FINANCIAL STATEMENT Wellington, July 26.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 381, 29 June 1889, Page 6

FINANCIAL STATEMENT Wellington, July 26.

Ox «. the House going into -Committee, of, Supply this evening the Colonial Treasurer (Sir'H. /Atkinson) 'delivered the tfindneiai 1 - Statement'as follows :— _ -^ >* , s tfv' HamhV^THe. acqounts of ,' the v last' ■financial year having been already putt- , lished,' hon! Wembers are in a position to know that tlie task before me this evening, though not,' of course, without difficulties .of its own,- is afar more pleasant one ( than either of those that fell to my lot on the last two occasions on which it was my duty to'present the annual Budget to this Commistee. r Our trade is reviving, our foreign markets have much improved, and our industries, large and small, with hardly an exception,' stipw increased activity and steady progress. The policy of retrenchment and strict economy sanctioned by Parliament in 1887, and since carried out by the Government to the best of their ability, has produced the result which sooner or later wa3 bound to follow, arid I have to-night the pleasure, unusual for some years past, of announcing a surplus. That surplus is not, indeed, a very large one, but it is a surplus, and those only who have really entered into our financial difficulties for the last few years, and felt the responsibility of helping to * meet them, can appreciate to the full extent the satisfaction of again finding the balance on the right side of the account. The Committee, I am sure, will feel as I do this satisfaction, and will, at the same time, 1 join with me in the caution that we must now be doubly careful lest with the return of increased prosperity there should be any return of any unwise or unnecessary expenditure.

EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE FOR THE YEAR ISBB-89. The estimated expenditure for the year „ 1888-89, including the votes taken upon the Supplementary Estimates, and charges under special Acts, amounted to £4,084,054. The actual expenditure was £3,977,265. There 'was, therefore, unexpended of the amount authorised, £106,789. Hon. members will observe under class 8, Education, that 'one" Vote, Public Schools, has been exceeded by £6,000, and that " an under is.sue 1 of "nearly £7,000 has occurred on other votes, bufc chiefly on the ..vote for school buildings, For the first time in our finances the vote for last year for school buildings was charged entirely against the Consolidated Fund. £30,000 was granted for that purpose, but when the Government found that it was necessary to exceed the vote for carrying on the v public schools by nearly £6,000, we thinking it right not to exceed the large t total voted, £379,093, determined as the only, mean? of accomplishing this object to proportionately diminish the amount) to be spent upon buildings. This reduction of expenditure on buildings was made with much regret, but of two desirable objects we had to forego one in the circumstances.

REVENUE FOR T^' YEAR 1888-89 (ORDINARY REVENUE). The total revenue estimated to be received during the year 1888-89 was £4,162", 400 ; the actual amount received Was £4,055,034, so that the revenue as estimated'in the Financial Statement exceeded the actual .receipts by £107,366, The Customs duties yielded less than the estimate by about £55,392. This will probably not surprise members. It is certainly under the circumstances not an unreasonable margin of error, taking into account the great difficulty^ in forminp an .accurate .estimate when something like a complete re vision «o*f* tariff takes place during the-'year- f or- wHiefrHhe '.estimiafce 1 is made. The railways' also yielded less :than the estimate by £38,663, but this was counterbalanced by a reduction in the expenditure of a still greater amount, so that the neb revenue received was £360,006, instead of £358,162j as estimated. The only item of revenue receipts for the year which can be considered exceptional is the sum of £18)000 profit earned by the Public Trust Office. This by law is made revenue ; but for some reason the amount has been allowed to accumulate in the office, and hasnot been paid into the public account year by year, as'it should have been. Of this amount, £2,567 was earned last year, so the latter sum was strictly revenue of the year, and the windfall was £15,433. We shall always have such exceptional items on both 3ides of the account. For instance," in this game year we had to pay a sum nearly as large, namely, £14,911, paid on account of abolition of offices in carrying: out retrenchment.

