STATEMENT.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1053, 29 June 1883, Page 2

STATEMENT.

THE FINANCIAL

The Colonial Treasurer delivered the Financial Statement in Committee on Wednesday evening. The chief points of the Statement will be found below. Referring to the expenditure and revenue for last year, Major Atkinson said : —The expenditure for the year, under permanent Acts of Parliament, was estimated at £1,627,512, including £1,284,848 for interest and £270,000 for redemption of debt, and the amount voted for departmental services was £2,066,706. The total expenditure proved to bo £3,638,384, being £55,834 less than estimated.

jExpendituve on Deffence The only item in the expenditure which calls for special remark is that of defence. Honourable members will see when the accounts are laid before them that, for (he first lime for some years, the total-cost of this service has been paid out of the ordinary revenue, without any contribution in aid from the loon. This wo are enabled to do in consequence of the large surplus of £203,683 brought forward from the year 1881-82, but the principle of paying the'whole cost of the Armed Constabulary out of the revenue has so much to commend it that I Imps wo shall not again consent to charging any part of that cost against the loan, while it is possible, by any reasonable effort, to provide tiie necessary means from ordinary revenue. Railways.

With regard to railways, the amount expended was only slightly in excess of the vote, notwithstanding a very considerable increase of traffic during the year. Full particulars of the expenditure in connection with this service will be given by the Minister for Public Works when he*makes his annual statement. Liabilities Outstanding on tlx© 31st Max-clx, 1883. The outstanding liabilities of the ordinary revenue account on the 31st March, 1883, were estimated at £176,530, particulars of which have been laid before the House by the Audit Office, under section 9 of “ The Public Revenues Act, 1883.” Thesp liabilities aro, as honourable members know, included in the estimated expenditure for the current year. The liabilities outstanding on the 3lst March, 1882, amounted to £164,394. At the close of the previous year they amounted to £165,514. It will thus be seen that in the ordinary course of things, without either hunting or delaying expenditure, the liabilities on this account from year to year may fairly be estimated at from £160,000 to £IBO,OOO. The practice begun in 1880-81 of making the payments within the financial year the expenditure of the year, without regard to date of service or supply, and so abandoning the method of throwing back on the revenue of the previous year the expenditure made in respect of liabilities outstanding on the 31st March, has greatly simplified the public accounts, and has worked satisfactorily. Ordinary Revenue of tlxe Year 188S-83.

The estimated revenue for the year, exclusive of the cash derived from land sales, was £3,393,590. The actual amount paid into (he public account, after deducting refunds, £3,470,250, being £76,750 in excess of the estimate. A reference to the comparative return of estimated and actual receipts, which will be appended to this statement when published. will show.honourable rnernhftt&iilS-■4^-CTTmMTO--vviitoir —itto —ct a i neaus^xr receipt exceeded or fell short of the estimate.' It will be observed from that return that the only class of revenue which fell short of the amount estimated, was Customs, the receipts being £1,494,463, as against an estimate of £1,500,000, or £5537 less than estimated. The total amount yielded in excess of the estimate by the other classes of revenue was £82,277. Of this sum £23,690 came from registration,and other fees. This large increase is attributable to an under estimate of the probable receipts of duty on leases and conveyances of native lands. It will be remembered that the Stamp Act of 1881 offered the alternative of anticipating the annual payments of these duties by a composition paid once for all, a provision which has been acted on beyond ray conjectural estimate. From this source of revenue we received £25,251 during the year. The revenue from Stamps was £10,389 in excess of the estimated amount. Included in this class are the duties under the the Stamp Act, Postal revenue, fees and fines of the law Courts, and land transfer fees, for all of which there is now only one description of stamp in use. Tho Treasury is consequently unable to apportion the monies received from sales of stamps to the class of revenue to which - they relate. The same course, that of permitting one kind of stamp to be used for all purposes, has been followed to some extent in other colonies and in England, and no practical inconvenience has resulted ; while, to tho public, the change has been a great advantage. Tho Telegraph revenue was £8,135 in excess of the estimate. The receipts from depasturing

