FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 79, 7 August 1913, Page 7

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

HON. JAMES ALLEN'S BUDGET, .MA.-. REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. ... fc;«fl.!v!-',' The Financial St jtepa»nt was brought I (lown, ; in Committee of Supply by the Hon. the Minister of Finance (the Hon. James Allan) last..evening. The Minister said he had pleasure in being able to announce that, the revenue for the-year exceeded the estimate by £785,618. Tl\&arßVj?vjyie forj.he period was actually £11,734,022 against an estimate of receipts of £10,948,401. The heads under which; the principal excesses were obtained were :—Customs, £207,538;, Railways £223,350; Stamps £153,547; and Post, and Telegraph,-../ £26,977; , ,The „ actual revenue for 1912-13 exceeded that for 1911-12 by £701,478. The expenditure for 1912-13, was £11,082,038. bej,ng £l46 : 96(FlVss' than the estimate" The actual .expenditure for tiie year exceeded that for the previous year by £741,670. The results of the year's operations are:—Balance ;brought forward, Ist April, 1912, £807,!276; receipts during year £11,734,270: expenditure during year, £11,032.088: •xcess of receifits orer •xpanditure, £652,232- V' v » n»V* WJ PUBLIC DEBT-'■■■■;;■«_■ \<f The gross public debf at tiif «?nu o; th'.Ji financial year amounted tq £90,080,703, of 'which amount approximately £55,000,060 has been utilised,in such works &g construction .qf railways, celegraphs; '.aincJ telephones j. advances to settlers,, workers, and local authori ties; purcliase'of.land foi: settlomeni purposes, «tc, which are.iircctly re productive investments, j The, .nei debt amounted to £87,457,121,. Th< *>otnl increase of the public dobfc foi the 1912-13 period was £5,706,850 made Up aB follows :-—State-guarantee*:": adrar.ees debt, . £2,572,291; public works, £2,648,630; miscellaneous £480,87.Q< : SOME DETAILS.

It ia':proposed to amend the Public Revenues Act in .prder that Treasurj bills may bo,issued in London., Thh will facilitate the, raising of temporary loans" for i the • purWse<>'of : -tht Consolidated Fund in J aHffcipa'tioif o; ■'_ ..*• "* >' -ar 1 . ■ During ■■s•'' financial /the sun of J £r-30 r 000 th,( to the''»Publio<■■■'. Works amount .of -ne--/vMUHVtrsfe3ff6'rVed to ttoi'Pnbfe!-Wartr zljW *;cc/n-diani»'.with. ■lion I :the \k9pott>?Qfosl* |C'fmki'*.sicjne|k^%pppinl>9d'to. bP' the ,B&ji«dS«jß*io6f * itf'..tli*r publication -of'the- ipubTic accoli'nts oi the Dominion has been introduced. The pub]io...ac4aun±» r oait<©ad of_ being_ is-_ sued in separate accounts as well a; in' a combined publication known a£ B.—l, will be issued in two parti only arid j s great daal" of "duplication wil! Karoided. .TJ? M 3HT TA. ''tiU principle adoptedj-for the firs' tlm*,. referring' 'the estimate*, for the consideration of th< .•Mblic' continued.

r "Full; »H sW'i l ! 1 ™ f ? ! %i %ui Tfrwiik* 1 912 have .been.,prepared,, i; exp.ensf ,t 0... tJi»k country- |.;, (; It., s|}l ;Ue ■ rpmem Bber.ecli.thaA the Commissioners, above referred to raised the. question of the necessity for .the- piibljeaton of tlxesf details,,and I propopo>?,therefore, tha' the continuance of the printing .of, thi information for future years shall b' referred to. the Public Accounts Com rnittea for. consideration. It is esti mated that the cost of the preparatipr of the return for th» year ended 31s' March, 1912, f«i, .approximately £-4000.

The cost of raising the £3,000,00 loan, in London rrill be laid befon honourable members so soon as th< final aTSCOimtg "ara received from th; High Commissioner. The proceeds of this loan have beer to a'very large extent devoted to;.tlv current needs of the Dominion, wherea circumsahces made it imperative tha J the previous loan should ( .he, largel; utilised for the purpose "of Vecleeininj existing loans; then mair.ring,,-or re 'plyifr.g advances.