THE LAND FUND. The estimated expenditure of the Land Fund was £127,423 ; the actual expenditure proved to be £119,496 j the expenditure was, therefore, leas than the estimate by £7,927. Of .the expenditure, £23,336 was paid to local bodies as contributions in respect of receipts from deferred payments and perpetual lease land, and £15,496 for rates on Crown lands. The estimated revenue of the Land Fund was £119,000 ; the actual receipts were £108,000, being £10,993 less than estimated. The amount received for land sold for cash was £11,008 more than estimated, while the amount received for deferred payment land was £,22,000 under the estimate. The deficiency of revenue, however, arose, not from the fact, of less land being taken up than expected, for thi3 was not the case, but partly because, perpetual lease tenure was preferred ito the deferred payment, and chiefly because, payment of instalments due was not 'enforced, the Government having refrained from. doing so in, fulfilment of a promise" to Parliament, consequent upon the rejection by the Legislative Council t of the Fair -Rent Bill. There was outstanding on* 31st March last' a sum of £46,526 due on deferred payment instalments and perpetual'lease and other rents— £3l J7Bs' on the former, and £14,741 on the latter. I may say that the Government have had all' these holdings re- valued, and stops have now been taken to recover the' amounts due upon the new valuation, leaving for the decision of Parliament 'the .question as to how the balances are to be dealt with. This question is surrounded with difficulties owing to the land .having been taken up in many cases at far more than its' value for cultivatidn, and the very low rates ruling for agricultural produce during the last few years. The Committee will be glad to learn that more settlement has { .taken place upon the Crown lands andfjy.&.owa./icfesettlersduring the past year tthan Muring any year since - 188 L There' have Jbeeri 55, 1§8 acres of land taken up on deferredpayment system by 355 selectors, 204,642 acres on perpetual lease by. 765 selectors, and .70,987 acres .by 653 cash purchasers. This, I , f thirik hon. members will agree, is a highly jsatiBfactiory record, and; ahpwSjthat despite the temporary emigration^ of. some of our population, about which I^will" say a few fords' presently , our people" have^'hoji^oiosened their real holdupon this fine colony, IS ut^bVijh'e cohtrWy^ have taken la firmer -grip by; 1,773 of them becoming proprietors "of MO^Sl? acres more land, than' .was held .the, year^ \0 o.ce. \ Jt'is < ing ihtbiffie occupation* 'of the people, and mot falling into the hands of a few. The

expenditure of the land fund having been £119,496, as I-have stated.-and the revenue £108,*008, there was a deficiency of £11,489 on theyear's transactions.

FINANCIAL RESULTS OF THE YEAR , v lBBB-9* I have said that the total .ordinary j^y§pue received \vaa £4,055,034, and that .the, total ordinary expenditure amounted r ta £3,977,265.' There . was - therefore I a surplus for the year ,of £77,769.- This .surplus, of course, , includes the , primage \ duty amounting to £46,132, and I have, I in accordance with the declared intention of the Government and the implied sanction of the House, 1 paid off> £50,000 of deficiency .bills, being 1 part of s fche bills for £128,600 • issued - last -year to meet the balance of - the deficiency on the 31st March, 1888, ' which 1 was nob provided for by., the debentures issued in March, 1.888. .The Committee will, I am sure, think it,a not unsatisfactory Result, of .the efforts to live within our means made last session, and the session before that. .The colony has not only raised within this year enough revenue to meet the whole of the necessary ordinary expenditure, including in that a sum of at ieast £52,000 for purposes which have hitherto been invariably provided for from loan, but has also been able to pay off £50,000 of debt, and still have a small surplus in hand : and this satisfaction will not, 1 think, be diminished when hon. members come to critically examine the tables attached to this Statement. Such then are the results of the year, and I venture to think that they are results with which the colony may well be satisfied, especially when it is re memberod that all this has been accomplished with a large decrease in the public works expenditure (excluding charges and expenses of rising loans), which has been for the best four years respectively : 1885-86, £1,239,828 ; 1886-87, £1,166,374; 1887-88, £906,711 ; and last year, £528,453 ; and of those amounts there was spent within the colony : In 1885-86, £1,013,338 ; in 1886-87, £1,060,474 ; in 188788, £802,711 ; and last year, £450,353.

THE PUBLIC DEBT. The gross public debt on the 31sb March, 1888, was £36,758,437 ; on the 31st March, 1889, it was £38,375,050, bub deducting the sinking funds accrued, now amounting to £1,395,389, the net debfe was £36,979,661, as against £35,545,610 on the 31st March, 1888. The addition to the- permanent debt during the last financial year was £1,616,613. There were old loans paid off, and new loans raised, the result of the year's operations on the loan account being an addition to the permanent) debt of £1,616,613. But on the other hand, it is material to note that by far the greater part of this sum though borrowed was not spent, but remained in hand to the amount of £1,357,696 on the 3lBt March last. '

THE PUBLIC WORKS FUND. The principal items of expenditure during the year from the Public Works Fund, No. 1 account, were : — Roads, £104,631 ; public buildings, £34,592 ; lighthouses, harbour works, and defence, £52,593; and telegraphs extension, £12,047* the amount expended on other- services being £36,394. The balance at credit, leaves is£39l,77savailable for expenditure, subject to liabilities amounting to £165,273.