licensees’ rents were also in excess £10,073. The Railway receipts, notwithstanding llio largo rortuction in tho tariff, yielded more limn the oatinuUo by £14,740. Tliid Ims boon due to a considerable increase in tho passenger trallio, and in tho tonnage of goods carried, and to an unprecedented increase in the quantities of Live stock moved, tho latter result being doubtless,, duo, to a large extent, to tbo activity of tbo Now Zealand refrigerating industry. Tho previous bad season led to a somewhat diminished grain traffic during the year. Tho traffic arising from the last grain season chiefly falls in during tho current year, so that wo have not yet realised the results. Luml I Tho total amount expended during the year out of monies derived from sales of land was £197,101, of which £41,768 wore expended under permanent Acts of tho General Assembly, and £165,343 out of tbo voles for tho services of tbo year. The amount estimated to be expended was £41,600 under permanent Acts, and £195,337 under the Appropriation Act, making together, £230,837. The actual expenditure was therefore £39,736 loss than tho estimated amount. This result is mainly duo to the absence of expenditure out of tbo vote of £30,000 for rates under the Crown and Native Lands Rating Act of last year, Tho liabilities outstanding on this account on 31st March, 1883, amounted to £27,440. At tho close of the previous year tho amount was £25,188, the former £20,000, in respect of which no demands have yet been made in consequence of tbo valuation rolls, which tho Property Tax Commissioner is directed by u The Rating Act, 1882,” to deliver, not being completed. No moneys were transferred to the main roads account during the past year, no demands on tho Treasury for payment having been made on that account. The receipts from sales

of land- amounted to £272,305, consisting of £225,858 from sales for cash, and £46,447 from sales on deferred payments. The total amount estimated to be, re-ceived-was £354,000. The receipts, therefore, fell short of the estimate by £81,695. The receipts of the year having been £272,305, and the expenditure £197,101, the excess of receipts amounted to £75,204. Adding to this sum the balance of £11,360 in hand at the beginning of the year, we get a credit balance of £86,564 on tin’s account at the close of tire year 1882-83, the whole of this balance being within the sum of £IOO,OOO authorised by “The Roads and Bridges Construction Act, 1882,” to be transferred in such sums as may from time to time be required. Public Works Fund