PUBLIC DEBT EXTINCTION. The sum paid out of- the ■Consbli dated Fund towards the extinction o' our loans amounted to £149,343 fo: the, year. For the year previous r sum of: £144,685 was similarly pair to the Suoerintendent of the Advance Office, and for the two years durinp which the Public Debt Extinction Ac' has. been in operation a total sum £300,936 Occluding interest) has beer invested by the Superintendent ii loan."! to settlers, workers, or local au tnorities in accordance/with th© pro visions of, the Act. LOCAL BODIES' LOANS ACT. An amending and consolidating Ac relating to. the raising of loans by lo cal bodies'will be introduced. • Thi J measure will'contain provisions whicl will rcmovo , certain restrictions' now imposed on local authorities m connec :tion with raising loans. It will alsr [make provision for local authorities ~t< J !"vrow moneys under thai guarantee lof the Government. RAILWAYS. '■ ! am pleased to Ij« able to, an noun■•'() that the interest earned b; I the Sow Zealand railways on the cos' of construction during the year end I id [''.st March, 1913, is the second I high, "it on record—namely, £4 Oh 9'' per t ei't.—and that notwithstanding lad'gQ increases in the wane** of th'

,taff in accordance with the provisions of section 22 of the Appropriation Act, 1.912.

POST AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT.

The business of the Post and Telegraph Department continues to show i steady and gratifying improvement. The, receipts during the year amount \\ to £1,167,977, an increase of £78,i. 69 over the previous yea)-. The ex)onditnre amounted to £1,086,772, an ";xcess of £5871 beyond the amount voted, and £80,215 over the previous ,-ear. It will be realised, however, that the expenditure of this Department must necessarily increase wit! the expansion of business and consejiient increase in revenue. The Sav-ings-bank business shows that the pubic confidence in the Department is

unabated, the deposits having amounted to a total of £11,725,183, a higher imount" than ever previously'received in. one yeat . Tho deposits were in excess of.withdrawals, and the amount standing at credit of 'depositors on she 31at December, 1912, was £16,330,'257, an. increase of £787,070 over the amount at credit, on the corresponding, late in 1911, , Owing to the increase .jij 'the, ruling rate. of interest, obtain-.! vble for .ordinary , the '.Withdrawals ,frem the. Post ,OJ6ce, Savifnjfaljfnk ..:,w»re ;i uueusiiajly. jheavy 3 |jifmjj lM ,th«i, l jrear. ; The;. ....moneyorder,, and, postal-note business- also :r '.th6w» -'* ?J?fiyi< considerable , increase :he orders and notes issued exceeding in value those of the previous year by well over half a million sterling. The inauguration of the party-line Bystem has helped to very largely increase ".he number of telephone-exchange subsofilieif® atfd :: thii» li*» 'riecessvtjiied'a leavier! expenditure ori''the cotistruc-'' -ion (of' lines than'TrasCanticipated; Th*' revenue derived' 'from' this clasa' of ;/uj>iftes»"is, : ; howererV rery satisfactory,' ind lis) ■sufficient to meet alt intere'stcharges 'on 'the' capital borrowed as Veil; as - ''the working expenses.' It iinounted'to no less' than £201,237' luring the year: The net' expenditure out of Public Work* Fund for telegraph-extension was £251,87©!

INCOME TAX. The receipts on account of Income Tax totalled an increase of Jii4,059 over the preceding year. The .jumber. of taxpayers increased from -0,839 to 13,167. No alteration ,vas made in the rates of tax charged, ;o the above figures are an indication of the increasod prosperity of the Dominion. It is intended during the present session to submit to honorable members a proposal for graduating the uicome-tax on a more equitable basis shan the present system. The new joale will be prepared on the same principle as the graduated land-tax of .ast session, which provides that the increase in the rate will be uniform frith the increase in value, so that, for •ach pound of increase in taxable in'ome there shall be a "corresponding acrease in rate. The smaller inromes will pay slightly less, but this oss \iill be made up by an incroass* :: .n tjie tax charged on the larger incomes.

NATIONAL PROVIDENT FUND. The National Provident Fund during the year has made a distinct forward movement, as a result of an ae:ive lecturing campaign. At the present date th© membership numbers j )ver 3800, whilst the fund amounts to Approximately £15,000. Experience mows that there exists a desire on ;he part of employers that the functions of the fund should be extended in the direction of enabling them-to affectively co-operate with the State. in'England the co-operation of employer,and State is an essential feature of the national scheme. NATIONAL ENDOWMENT. The area of national-endowment land] >bcupied under lease or license at the md of the.year was 6,324,608 acres, it an annual rental of £89,559. The jross revenue received from this •ource for the past year amounted to 297,081. This sum has been dealtj vith in accordance with the statutory >rovisions. The total area at prelent within the endowment is 8,551,250 aci-es. The unlet area will be >repared for settlement as early asj )Ossi'>le, and the same vigorous mea-: ures are being adopted in regard to he endowment as in the case of orI

dinary Crown land. The total area of Crown lands of all classes held under lease or license at the close of the past financial year was 19,544,394 acres, held by 29,532 selectors, and paying an annual rental of £698,831. In addition to this, educational and other endowment lands administered by the Lands and Survey Department represent a further area of 1,175,664 acres, divided into 4280 holdings, paying an annual rental of £87,460. The gross land revenue received during the past financial year was £912,029.