NORTH ISLAND TRUNK LOAN. The North Island Main Trunk Railway loan of £1,000,000 (No. 2 account) authorised in 1882 was raised last year in conjunction wifch the million loan authorised last session. In anticipation of the raising of the loan there had been expended up to the 31st March, 1888, £478,000, leaving a ['balance of -£522,000 unexpended. Last, ■year there was expended £86,184, including £51,788 for charges and expenses of raising the loan/ including discount, leaving an unexpended balance of £435,818 subject to outstanding liabilities amounting to £28,972. .

EROM -NO. 3 ACCOUNT. The expenditure during the year was, for railways, £241,801, and .departmental expenses £12,000. , The unexpected balance is £618,078, -subject to liabilities outstanding amounting to £174,394.

SUMMARY. " • The balance of the Public Works Fund as a whole on 31st March, 1889, was £1,357,696, to which I add an asset of £89,974, which is created by the power granted to the Treasurer to issue debentures for the amount of liability created by concession and pay the sum into the Public Works Fund, making together £1,445,670, subject to £368,639 of liabilities.

GOVERNMENT LOANS TO LOCAL BODIES. During the past year a further sum of £75,000 was borrowed by the Treaeury to make these loans, bringing up the total amount so borrowed to £200,000.

ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE FOR 1889-90. I now come to the consideration of the expenditure and revenue of the current year, and according to custom I first deal with the expenditure. The estimated ordinary total expenditure is £4,117,331. Of this £1,613,205 is for interest. Hon. members will bear in mind that of the £1,888,405 which appears as interest and sinking fund under the permanent Acts, about £275,200, although charged against revenue, is recovered to the Consolidated Fund by the issue of debentures under the Consolidated Stock Act of 1884. It is very necessary to remember this fact, as the larger sum is often spoken of as the amount oi annual interest we have to pay. Also our financial position is assumed to be worse than it really is. The estimates will be in the hands of hon. members Immediately. There are no items requiring special remark, but I may call hon. members' attention to the increase in the education* v vote, which is necessitated by the usual annual increase of '[children of school age., ' The' "estimates; also £25,000 for school buildings. I must, however, poihfc out that 'although we have increased salaries of officers receiving less than £200 a year by a total of £4,522, and of. officers, of, higher grades, to rectify the inequalities which 1 last session announced should be inquired into, by * ££605, and Have also increased the expenses of the Native Land Court by £3,000, to enable the Court to deal with the largo increase of work coming before it, I say that,'notwithstanding these increases, the proposed expenditure under the 13 classes annually voted is £3,933 less than the .amount granted last year. I hope that thisifactwill reconcile the Committee to the mod^ate. increases which we ;have' ''thought it fair to provide. .Provision, is also made 'for- 1 the continuation of the subsidies to , the local bodies at the same rate as was 'paid last year.. _ ' ; v ' ! ' < J ( ', f- p '•" t The estimated expenditure' s chargeable against ; the r f-jand Fund is £122,000. t This is a small increase upon the expenditure of i last year, which was £119,496.";^ THis increase, however,, arises from 'tb'e^management of, the roads' Jblay |ng Vbeen' 'transferred to. the' Survey 'Department * trom - Public Worka., , -.;. ■:) ; , ' r-^vvr -^vv • The total estimated -.expenditure is,fchere- r ; fore f 4 £4;239,33r;' b'einl 1 £4;il7|33f;;charge; able against the ordinary 'revenue*' ¥nd I £122,000 against the tarid Fund.-