The -.appropriations granted out of the Public Works Fund for the year ended 31st March amounted to £1,727,729, exclusive of the vote for land purchases £82,455. The actual expenditure was, however, only £867,194, exclusive of £29,843 for land purchases. The principal items of this expenditure were railways, £435,529 ; roads, £210,605 public buildings, L 153,071 ; and other services, L 67,989. A good deal of misapprehension appears to exist in the country, and it is not altogether absent from tlie minds of honourable members, as to the reason for the great difference between the amount voted and that spent upon public works, the Government often Lciiig blamed on the one hand for asking for very much larger sums than it is intended to expend, and on the other for not , expending within the year the whole of the sums voted. It is practically impossible that the periods of execution of large works should be adjusted exactly, or even very closely to the periods of the votes. These latter are, in fact, authorities.for,the payments of the year, and for engaging the colony in operations which must extend beyond the year, and the engagements of one year become in part necessarily and properly expenditure of the next and following years, and the only means by which Parliament can obtain practical control over the 'expenditure is by voting such a sum in respect of such works as it may determine shall bo undertaken, as will cover not only the probable expenditure within the year, but liabilities incurred under contracts or engagements which may remain uncompleted at the end of the financial year. Particulars of the expenditure of the past year will be found in a table annexed to this Statement, but of course much fuller information on the subject will in due course be given by the Minister of Public Works. The liabilities outstanding at the end of the year exclusive of those for land purchases amounted to £861,861, which, added to the amount expended, £867,194, gives a total of £1,799,055, as against £1,727,729 voted for the year. Hon members will perceive that, in speaking of the expenditure out of the Public Works Fund, and the outstanding liabilities at the close of the year, I expressly excluded the expenditure and liabilities in respect of land purchases. I did so because I think it is desirable to keep the liabilities on account of land purchases entirely distinct from the other liabilities of the Public Works Fund, as they stand on an entirely different footing. From the return of liabilities laid before the House by the Audit Office it will be seen that the land purchase liabilities on 31st March last amounted to £309,299. At the close of the previous year the amount was £338,876, and last year the House was - 4rl^&^^^v^m®me^ a to 1 complete the purchase of those blocks which the Government had decided to acquire. No new liabilities have been incurred on this account, and, as already stated, the amount expended last year was £29,843 out of a vote for £82,455, the difference between the amount voted and the expenditure being attributable to the non-completion last year of the purchase of a large block of land in the Provincial District of Hawkes Bay. The balance of the Public Works Fund remaining unexpended on 31st March last, including the balance of the loan of 1882 to be received, estimated at £65,000, amounted to £1,017,725, consisting of cash and securities readily convertible into cash, - Tlxe Public Delhi:. On the 81st March, 1882, the gross public debt of the colony amounted to £29,946,711, subject to a deduction of £2,266,418 for accrued sinking funds. On the 31st March, 1883, the debt was £30,357,111, and the sinking funds had increased to £2,571,828, the real debt being thus £27,785,281, or _ £104,989 more than it was in the previous year. The only addition to the public debt during the past year was the loan of £1,000,000, authorised last session, of which I shall have something to say presently, During thfe year wc were enabled, however, out of monies at the credit of the Public Works Fund requiring temporary investment, to reduce the amount of Imperial guaranteed debentures outstanding on 31st March. 1882, by £264,700, and to take up temporarily debentures for £319,400, issued under the' Treasury Bills Acts of 1879 and .1880, upon which advances had been obtained, and also £3300 of the Immigration and Public Works Loan of 1870. We also redeemed, out of special sinking funds, £2200 debentures of the North Otago District Public Works Loan, which, with £67,800 previously redeemed, completed the redemption of the debentures of that loan. Further, (he sinking funds were increased during (he year by £306,'111, These sums added together give" £896,011, which, deducted from £1,000,0.10, leaves £101,989, (he sum by which, as I have stated, the public debt was increased daring the past year. When, however, we have raised the amounts represented by tho Imperial'guaranteed debentures in baud (£JUU,()OO), and debentures for £323,300 temporarily taken up out of the monies at credit; of the Public Works Fund, the net public debt of (ho colony will amount (o £28,608,681. In accordance with the provisions of the Treasury Bills Acts of 1879 and 1880, tho whole of tho Treasury Bills issued under these Acts, amounting to £1,832,000, were, on (ho 31st December, 1882, exchanged for debentures having a currency of three years. It will be remembered that the Government proposed, with the concurrence of the House, to convert these debentures into I per cent inscribed stock. I regret that circumstances have not yet proved sufficiently favourable to a successful operation of (his nature, but, so soon as a lilting opportunity offers, it is the intention of tho Government to inscribe these debentures. Doaix of £61,000,000, Kaised in January, 1883. Papers relating to the negotiation of the loan of L 1,000,000 raised last January will shortly bo laid before honourable members. It will be remembered that the loan was issued in the form of a 4 per cent, inscribed stock, and that it was offered to the public by the Loan Agents, through tho Bank of England, at a minimum of LOS 10s per cent, the average price at which it was placed being L9B 12s sd. The stock is now quoted at 102£. The total amount paid by the Bank of England to tho- Loan Agents, after payment of commission, stamp duty, and

other expenses, was JL972, 297 11s 9*l . On no previous occasion has a New Zealand loan been raised at a price so favourable to the colony. Saving’s Banks and GS-o-Ternment Insurance. In the Savings Banks of the Colony on the 31st December, 1881, the amount held in deposit was £1,550,515, at credit of 61,054 accounts, or an average of £25 7s 7d for each account. On 31st December, 1882, the amount was £1,832,047, at credit of 68,358 accounls, the average amount being £26 16s. There was thus an increase of £ 282,533 in the deposits at the close of the year 1882, and 7304 in the number of accounts open. Of the large amount of £1,832,047 accumulated in the Savings Banks of the colony, 1,470,950 was deposited in the Post Office Savings Banks. Considerable attention has been bestowed on the work of the Insurance Department, in the direction of extending its usefulness, and especially in bringing its benefits more readily within the reach of those who may desire to insure for small amounts. The results have been very satisfactory as regards both branches of the Department, the new business of which now exceeds a million sterling per annum, being double the average amount hitherto annually attained. The ordinary brand) assurances in force number over 17,000 policies, insuring upwards of five and a half millions. The . new assurances average at present nearly £1(0,000 per month. The accumulated funds of the Department now amount to more than three quarters of a million. These figures appear to denote that a growing,section of the general public possess, the means and the desire to make prudent provision for the future, and are availing themselves of the advantages which the Department offers.