ROADS AND BRIDGES. The total evpenditure under this heading for the last financial year, including the national-endowment and land-for-settlements roads, amounted to £429,253. LAND FOR SETTLEMENT. The operations under the Land for Settlements Act have been larger than in the previous year, an area of 50,819 acres having been purchased at a value of £428,045. There is a good demand for grazing-lands, but for mixed farming it is not so keen.

EDUCATION. The increase in the amount to be provided for this year, as compared with last year's expenditure, is due almost entirely to the increased attendance at the ordinary public schools Elementary) at the manual and technical schools and classes, and at high schools, and. also to the additional number of new school buildings which have to be provided for and maintained, .it is the intention during this session to go carefully into the report of the Education Commission of last year. Although it will not be possible to give full consideration to University education, the most urgent needs of the University colleges will be provided for.

STAFFS AND SALARIES. I do not think it will be possible to bring down this session a scheme for the improvement of the staffs and of the salaries of teachers in public schools, but proposals dealing with these two questions will be submitted to Parliament next year. Meanwhile, to give some increase of salary where it is most needed, the Government intends, as from Ist January next, to raise the amount of the yearly increments of salary in the several grades from £5 to £lO, so that, for instance, a teacher of Grade 4 whose salary under the present law begins at £IBO and rises in six years by £5 increments to £2lO, will receive £l9O after one year, £2OO after two years, and.£2lo after three and simi-, larly for all, other grade.s. ~, The cost of this for the first year, will probably be about £12,000. In addition, it js proposed to make better provisions for the pay of some of the staff of the training colleges, and to increase the salaries of the secondary assistants in district high schools.

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENbITURE^IOt^U. It is estimated thas r ,tjie revenue lor 1913-14,,\yilj;he made up as follows :r— , • :;] .... . £ Customs „\", I. ' "J,,, 3,250,000 • Stamps , . ~,„., ~.'.. 1,000,000 Post and Telegraph ... 1,230,000 Laud-tax 750,000 Income-tax ... „, 470,000 Beer duty 124,000 Registration ... 92,000 Marine .... ... 51,200 Miscellaneous ... 360,000 Territorial revenue ... 190,000 National-endowment rev. 72,402 £11,789,002 The estimated expenditure is set down at £11,679,674, leaving a balance available for supplementary estimates of £121,879. LOAN FOR PUBLIC WORKS. 1 have shown that at the beginning of the current year a sum of £1,621,515, less £249,776 for redemption of debentures, was available for public works, and to this must be added £675,000, the contribution from the Consolidated Fund. I have also shown that at tin* same> date there were liabilities to the extent of £673,933. From these figures it is obvious that the -Public Works Fund will require to be replenished during the current financial year, and 1 propose to ask Parliament to authorise a loan of £1,750,000 to he raised in London.

Last year 1 considered it my duty to call the attention of honorable members, and of the people of this country, to the necessity for more selfreliance. The huge demands for public works and State aid have made it necessary for Governments of late years to raise much larger loans annually than was the custom some years ago. These demands up to h ,Kt year were to a considerable extent supplied from our own resources, hut the activity in trade and the high interest obtainable 'nave for the time being tapped the local available capital. lam not saying that this use of our own resources in aid of the rapid development which is going on is an evil, but it has curtailed the power of the Government to borrow locally, and this fact, coupled with the heavy liabilities and commitments left to the Government on taking office, rendered it necessary to rely to a considerable extent on loans secured in Loadon.

During the next eighteen months, in addition to the ordinary requirements for the year, short dated loans amounting to over £8,000,000 must be repaid, and to do this an equivalent amount will have to ho borrowed in London. It seems to mo that both sides of the House should assist in inculcating into the minds of our peo-

! pie, especially at a time like the pre- ! sent, the virtue of self-reliance. Tho Government has determined on a policy of progressive development of tho Dominion's resources, and will not fail to make provision for the necessities of settlers, workers, local authorities, and public works generally; but even i London, with the increasingly heavy j demands for loans from so many | would-be borrowers, must not be looked upon as a source of supply without limitations, and too great a reliance on London may prove unsatisfactory. The improved condition of the Dominion's finances during the time the Government has been in office is strikingly indicated by the table f have already read showing the improveI rnent in the general financial position since the Government took office. It is the duty of the Government, and may I not add of members of Parliament, whatever may be their politics, to assist to maintain and even to better this improved condition.

The record of land-settlement during the year has been exceptionally good. The Government hopes to add to this good record by increasing the opportunities for close settlement, and by attracting the worker to make his home in the healthy surroundings of country life where work is available for him, and where, if he uses his opportunities, be can undoubtedly better his position, and to a large extent gratify his ambition. By such means the production of New Zealand will be increased, the happiness of outpeople will be fostered, and the prosperity of this country will be assured.