i&TiMA'Tikr revenue' . for 4 the' r TEAR 'IBB9,9O. ', '" ' Assumingthej present taxation ,to,remam unaltered) I estimate that we shall obtain" for the year 1889-90 a revenue of £4,187,800. .1 have the receipts from, the Cusboms at £1,550,000.' \\ r ith reference to the railway, estimates hon: members will see that an,, increase to the revenue is anticipated to the extent of £28,800, v but as' the expenditure' is estimated at £18,800 more than last year,, the net revenue receivable' is only increased from £360,000 to, £370,000. It is natural and right that, the Commissioners should not take too sanguine a view of affairs,' but certainly ' I hope* the result of the year's working will, prove to be larger than they anticipate, it will) be seen that there is a satisfactory inorease of £36,683 under the headings of Depasturing Licenses and Renta. This arises from an increase in the rate of pastoral, rents, and from the , larger area taken up on the perpetual leasing system, a system \Vhich is becoming popular, and which as hon. members are aware, gives the lessee the right to purchase within thirty years. I will presently make a ,few i remarks about the property tax, which it is estimated will yield under the new valuation £16,000 less a year upon the present penny rate than under the valuation of 1886. I shall also pay a few words upon the subject of the tariff of 1888. The Land Fund is estimated to produce £136,100 for the year 1889-90, particulars of which will be found in thetables attached to this Statement.-

ESTIMATED RESULTS ol\ THE, YEAR 1889-90. ' ' ••"' From what I have just said, hon. members will see thab • I estimate to received total revenue of £4,323,900, against a total expenditure of £4,239,331 ; bub excluding the land fund from, both sides of the account, we get a revenue of £4,187,800 against an expenditure of £4,117,331, thus showing a balance of £70,469 ab the end of the year 1889-90, if my. anticipations are' realised. But to this amount I add' what is left of last year's surplus of £77,769, af tep paying off £50,000 of the deficit of the year before, namely, £27,769, and get a surplus of £98,238 j of which about £55,000 will be applied to the further redemption of floating debt, leaving a sum of £43,238 at the end of the currentyear, which is certainly not too large < a margin to work upon, especially if the proposal the Government; will make for the continuance of the Otago" Central railway shall be adopted ; but I trust, with carefal management, that it will prore sufficient. ■ .

THE PROPERTY TAX. I will now fulfil my promise, and say a few words about the property tax. I havesaid that under the new valuation, estimated at the rate of one penny in the pound, the tax will yield about £16,000 a year less than under the aid valuation, This arises from the falling; off in the reputed value of real property more or less- 1 throughout the colony. There has been, a j fair increase in the value of personal property, but, as hon.- 'members kno\v, there has been a considerable fall in the reputed value of real property. Speaking generally,-, this fall, although in one sen,6e to, be regretted, is, I venture to think, on the whole, nothing but advantageous to the colony at large, for we know that the price of laud ruling throughout; most parts of the t colony was for a time and to a considerable' extent* iti speculative value rather than its value for use, its value to the speculator— often nothing more than a mere gambler in land — not to the class of men whose wellbeing means the prosperity of the colony, the oona fide occupiers of the soil. We may well pub up with a temporary loess of revenue caused by a return to a more wholesome state of things. 1 promised, last session" to . consider carefully" this '■ question of the property tax during the recess, and to give the House an early opportunity this session to discuss .the question. The result* ' of the consideration of the 1 matter by the Government is that I shall propose certain modifications which will require legislation to give them effect. This will enable the House to debate fully the whole question at an early date, as I propose to introduce the necessary" measure to give effect to the proposed alterations in the course of a few days, and to ask for its early consideration. I may here state* without "jgroing into unnecessary particulars, that we propose, amongst other things, to exempt from the tax all machinery, which, nowever, will be strictly defined, and to allow any owner or the Property Tax Commissioner to have properties re-valued under reasonable restrictions without awaiting the triennial periods. These remissions and the fall in the new valuations will cause an estimated loss to the revenue of about £20,000 as compared with the amount received from property tax last year, but the Government do not propose to ask for any new tax to meet this falling off, hoping there will prove to bo sufficient elasticity in the general revenue to make it good. Ido not now propose to enter into any arguments in favour of the property tax or the remissions proposed/ as they will come more" appropriately when the Bill to which I have referred is before the House for consideration.