Local Finance. The passing of the Roads and Bridges Construction Act has, I am glad to say, enabled the local bodies to begin many useful works, but, owing to the fact that the money for the construction of main roads was not available until about February, the work completed under the provisions of the Act has been less than would hare been the case had the money been available in the spring of the year. The amount available for construction of main roads was estimated at £200,000, but applications to the extent of £640,358 were received, the result being that the applicants were allotted only threeeighths of the amount of their applications, the Act providing that, should a larger, amount be applied for than was available the grants should be reduced prorata,.. The applications for district roads only amounted to L 61,795, so that the whole of those applications which were in proper form, and received the approval of the ratepayers, were granted. The Act seems to be working, on the whole, well, but will probably require some amendment in the direction of limiting the amount which any local body may apply for. This matter is under the consideration of the Government. ‘ Financial Results of*tlxe Year.

1 will now briefly summarise, for the convenience of hon members, the general financial results of the year which I have just given in some detail. We find, as I have already stated, that the total expenditure out of the ordinary revenue of the Consolidated Fund was L 3,638,384, and that the revenue amounted to L 3,470,250. To the revenue I add L 203.683, that sum being the balance standing to credit of the account on 31st March, 1882, and thus obtain L 3,673,933 as the total receipts of the year. Deducting from this total the expenditure, amounting to L 3,638,384, a balance of L 35,549 is obtained as the surplus with which the year 1882-83 when it is remembered that taxation was remitted last year to the extent of about LBO,OOO, while for Constabulary L 75,000 was charged against revenue which before had been borne" upon loan, and extra charges for Education and Interest had to be provided to the extent of about L 96,500. If, therefore the remission of taxation had not taken place, and the extra charges had not been required, the year would have terminated with a surplus about as large as that of 1881-82. It should also be specially borne in mind that, during the past year, we contributed out of revenue not leas than £270,000 to the sinking funds for the redemption of our public debt. I do not, of course, mention this sum as an exceptional charge on the revenue of the past year, though it included £24,000 for arrears in respect of the sinking fund of the Imperial guaranteed debentures, which was exceptional, but I refer to the fact for the purpose of drawing attention to the large and annually increasing sum which- the colony is periodically setting aside for the cancellation of its public indebtedness. In the figures I have just summarised I have not of course included the proceeds of land sales, which are kept in a separate account, and applied, after payment of authorised charges, to local public works ; but when we consider (lie whole transactions of the Consolidated Fund for the year, the proceeds of land sales, and tho expenditure charged (hereon must be included in the account. We find then that the total revenues received, including proceeds of land sales, and the balances with which we began tho year, amounted to L 3,947,599, and that the total expenditure, including charges against the proceeds of land sales, was L 3,835,436, thus showing a surplus upon tho whole transactions of the Con solidated Fund for the year of L 122,113. As I have already stated, the surplus of the ordinary revenue account at the close of tho year was L 35,549. The real credit balance of that account, however, the hon members will see, on referring to the accounts which will be appended to this Statement, was L 85,549. The difference, it will be observed, arises from the addition to, the receipts of the year of deficiency bills for L 50,000, which lemainod unredeemed on the 31st March, 1883, but, as the balance of the account was L 35,549 in excess of the amount required to redeem' these bills, I have thought it better, in speaking of the receipts, to exclude the L 50,000, in order to simplify the statement of the financial results of the year. State of* Trade. Tho Treasurer then proceeded to give upon the state of trade. He spoke hopefully of future prospects and urged, ns a remedy for present depression that we should live within our means both in public and private life. JGstimated Expenditure oat of Ordinary Revenue 1883-4. I now, come, Sir, to the consideration of the cxpenditure'of the ordinary revenue of the Consolidated Fund for the current year, and, following the usual custom, I divide it into two parts, viz :—Permanent the proposed appropriations for the year. The necessity for maintaining on the part of the Committee a careful supervision and strict watch over the annual appropriations will, I hope, jbe a sufficient excuse for ray troubling honourable members at some length with a comparison of the expenditure of tbe last two years with the proposed expenditure of the current year. First, then, as regards

