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Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 1, 2 June 1864, Page 2

Mtjcii misconception appears to exist as to <6ur Railways.- ' On them is fathered a|l our financial difficulties. Persons ignorant of thP ! real facts of the case declare thajy were it not for our attempting works so considerable, _we should not have reached* our present straits, and lavishly condemn our presumption' iii inaugurating, in oiir early yOuth^ works which* would 7 have trial' ' the mature manhood of other.settlements. We will .endeavour to elucidate the' subject, and prove 'that, so far ? from dragging us down, our Railway loans havein reality been thp sole, means by winch we haVe been hitnertb kept" afloat. L In doing so, we shall bave'tb expose a miserable ineom.potency and thriftless^yastepn the part of the Gpyemmeiiti &mosl^ unparalleled ijn colonial history* •- V - * ,' ; ? , '* ,v ~ The^Proyince.of Southl^^Ppmnienc^d the financial^ year .1863 under brighter : ailspicea.. than. any other Province in New Zealand. .! "With no debt of its' own-^only a small 'proportion of that with which |t ; was. burdeiteii^ on Separation, the intent ? £i,6Bo.perj ahnum,-^-we had ; a b^anpp/tjo. our: vcredlt of £15,581' Bs. "^ i^at year was onpiof almost unexampled, pro'spprity, . unarntidpatedsiiipPess. YNotwith^andirig . that the Land iHind did not eq^ tl^e' estimate, by, in yound numbers, £11,000, the Customs' HfevenueV the best test of * prosperity, so far exceeded "■_ it .that the three-eighths coding. 16 bur estimated^ft £6^^ieali?ed t £iS^3^,^lb all, ttie gross -revenue ; of the YPrbyinqe amounted vto- within a few -pounds of £104,QO()-j considerably- pxceeditf^ »|"£_fer : estimate • and jet; at the end of thit ».«*., the f 3oth September^ 1863, we find thie Province debited .- with an over-draft of £47,788 13s. 7d. t /The total; expendituije during the year amounted to £151,730 -14sr2d. — Outof-aHthisrthesmftllitenrbf £7,063 16s. 9d.appeij-irß under the head pf . RailwayfPnthe -debit side," while a similar amount, imder a similar hei^,, appears on thecredit side, so that in reality not one sixpence of all this expenditure was incurred. for our Railways. Weiwill' no\y ', inquire in what way this large sum of money was spent, or rather mis-spent, and open the first chapter of our present difficulties. . . A ■■ . -. ./. , | The three great items of expenditure' are^-Publir Works, £2l;711 ;" Roads, £63,565 ; and/ Salaries; #37,123. As';; regards, the .first, ; we hkyp, something to show for pur money: >The.; Gaol. and Hospital, Police, Stations, Mechanics' In-' stitute; and "additions to the' G-overbihent .Buildings, are part of the items under this head. We cannot take exception at this •expenditure! The money has not beeh squandered in erecting -pretentious edifices ---the useful, rather than the ornamental— — hris; -'' bepn ,: adhered to; ; ; The^Gapl and HOspitaiare' good l buildrags as far they go ; the -public; offices, if not remarkable as a specimens :of architectural beauty, answer -the-purpose forwhich they are intended well enough. Indeed, we may congratulate ourselves that the Government has been so moderate in this respect, and not given^w^y to the common tendency in young" and rising places to, ape the architectural performances of cities bf ail older f growth. On the whole, thi=_ money has been well, expended. Would ~ we could say the t same of the Uoads. Sixty-three f thousand five" hundred and sixty-five pounds irrevocably gone, and not 'a rctetd in the Province l-^-not' even now; aflte* a, few more thousands have been thrown after tfie JBEow much less bn the 30th September Jast? ' Out of this sixty-three thousand odd, £23,792 Os. Bet. was expended ron the 'North-road, ' vid Wallacetown ; tfffd' we venture to state ' that/ on the 30th! September Iqat, tha* road was, in a worse condition than it had ever been, Nor was this road an exception. , " ' As regards salaries, it Would appear that the size of a province 'is by no means com-