THE TARIFF. I have bad a series of tables prepared for the information of hon. members showing tb% results of the ten months of the year in which the tariff has been in force in imports and duties, as compared with tho imports and duties of the corresponding months of the year ending on the 31st March, 1888. The comparison is necessarily very imperfect, owing to articles being differently I grouped,, and to different rates of duty being charged on items that were before in the, same group. I have' examined the matter carefully, and can see that it is unfortunately impossible at present to deduce any law or even found any, satisfactory argument as .to the effects upon trade and' 'industry produced by the tariff. The time has been far too short, and: the disturbing ■ elements too large, especially the extensive speculative clearances made in May, 1888,. in anticipation of the increased duties. One thing, however, I may point out', that the tariff has been successful in producing the revenue required of it. >

OTAGO CENTRAL RAILWAY. Last) session I made a promise to the Hotise that I would, • with the {Minister of Public Works, visit the country on the route of the Qtago Central Railway in; order to judge for myself as to the desirability of continuing- that work, arid make a proposal in accordance. 'with the .conclusion I came, to. : Imfulfilment of jthat promiee, the for Public Works} the Minister of Defence^ several members of the s llouse, the Assistant' • Engineer-in-Chief; myself/ visited the Central; Otagoi districts, .shortly, before last > Christmas. I was .very jmuoh ( pleaeed|with thejcountry/ and came to the " conclusion, without iariy doubo, thaii^the railway ought torbe continued if i* could be \dbheC without, inf^action^pfj the^pollcyn we* are all agreed pii-^th'at is, withbUt recourse,! tq a new_ loan. We think if: can V.be fdbne, and aßill'to give effect ttvo v our^proposal' of at -once • ooaftidninft'V^d^ihe^iUtfag i^H- f » mitted for the, cpneiderationpf -Parliament.^

~~ 1/ may .heretmontion an., imtwrfcanfc^nfcet-' prise with whicli the South ItslanU fpecmlly,

andifchelcolSny; as^axtiole^ia'deepV con?,-. cerned. 1 mean thef Midland Railway^ The company hive now Vais'ed bhreequartere of a million as a furthur instalment of their capita}. This, ib is, estimated, will -enable ~ them to Intake thef stipulated, expenditure^ at the Spriqgfield^ahd^ele'on k ends>.of j* ne -line, and to continue the, line toißeej^pn and' towards Lakoßrunner on. the 'VVesb.C'pasti It is 'matter for congratulation thac this'important colonial in its oharacter^'is now to be pushed forward with! vigour.' Jfi is to the interests of both parties of the colony, nob lees blian of bho company/ thiatib should be brought, to a successful ' issue. To the colony ite success means nob only the completion of .the Main Trunk Kailway system from end to end of the' Southern Island, includipg the connection of important centres now ,, isolated, but also tne permanent - settlement of a large bract of country which but for this railway could only be settled very slowly and with difficulty.

• VILLAGE SETTLEMENTS. My colleague , the Minister of Lands has visited the village sobtl6men.be North of Auckland, in the Forty Mile Bush, and in the South, and I visited the one near Timaru; A most instructive return has been prepared, and yvill be laid upon the table of the House, giving much interesting detail of the settlers and settlements, and the general conclusions to be drawn from our, past experience is that village settlements supply a want, if formed of a small number of settlers in a neighbourhood where some work can be conveniently obtained, .where 1 the land is of good quality, . and,, most important' of all, where the settlers are of the right sort. This general 'principle "we think is clear, but its application in particular cases which we' have had in view needs further consideration. I may state, however, that in. newly-settled districts we have kept it in mind,- and have , made suitable reserves.

DISTRICT NORTH OF; AUCKLAND. The , Qounb-y North of Auckland' wa 3 visited during the recess by bhr'e* of my colleagues, who had not .been .preyiouely in' that- par fcof the colony. I much regret that time did riot permit me also tojvisifyit, aa-I-had hoped' to do. Theopinkm 'then. formed of the 1 district generally wwars r verytfavourv able.'- The- Minister for Public Works, ifa , his Public Works Statement, will sa^r what we propose with regard to the main; .trunk line North of. Aupkland. He will also, make ' a pr.oposal with regard to übilis,ing thp Piihi-j puhi 'kauri forest. „ , ~ ", i .