permanent charges. The amount estimated to be expended under tin's head during the current year is L 1,645,694, of which LI ,567,430 is for interest and sinking fund, amounting respectively to L 1,309,930 and L 257.50 is to say, we shall pay L 1,309,930 to the public creditor, and set aside L 257,500 during the year for the redemption of our debt. Last year (1882-83) we paid L 1,566,441 on this account, being L 989 leas than the estimate for the current year. In the year before, the amount paid was LI ,500,989, or L 65,452 lees than last j-ear. This large increase in the amount of interest and sinking fund paid last year is accounted for as follows :—lnterest on further advances obtained on the Imperial guaranteed debentures, LlB-,119; sinking fund in respect of the same debentures, L 40.000, being L 16,000 for 1882-83, and L 84,000 for arrears ; and interest on Treasury Bills, L 12,775. No now Treasury Bills were, however, issued, the explanation of the additional interest being that certain bills, ' which had been taken up temporarily out' of the Public Works Fund, and which bare no interest so long as they remained investments of that fund, had been disposed , of, and the proceeds returned to the fund. The sums I have mentioned slightly' exceed the increase of L 65,452 in the amount of interest and sinking fund paid last year (1882-83), but there were certain small decreases which account for the ■ difference. I have said that the amount estimated to be expended for interest .and sinking fund during the current year exceeds the amount actually paid last year by L 989. As, however, the first year’s

interest, amounting to L 40,000, in respect of.the loan of one million raised ,in January last, becomes payable This year, it is necessary to explain very briefly how we estimate that we shall only pay L 989 more than we paid last year. The chief reason is that ■ L 24,000 which we. paid last year for arrears of -sinking fund, in respect of the Imperial guaranteed debentures, does not recur in the Estimates for 1883 84; A saying, of L 2433 has, , moreover, been effected' by exchanging, under the Bills' Acts of 1879 and 1880, L 1,832,000 Treasury Bills, hearing interest at 3f per cent per diem for 5 per cent debentures, and-, a further saving ii^_—-, interest by taking up temporarily a lion of these debentures out of moneys at the credit of the Public Works Fund, requiring investment. The remaining permanent charges; on the Estimates amount to L 78,264, consisting of the civil list, L 29/750'; pensions (civil and military) L 27,641 other charges, L20,873.La5t year the amount actually expended on these services was L 74,845 ; in the yearbefore it was L 78,964. The amount of the appropriations proposed for the year is L 2,015,802, as against L 1,997,0981 actually expended .last year, and : L 1,698,868 the year ■ before. Thesefigures show that our actual requirements last year were greater than those of the year before by L 298.230, and that this year we propose an additional expend!-' true of L 18,704, thus making the estimated expenditure for the current year greater by LSI 6,934 than the -actual

