ a. d. Auckland .... 1,665 17 9 New Plymputh . . 240 3 7 Wellington , . . " . . 3,151 16 11 Nelipn „; . . . . 714 5 3 Canterbury '. nil. Otagd ...... nil. £5,772 3 6

But £ ». rf. Auckland had received on account 1,665 17 9 Leaving a balance due of . . 11,065 13 3 Of which £ ». d. 4,448 10 9 was on account of Ordinary Revenue 6,622 2 6,, „ Land Revenue £ : d. New Plymouth had received on account 240 3 7 Leaving a balance due of ... 712 16 5 Of which £ t. d. 648 11 6 wo* on account of Ordinary Revenue 64 ,4, 4 11 „ „ Land Revenue £ a. d. Wellington had received on account 3,151 16 11 Leaving a balance due of . . 2,435 3 1 Of which £ t. d. 1,022 S 1 vru on account of Ordinary Revenue 1,413 0 0,, „ Land Revenue ' £ s. d. Nelson had received on account . 714 5 3 Leaving a balance due of . . 2,121 4 9 Of which £ ,«. rf. 44S 4 0 wac on account of Ordinary Revenue 1,666 0 0,, „ Land Revenuo

TSBBXTOBUL. Obdi&ibt. Total. £■ "#. d. £ : d. £ t. d. Luckland „ 6,622 2 6 6,109 8 6 12,731 11 0 few Plymouth . 216 8 6 736 11 6 953 0 0 Wellington 1,413 0 0 4,174 0 0 6,587 0 0 rdson 1,G66 0 0 1,169 10 0 2,835 10 0 Canterbury 319 14 2 1,214 5 10 1,534 0 0 >tago 276 12 6 474 17 11 751 10 5 £10,513 17 8 £13,878 13 9 £24,392 11 5