THE EXODUS JVROM" THE COLONY. I will now call the attention of hon. mem-) bers to some promitienfe'ahd important tact's relating to the condition and. prospects of "the 1 colony, bub before, doing this I^will say a few words on the' apparently adverse fact, the only one of any significance I have met, with," and which has naturally exdited a good deal, of discussion. # The colony, has; lost by emigration during the last two years 9,580 people, thatis v t<r say, '9,580' more people left than arrived', in New* Zealand,. Of theBe>'4-,470 were- males above 14'yoars .of .age,; , This is a fact which, especially at fiqst, | ( (muBt mu8t .excite, regret, a and ior it many remedies may- bo' a'uggested. I' 'have given the mapter anxious consideration for the Government* recognised it as a duty to find a remedy if one was to be found, but I came to^the. conclusion that in the circumstances of tfiis colony, and the neighbouring' colonies^ no 3 remedy' was possible that, we could consent to applyv for the only effective remedy, in my opinion, | was the continuance- 0f.. .a large public ! W9rks expenditure. It is evident, I think, that durrtfg the many years that we have been continuously* 'spending very large sums (of money oh public works, not the General Government only but the local bodies^' also",' ".a numerous, class j ; 'has -» -sprang^ >>upc v whcp^hfaije^ beejt -relying ;orr,Vrthw4*?iblftj" '~ex|f<stidW ture as a.- ,meap3s Tpi-vdivelihood'/'^and many of whom donoti-ca^e .tp live the life of; "an, ordinary settler.,* *Jn sjuppprtof this view' I Would' p^oint t'6 th.c facttQat aB our/expen-* diture on public wdrks^aeer'easedso the. tide* of intercolonial migrationiurned'against us. .• Taking merely the expenditure within the colony itself , our expenditure out of loan for work done in the cblony during the year 1886-87 was in round numbers£l, 140,000 and for the year 1888-89, £423,000, so that we have been spending; dufipg this las't'year^at the rate of £717,000 per ; atinUm less' th^in wo werejspending two years ago. This, I take it, would in* itself far more than account for the wages of 4,476 males • who have left us ; but in addition to this there has feeen considerably, decreased expenditure on public Works by the local bodies. Of the total number who w had' Been employed on public works, Borne were no doubt absorbed by other industries, but the less versatile or more restless drifted away. There is no doubt that the recent except tional discoveries of gold and silver in the neighbouring colonies, and the extraordinary prosperity which the colony of Victoria has enjoyed during theia'st two years — theBamoperiodduringwhich.We have been making the large reduction intiuVpubJic. works; expenditure—have alsd : teln]decl ma marked, degi-ee to -indu'ce^rna'ny' persons (who "do not or, perhaps, cannot afford^ to 3ook Very far ahead) to try their fortunes, on the other side. I .have therefore* oome to the conclusion that a loss ,of a small percentage of our. population was inevitable, when we| began seriously, to contract -our , large' public works expenditure, and that, looking at the circumstances of the case, we have passed through the ordeal remarkably welL To: the reduction 'of ■ public works : expenditure is also, lai'gely traceable; --a reduction which .h.as recently taken place in our railway traffic, and it-is satisfactory to find that this .is co, rather than that it should be due.to a falling off of the legitimate internal trade of the country.

GROWTH, OF PRODJCTCE.i j - Now» let jus takethe last half of the, same. period—the last of the same two 'years of which I have just been speaking—and see" what our permanent industrial population has been doing, so far as this is shown by our exports. Hon» ? members will tind.'<at- < 'tached to ijhis Sta'temerifra^table showing in > detail ' the . exports for , the , last two, years.- From, this it will., be seen that in every article of v importance, with v.one 1 exception^ jthere has" been an increase during the last year, ' and' in many of them a i large indrease. <This table v^ill weU repay a careful study. \ It mill be Been; that the export of pram has increased from 3,630,843 bushels, to 5,584,488 bushels.;, gras'ssee'd fr0m'164 ! ,550 bushels' So 274,772' bushels; frozen meat,' fr0m ,49,363,8781b to 63,003,4721b, an;a itdneedsipOj, prophet to; say that this important industry will, only reach .its limit, in quantity; atid Ih; price whe'ri sonie/eflficierit, organisation for its sale* and (distribution {shall have been'-es-tablished in the United .Kingdom., . r ßutter has V increased -;»?,272|62p Jb; '"to'' :3i631 3761b* r ch'eeseV<from ! 4,381,6161b -to 3,731,8401b; ' ? ?and Isawn 'timber t from, .33,791^992' 4eet^.to .44}219,8f0; feetj, iThe "flax'4ndu3tr.y,may;tbe.;said' practically' to 1 have,f sprung ,Jhto^ cxis ten de 4i during tithe r last/year; ';the'->exporbr Baying incre&sed, during^haep'eribd^from l, fBl2|tdns^p's,6o3f 812|tdns^p' 5,603 Vtans^a^ndlXfcrie'atillirapidlyinoreasing^very un\pnth/;; u n\pnth/;; ,b,ut besid.es, ttfe; inpreasejO^our.ex-. Dorts. there <bas been'alsb"in7;he,hiainlitems j of:wqol^laBtj