expenditure of the year 1881-82. This state of things is rather startling at first sight, but I hope to .be able to explain . to"’ the satisfaction of the .Committee that this apparently large increase of expenditure will be either nominal or practically unavoidable. I shall first of all refer to the expenditure of last year (1882-83), which, as I have said exceeded that of the year before(1881-82) bv- the large sum of L 298,230, and it will be , ermvpnient that I should deal with the - -several -—tlaosSs of expenditure in the order an which they are placed in the public accounts and Estimates. In Class 1, Legislative, there was an. increase of L 3924, chiefly in expenses of members. In Class 2, Colonial Secretary, there was a large increase, amounting to L 48,465, in • the expenditure on hospitals and charitable aid, which is accounted for by the fact that no recoveries were made from local bodies in 1882-83, subsidies having ceased. On the vote for Electoral there was a decrease of L 7825 last'year, the general election for the taken place the previous year ; arid orFi(|Pß vote for the Registrar-General’s Depart--' ment there was a decrease of LBO2I after \ the census of 1881. On the other hand, the expenditure on the stock (sheep, cattle, and rabbits) branch of the Colonial Secretary’s Department was increased by L 10,654, mainly owing to the transfer to the ordinary revenue account of a portion of the cost of this service, paid out of land revenue in the previous year; The expenditure on lunatic asylums- was increased by L 5957. There were increases, in. the expenditure on other services in the same class, amounting to L 3593, and decreases amounting to L 2659. The net increase of expenditure last year on the class was therefore L 50,164. In Glass 3, Colonial Treasurer, there was an increase"of L 29,937. Of ibis sum L 10,843 represents the expenditure of the Property Tax Department in connection with the general assessment, which lion members: are aware occurs every three years only. L 19,000 was for exchange and commission. The increase of expenditure on the latter item is merely nominal, as under the arrangement with the Bank of New Zealand for payment of interest in London*: • by which an additional charge for exchange became necessary, a larger amount of interest is received on the balances at credit of the public account in the colony; In Class 4, Minister of Justice, there was a net increase of L 4645, the total increases being L 6093, of which L 1975 was for criminal prosecutions, L 1473 for prisons, LB6O for Resident Magistrates’ Courts, L 740 for coroners, and L 1055 for other services. The decreases amounted to L 1445, of which L 962 was for the Department of Justice. In Class 5, Postmaster General, there was an increase of L 20,351, the vote for salaries being accountable for L 7505, maintenance of telegraph lines, repairs, &c., LBlll, and conveyance of mails by sea L 4128, the balance being made up of increases and decreases on other votes in the. same class. In Class 6, Commismissioner of Customs," there was ah increase of L 2356, L 1350 being for salaries, and the remainder . for seal fisheries and the Stella. In Class 7, Commissioner of Stamps, there was an increase of L 2672, arising mainly, from contingencies, including commission paid on collection of duties on native lands. In Class 8, Minister of Education, the increased expenditure amounted to L 31,074, partly owing, to the restoration of the 5s per head by which the grants to Education Boards had been reduced in 1881-82, and partly to a greater increase of the average daily attendance at the public schools compared with that of the previous year. In Class 9, Minister of Native Affairs, tho salaries and contingencies of the Native Department were less by L 915, and miscellaneous services, &c., by L 2677, than they were the previous yeai, but the expenses of the Native Land Court were increased by L 1392. There was, therefore,a net decrease of L 2210 in this class. In Class 10, Minister of Mines, there was a reduction of L 2159, chiefly in subsidies towards construction of tracks on the goldfields. I» Class 11, Minister of ; -

Public Works, the increased,-expenditure-amounted to L 47.952. The expenditure on workshops was greater last year-than the year before by L 43,473, but. this increase of expenditure was compensated by an increase of Lit),lll in the traffic receipts during (he same period. In Class 12, Minister of • Defence there was an apparent increase of L 109,044 The actual increase was, how ever only L 34.044, the vote from the Consolidated Fund having been aided by r a vote of L 75,000 from loan in 1881-82, whereas last year tinwhole cost of defence services was paid out of revenue. The increase of L 34,044 arose out .of the unsettled condition oi the natives* on the .West Coast of tlxNorth Island. The inciease. in the actual expenditure of last year over that of the year before may, therefore, be broadly summarised as follows, taking the darkest items first : Defence, 1*109,000, including transfer from loans, L 75.000, and L 34,000 for services on the West Coast of the North Island ; hospital and charitable aid L 48,000, formerly recoverable from subsidies- to local bodies, now discontinued ; working railways, L 43.000, for extended mileage and traffic, and for increase in the rate of wages ; education, LSI,OOO, for restoration of the grants to Education Boards to four - pounds per head, and for increased attendance at public schools ; Post and Telegraph, Department, L 20,000 ; for additions to salaries, main-. tenance of telegraph lines, and extended accommodation to the public; Property Tax Department, LIO,OOO ; for triennial assessment, exchange - arid- commission, 'L19,000 ; about a similar amount received for additional, interest' on public account charges pother services, LIB,OOO ; including the 10 per cent reduction of salaries in force for the first three months of 1881-82,, making in all L 298,00- ..If boh. members wilt carefully examine the. accounts of the two years 'trvwhich. I have referred, they wilt, I think, in the light of these explanations see that the larger portion of the apparent -increase was merely, nominal, that is, was either transferred from loan or balanced by; equivalent Vreceipts bn the other side of the account, and that

