FINANCES OF THE COLONY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4411, 10 May 1875, Page 2

FINANCES OF THE COLONY.

The New Zealand Gazelle of Thursday contains a statement of the receipts and expenditure of the public accounts of the colony for tho last March quarter. From the voluminous details, wo compile the following summary : CONSOLIDATED REVENUE : MARCH QUARTER, Auckland £77,762 Taranaki .. .. .. 3,353 Wellington 58,2 CS Hawke's Bay 10,515 Nelson 20,020 Marlborough 3.801 Canterbury 69,118 Westland 17,395 Otago • 146,331 £419,307 It will be apparent, therefore, that the Consolidated Revenue, for tho March quarter, 1876, yielded to the Treasury at the rate of £1,677,468 per annum. We hardly think this amount will be realised on tho year, inasmuch as the increase has been progressive, and the period under review is tho third quarter of the financial year 1874-5. But it is quite clear that the estimate of the Colonial Treasurer will be very considerably exceeded. In his Financial Statement, delivered on tho '2lst July last, Mr. Yogel estimated the Consolidated Revenue for the year at £1,406,600.

Assuming that the current quarter does not show any advance on the March one, i there would still be a very considerable surplus to credit at the Treasury. -■When we contrast this state of things with what obtains in Victoria, we think we are justified in congratulating the : colony upon its remarkable prosperity, as : evidenced by the purchasing power of the people through the Custom-house. , It is estimated that the revenue for the i current financial year in Victoria will be less, by £280,000, than the estimate. The shortcoming has been £70,000 per quarter for nine months, and should the June quarter give a similar result, which all the Melbourne newspapers believe to be more than likely, the public income of Victoria will be £3,979,000, instead of £4,259,000 as estimated. The Treasurer, however, economised during the period to the extent of £44,000, and thus managed to make ends meet. The Daily Telegraph remarks that “ the great deficiencies are : Customs, £75,700 ; ex- “ cise, £25,600; territorial, £73,600 ; and “ miscellaneous, £40,000.” The same paper thinks the territorial revenue is only a question of selling land—that more money might have been had if land had been forced into the market; but the recent experience of Canterbury demonstrates the fallacy of such an argument as that. The price of money has vastly more to do with it than the wish of the vendor to force sales. Reverting to the New Zealand statistics, we find that in. the main source of income, Customs’ duties, the estimate has been very largely exceeded, taking the March quarter as a test for the year. Mr. Vogel estimated the revenue from this head at £1,150,000 for the year: it is likely to yield £1,300,000, or an excess over estimate of £150,000. Stamp duties will likewise yield considerably more than the estimate, if the June quarter be as fruitful ns that which preceded it. Taking the heads of revenue as we find them in the returns before us, we have the following results : March Quarter, 1875. Customs .. .. .. • • • • £334,656 Stamp duties 31,982 Postal 19,372 Telegraphic 14,196 Judicial fees aud dues .. .. 8,391 Fees 10,094 It is a noteworthy fact that Wellington stands next after Otago in the payment of stamp duty ; Canterbury and Auckland follow, but in the case of the latter province it is credited with little more than half the amount paid by Wellington. The statement of the receipts and expenditure of the land fund for the quarter under review is likewise instructive. The total receipts were £IIO,BBO, to which £3,830 must be added under the Native Lands Acts Account. This item, however, is carried to a special fund to defray the cost of the Native Lands Court. The following statement will show how the foregoing total is made up, and will, moreover, throw not a little light upon the financial position of the several pro- \ vinces. Thus : Land Fund: March Quarter, 1875. Goldfields Territorial, revenue. . Gold duty Auckland .. £Bl £599 £1,336 Taranaki .. 1,551 Wellington .. 22,282 Hawke’s Bay* 9,016 Nelson .. 4,180 2,136 2,741 Marlborough 880 64 69 Canterbury .. 21,671 Westland .. 2,375 931 2,022 , Otafco.. .. 29,941 4,837 3,530 It will thus be seen that Wellington realised, by the sale of its waste lands, a larger sum last quarter than Canterbury, and very nearly as much as Otago. The Auckland province, on the other hand, received only £Bl of territorial revenue. Added to the fees and gold duty levied off the mining industry of that province, its territorial revenue for the March quarter was a trifle over £2,000 a sum wholly inadequate to maintain the local government, and provide for the wants of the goldfields and country districts. We should explain that the land fund is provincial revenue. The following abstract will show the sums payable to the various provinces out of the Consolidated Revenue and special allowances voted by Parliament, after making the deductions required by law:— March Quarter, 1875. [Payable to provinces in April.] .Auckland £6017 Taranaki .. 204 Wellington 917 Hawke's Bay 157 Nelson 1457 Marlborough .. .. .. .. 343 Canterbury 379 Westland .. 839 These figures manifest the absurdity of continuing the provincial form of government. Otago, it will be seen, does not appear in the foregoing statement, the fact being that there is a sum of £sll recoverable from that province. Without a land fund, the provinces cannot possibly exist; and we object to the waste of the public estate for the sole purpose of maintaining nine miniature parliaments, and nine sets of Executive officers, in the country.