taken ab noteless .thanl l £992,opo.'^Thjß;one^ exception to 5 which. I ' j usb "referred \is an^ imrport%nb one, that is wobl^lnUiit.eeems probable thab there is a falling-off, in b tlie quantity exported, bub to* WhSfexteHfcHE is^difficult, yeb' to' say, las expeHence?tell^us that 'withe/onlyqaarter 1 in which an accurate j estimate can be made. 'Ifc is also 'satißfaetorvtto knd.w'that^the 'quantity of. wool locally consumed -in bur mills, bias in*-" creased from 2,001,1551b 'in 1887-88 to 4,079,5631b in 1888-89, , and.thisiincrease^ must ;Iv b© sot off against any decrease of exports. , The Staple exports' ;f or t^e year 1887-88 were of the value of '£6,415,845, while those fo.r , the ' year 18.88-89 ' were £7,345,'18fi: t l}\, ' \ 1J ; r I will nob trouble honourable members with details of the products' of bur local I industries for home consumption. They would of course be necessarily imperfect, but 4 it will be seen from the' figures I have just briefly given about our , woollen r manu 1 facbures, to what a magnitude some of these industries have already, grown, while as to the quality of their produots we ha /c ample proot that they are bteadily and deservedly gaining in public favour, and that a large number of bhe .arbicles produced do ] credib to any country in the world.

- THE MINING INDUSTRY, I am happy to say, is in a more hopeful condition than it has been for some years. The yield of gold for the year ending on the 3}st March, was 208,9020z, as against 191,961055 for the previous year, being an increase of , 16,9480z. * Special machinery and appliancos are being constructed, some of whichare in operation, for working the auriferous beaches of the Middle Island, and from trials already made, are believed to be likely to prove successful. By improved systems of hydraulic sluicing also, low-lying ground formerly unproductive and drifts considered valueless, are now worked at a profit, and it is hoped that the improvements which are being made in machinery and appliances for ' the reduction and treatment of ores will /Sqlv£.bhe questiqn of treating successfully the refractory, ores pf, $he. North Island, and be the meads of • lodes/being worked which hitherto have been Considered non-payable. \Our ooal mines ;aro-beirig. gradually developed. , The output last- year-was 613,895 tons,* as against ,'558,620' tons for the previous year.- Further extensive,. works in .connection with this industry are contemplated,- some of, which are in progress, and - wh eh t . completed- a-; large* increase ih (J th'e' "outpufc-of, coal- may 'be< expected.- vHecenfc discoveries in Stewart Island show that tin ore is- distributed over -a. 'large .extent, of country both in alluvium and in lodes, and it is inferred 'b.hab rich , deposits will- be discovered* there. Very little work has, however, as, yet been done. • -