such of’the increased expenditure, not could only have been avoided undue hardship 911 the public servants of the colony, or by causing inconvenience to the public generally. Having thus explained to the Committee, I trust satisfactorily, how the apparently large; increase of expenditure last year arose, I shall now proceed to compare the Estimates of last year (1882-83) with those of the current year. It is more convenient than to compared the .'Estimates for. the current with the actual, expenditure of the past year, because,i in voting supplies for the service of theyear, it is always necessary to vote such a sum as will leave a sufficient margin to cover unforeseen contingencies rather thau be under the necessity of charging such expenditure to “unauthorised,” through having left no margin. Before doing so, I must, however* draw the attention of the Committee to the amount . by' which, in accordance with section 10.. of “ The Public Revenues Act,. 1882,” several of the;yotes on the Estimates have been abated, This amount, L 55,772, represents estimated recoveries .to be. received during the year which will be carried to credit of the relative votes, and will to that extent increase the spending power under the vote. As this is the first time that such statements have been made it is necessary, in order to institute a fair comparison between the votes of last year and the proposed votes for: the current year, that these abatements should be treated as if they had not been made. The amount voted by the House for the services of last year was L2,o66,7o6,abatements for recoveries amounting to L 55,772, to which I have preferred. They amount to L 2,071,574, being L 4868 more than the amount voted last year, I should explain, however, that the Estimates of last year included a sum of L 50,000 for harbour defences, ■ which • we do not propose to revote out of the revenue; but we shall ask the House to vote out of the Public Works Fund such a sum as we are likely to require for this purpose during the current year. The real increase in the Estimates for this year is therefore L54,868.‘ That is the net result. I shall not weary the Committee by going into a : lengthy comparison of the two years’ Estimates, but I Should like to to one or two prominent In the vote for Railways there is an Increase of L 73,647, partly due to increased traffic on the lines, partly to an extension of mileage open,'|there being now 1407 miles as against 1358 last year ; and in the vote for Armed Constabulary there is a decrease of L 13,226, our improved relations with the natives on the West Coast having enabled the Government to effect a reduction in the number of men in the field force.' liospitals and Charitable

The vote for Hospitals and Charitable Aid has been increased by L 16.000, and the total charge on this account is now L 88,900. Some districts, recognising the truth that it is more blessed to give than to receive, still continue to subscribe to local Hospitals and Bencvo-, lent Societies, but the general tendency, I am sorry to say, is to more and more throw the whole burden of relieving the poor upon the State. Government have determined to askfor.a continuance of the vote in the present shape, thus leaving the question open to bs dealt with when the matter has been more carefully considered. Poor Laws and National Insurance. X shall ask leave to .lay upon the table of the House a Bill for .Compulsory National Insurance, not with the intention of asking to read it a second time, . but with the hope of getting a debate ‘upon" it, and then distributing the Bill throughout the country for public consideration. ' ' jESeorganisatiou of the Civil Service. Government have determined to submit the Estimates as they stand, and to ask the House to consider a scheme for the reorganisation and classification of the Service. I shall, therefore, propose in the course of a few days, some resolutions embodying the principles which the Government think would be given effect to by a Bill, and, after discussion, I shall ask that they be referred for the consideration of a Select Committee of members of both sides of the House, with directions to report, after careful inquiry into the subject, as to the principles upon which a Civil Service Act .should be founded.. Should no Act be passed this year, it will be necessary to ask the House for increases to the present salaries. Estimated Revenue for the Year 1883-84. I have now to, bring under the notice of the Committee the estimated revenue of the year 1886-84; I anticipate that we shall receive a total ordinary revenue of L 3,573,800 for the current year, exclusive of land sales, if our taxation remains the same. 1 have thought it prudent not to increase the estimated receipts from Customs duties more than L 20,000 above the Estimate of last year but I hope looking to all the circumstances of the colony as far as possible m advance, we may reasonably expect to receive 520,000 from these duties. I also estimate an increase of LBooo on Stamps, L7ooo on Telegraph receipts, and Llß,ooo on the Property Tax under the new valuation. I estimate, then, the total revenue at L 3,573,800, to which I add the balance of L 35,549, which stood to our credit at the 31st March last, and get a sum of L 3,609,349 as the total amount available for the services of tfie year, Deficit for tlie ouwent Year. Now the total revenue received last year was L 3,673,933, including the balance with which the year began. Hon members will,