relnusitelio^^ conqiict^it;s business) "We d$ no&baviJ#ft the amOitafepf pay^vhich each iSer l», l|/|-piti|M-t-said official ttpes^Owcmtaim^ managing' i elei»Mf^ large me^pntale!*fim ; but the numlfer employed is #*jfi*f^pr^-digiou§u'' "When his Honor met his^arfihiul ComjO^tbe Council, he st^d,^hftt,th%^on-; r tiniied prosperity of *the J Province »was f ? a 1 I^tirce%f*much^^^^ vermnent,-t6u6hiiigiigfttl^on tlie trifling exceßS"of expenditure -over- revenuer—The:CoimeUuißffortunately i inste&do af $*&*s|ng alarm at the^tjStep over the brink, and notwithstandiog J the .statement in his ■ Hopoc's... speech .that mnch of this roajd [e^p^riditu^g w&s '^essentraUy jpf -) af tern" porary char-ic^^'.'/qmetly voted farther supplies. The thin end of the wedge was ,thus V introduced,- ?andvfuttherr^b'NVerf ac-» corded, for^ livißh*exwiiditure,^a ) power which was seiiz^^ : & i %vidity' -and- 'afetejd on vdthjener^i;..^^Y^e^artOTvending Bist De^mber^ufiy^ Yexemplifiea^ this. YBe-g-inningtewjt^^^ -it-^d^withft-f^ther- deficit -0f"£42^61^6 rifißi-illdsi one fluarterhlaying increasedttHe tabt to £82,696,0dd.. j A. If OTtie efiffre^tevPntlP 1 dtiringiiMiß-iquarter was £14^776 vl-7-l^lOdf the expenditure £57y47_#4*8^d: -H Out 61 soiAmhspeii^ turej the r cW -£^jpe^**^d^ilve %ea# Pf* * l tt3tldncesQ -•^rthi«Rafiw^^^ the head pfXltoids'Jv^ Md expended itf tbisr £6,761 13s. -^p^ of which is th|& -noticeable itemf ,"<t£%QOp:L,, t Me&oM Uk^utoinowMiat -i-" J **v' * -»f- , '«-'i i i'-i_#»:-*-''^_**M -t'£ia GAsWK _ * has become? of the steam-rag r. Cofc a *•£«£- we certainly nave not got * Under the head of 'ftefli^ find the small s{|imrxi'^ B^i^iQo^elsj^-^o that to collect and manage a revenue of £14,776 17s. lOat^p^^fuarter we have topay £ll f QO^^jsß-;;.,^e^ost striking item -m*-the^^xpenditure-imder"thiß^head*iß-in! the Jetties)|and -^Kharyes jDepartment :-!- Jetty dues col(ecfeed r £92. 10s.. 7d. j cost of collection? £752 vmSAS^- T-"> <- % J * • liHhe" month J bPJ^ twtaliifiyeAue amHuinWdt6:£^,ss9 '-'Ms. 8d;, expenditure,f^23,s6.7 ',9s> 7d. ;, ; out. of \srJiicHi, deducting ) tbe '°"\A<svaiic<P .toY .Niortheim " Eailw*^'«^B|ss7«lostM!, the I>atonep for ordinary eXpendit&rStduringithembntfiis £15,009 19s*6d.ft^9#50 7s. 10d. in excess of thgi&VefittelHM L The most important items of this expendi.©e arl^EaaasSeSl42o^.^J^MlicJ^orks,..£l,963Jte^^^^ £5,610 17^,.10d., v . Atjast the climax ot} prosperity and'^^gbcJd* government seems to; &a^;beei|i£^ ing exceeding the^^total revenue, bys£slr* 6s. 2d., Jetties^na^W&arves showing eveta better than -«sufe*Jett£ dues, £23_ 75."? 10d.j cost of eoe€i&^' n £^9l^^. 1 B^. This . promises WWW '$ffyWg source qf revenue.- sd.«»rtai;a« . |. The last jjtiblkbed accounts ,are.fpr the f months of JBebruaryl^^archi £30,360 3b. 4d^f o^^^djtur^;t^3 t p*% 14s. 9d. Out of Jhe.thirfcy.&visand oaf), of revenue appears, " Befund Oreti Jfail-*;. " way=/V £13,435 0s; IdS^bei^tlw stu^; i^eaTTOg^m-theri^otmtr^^ ing BUt Decemb^ll§63, and toonth |f ■ Janiiaify, 1864, Aodvancddi td that iraUWaty so ffiatj th'e ! !l^<3|Bl{^^^ilwa^ there cannot; Be*any T prejte*ace»pf- its b^im ■ md^ted i v%,the-;'generai i TCy^ue. r^ • Tne principal items of e^enditui^ ai^j^Jipadfl^ £12^7441581:; I^l^Woa£si£9s3Bs. 7d{; I)e^^^^p^i]*s^-jeß;o^9;^ -'" 7 jj4^.^'to c Muff ;'-gffl-*iU-a^y;^ ,ig; avm^tfsin^larfitem^ thY Bank. of -New South W^^ajgr6ed ; to- advance, 9Q "per (^nt.^c^^the : YßJu^ ajid,. Invercargili ; Kailwa^Yl)e^totur^ months ago, and that we^ye-fieei^iniontfis in debt for the' ordinary^cfexpeii^tUre, \vje .would jh^ve**iihai|inedt 'tfiafe-ira'^liM, ha%e been more, in accordance withi^ trj^h-' to have -stated* tbe'^tem* as Advanced ! 'by t not ■tK>,^h^^jPa^^^s^o\^g^ Ite^Jb^stftnd:^^^ what pur cwerdrafll fo^ . ordi^ary r pxpenditme'hi^^lio^i^iMai^ last^and how we. have been able to s get the apcommodatiOTil M^sEalT-then^be €ette/able;^ ascertain the'^cp^wtnes#'qf the assertion, that oujp. railwayV.lbaye^S cause of .our &f solution to the question why our railway Works ihave f been stopped.* 7 ' IrrespecnTO cjf^ immaginarjradvances^^l» i *mUw iay^'ourover.di^t^isj^ foUqws iSirA r ZAAAA.iAi ?s'IIT ] Financial year ending;3othiSept., ] ** , t Tr 1863r 7 Bank 0verdraft...,.,,... £47,7^8 13 r f Quartser eiMrng^t Dec^ ISGS v.. 87,819- ? 61111 . Month ofJmiuary, 1864.. „... , ?/ 9,^0, .7 lb f Afbntfia 'ioF F^Aax^^^lSd^A^S^S^ p - ,-Jii-^' -{ *.'v .■'- ->.jy!j--.- ,-:-.» 'i-; ■. :^;.r;J-.---,'f >,en trt-.j *! :;.J j . Total of overdroft^r _ . | V; • T expenditure'/ excltusive of-rail-' >' A I*l l. Aa'i | . ways, on 31st March last £104,567 8 How .didr^elmanages W^etlthis accom-, modation from . the_banks without anY debentures exclusively- .set .apartr'to meet _-JWe.fan^y4tLmjis]bSe:app^ one, afte^ pefusin^. tbif ,statement, that, so. far from out ofthe or^inai^ J*venu6.^t^ have in rea^^iadvanced^ to-the Province, and that j^e cause pf their stoppage is thp. result of the miiaj^ropria^ion of the railway debentures from" their legitimate and lawful purpose. J r '- - v ■"-'" r!