therefore, see that on; ways and means for the current year are le-s :hr.n : hose of last year by L 61,588. 'ih? estimated revenue proper, it is true, for this year .exceed* ihat of last by L 103,550. but the credit, balance with which we begin this year is less by L 168,-134 than the credit balance whh which we began last year. It should also be remembered that the increase in receipts .from railways this.-year is only. ’ obtained-by the necessary addition to the expenditure of L 48,187 for working expenses and maintenance, and it must also further be borne in mind that it was only in consequence of the large surplus on 31st March, 1882, that the whole cost of the Armed Constabulary was for the first time charged against the Consolidated Revenue. I, have already shown the estimated expenditure as 1/5,661,496.: :There will therefore be a deficit of L 52,147, as to the means of meeting which I will speak presently. Isanti Fund, 1883-84-The estimated expenditure chargeable against the Land Sales Fund is as follows :—For charg-es fixed by Acts of General Assembly,. L 36,600 ; for Grown Lands Survey and Mine's Departments, L 157,280 ; and for rates on Crown lands, • L 40,000; amounting in all to L 233,880. The receipts from land.sales are estimated at L 275,600 for the current year. To this must be added the balance standing to the credit of the fund on 31st March last, L 86,564, making the total estimated receipts for; the year L 362,164, against-which,; however, is chargeable, Li.oo,oooi payable" to main roads account for last year. There is therefore . only available, if the above estimates are correct, L 28,284 for main roads account, under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act, for the current year. Proposals for tlie .Year Ordinary Reyenue Account. ; I have said chat the estimated expenditure lor the year is L 3,661,496, and that without further taxation, the estimated revenue is only L 3,609,349. It is evident therefore that we must either decrease our expenditure or increase our revenue. The Government see no prospect, after careful consideration of the subject, of reducing the expenditure for . this year,below the amount estimated,whatever we may hope for from the reorganisation of the .Civil Service to which I have already referred.> There remain,-therefore, as the only alternatives, increased taxation or charging some services. upon- loan. The latter course the-Governmont are not prepared to recommend. .. Increase of the Property ■' Tax, ' I shall, therefore, propose an increase iri the Property Tax of one farthing in the pound, and this I estimate to produce £85,000. Adding this amount, then, to the estimated revenue, L 3,609,349, we get a total revenue of L 3,694,349," and subtracting from thisT our estimated expenditure, L 3,661,496, we obtain a probable surplus of L 32,853 on the 31st March, 1884. Laud Fuud. The deficiency in: anticipated funds arises from the' falling off in the land revenue, which was L 81,695 less last year than the estimated amount, and this year it is only estimated to produce L 275,600. This falling off in the land sales has arisen partly from the reservation, as subsidies for railways under the Act of 1881, of land which had been previously intended and prepared for sale, and ; partly . from, the principle upon which the department has been and is .being worked, the chief consideration which is now guiding our land administration being the settlement of the country in small holdings. It is, however, clear that as we are administering the Land Department in the., interests of settlement rather : than of revenue, we must: also, in the interests of settlement, make sufficient provision for the Main lioads Funds. I shall, therefore, propose that there shall be paid to the fund for the current year, out of the Public Works Fund, a sum of L 74,000, a sum sufficient, with the available balance of the land sales, to make up L 100,000. The statement concluded.with a.few general remarks upon the prospects of the Country, which the Treasurer, declared were such as to warrant a sober confidence in the future.