EVIDENCES OF • -TBRIFT -AND s ' » < COMFORT. ■ Thafc- portion of the thrift of the colony which -is represented 'by ;th'e ' assets , ofFriendly Societies, is .steadily increasing, year by year. Aocording to the last com-, piled tables there were at the end of ISB7 24,928 members of registered Friendly Societies, and the value of their accumulated funds was £383,515. Without allowing for any increase of membership during 1888 it is fair to assume, that the natural increase of the funds would be at' the ■average rate of £1 per member j the value, therefore, of thefunds. may be .stated approximately at- *£410,0P0 {inclusive of •£15,600 in the Post' Office Savings Bank) at the end of 1888. In addition to these funds, the assets of other societies, registered •under the Friendly Societies Act, and of societies registered under the Trades Union Act, .are, approximately, £10,000 and £3,000 respectively. . <■ « ■ < In the Savings. !Banks of the colony on J e 31gt Decembe?, 1886, the amount held • •on deposit was £2,133,780; in 1887. it was' £2,407,775 ; and in 1888, £2,691,692. In '1886 ' the tiepoeitors numbered 91,296 ; in jaai- the number was 97,496 ,• and in 1888 it 3V v as- 103,046. The average amount at credit of each, depositor was— in 1886, £23 3s ;in ' 1887, £24 6s ; and in 1888, £26 Is. Between ,1886 and . 1888 the amount , of deposit increased by nearly £558,000, andthe.number 1 of depositors by 11,750. Of a total number' of 84,488 depositors in the Post Office Savings Bank 62,831 persons, or „ nearly three - fourths of the whole, had sump not exceeding £20 at their credit. I append . to this Statement" a very interesting table I have had prepared showing a remarkably < steady, increase sldc1886, both in the, number of depositors and the amount deposited, and I. would particularly draw the attention of the Committee to this instructive fact, that* the number of persons having deposits in the Post Office Savings Bank not exceeding £20. increased from 57,368, in 1886 to 60,045 injlBB7-, and to 62,831 in 1888, and this is irrespective of similar small deposits with. the ( Savings, Bank,,established under "The Sayings Bank Act, 4858," with regard to, which I have not the data, before me./ .. •'.:.,. , . -The pttogrisfsß ' of the Government Insur- 1 ,anco,,JJ)epartment, and^the; position of its' policies *■ and, business', may be, .viewed as affording further indication of the condition of that class of colonists, (and itisajlarge' one) who' exercise prudent care and, fore- 1 thought f or, themselves and ; their families'. During the past year the new assurances ampunted to nearly £800,000, showing an increase on the average of recent years and approaching, the of the whole new business .effected by.the; foreign life offices haypg branches, in New- Zealand.. The average amount of the individual assurance wai larger than in previous years, being close on £270, which is an increase of fully £50 -'per policy- as - compared with the average of the three .'years immediately preceding. * The- average amount of ■ the policies discontinued •is.amaller^than that of any .year, sihce-.the ; initiation of," the office, while policies surrendered-haye been smaller in their total amount,, than in.any .precedr ing year. * IThe accumulated ffjnd.has been > augmented! by '£123,000 during the year. This- fund, at the present moment,, exceeds ;a million and, , a-half.'i sterling, having, , doubled u m , amount during ' the last .six.yeaffc. •, It is instructive to compare the total ordinary life assurance of New Zea-i lancl with that , of other countries. ■ The population of New Zealand > possess £24 .of life" assurance per head, whilst in? Aus-^ »tr,aUa this, average is £19 per head. In the United, States it is £8, in [Canada £9, and in the United Kingdom £12 per head. The pf -poEsessed by .every^ .thouaand'pf population in New Zealand is^ 80, in "Australia/65," in ;the ! United States ,15, in Cariada'24*, "and in the United Kingdom' 26; . Th 6 average amount', of policy in '"the United Kingdom'; is £487^ in Canada ,£376, iri^ Australia" "'£3oo, rih ' thei'United States £554; f^a l nd' in^Ne^'« Zealand' £20^ fit >[!& gratifyirigifid n'qteVthatlwliile' the^average sUiid /assured *by'e'ach ri policy^is^lesS^ in* J^ew^Zeala^nd^th'an^ elsewhere,' 'the I total number pdlicy-h'biaers 3 in' i: this,fcolany v ' b^rs'a^■layger»pr f 6J)ortion , 'to^its total .pppb^ '' lationHhan'is'thVcas^irfany^other^English^ s Bpeak'in'g'cbm^^rii^y,sand^ individual;p6licies average .a lesstsuni than ,elB'ewKefpJth''e*numb%^^^^^ that i the»totaTBum^ ithetwhble^ppulafio^i^s^lairg^ |hjw\i^thjin^any'whe^ |withi|hpfac^s?l^have?!givehl^6^ ,Hje»n^%o H im^rjban|b|iliingB,', tliat 'in'-tbQi

means ipfsaviife,! anditherwulji to isavepho,! hind their. kjri^in^otheHparts^of^He^orld.^ jranfc onp, ,th^ gfeafclylunpJrQ^djcr&dib ofcthe^ "colony in London.^ I will-gife only a'aingle instance. ' Bighteeji months'ago our, ,^ *per cent stock was selling rather heavily at 96 J. Itia'how' worthirdnS £105% f 106, < with' an! active ~ market. V I venture to thinkfwe" shall see a further rise when our true 1 pre;sent position comes to be,fully known, and a fair and unprejudiced comparison is macle, between New Zealand and the otHer Australasian colonies. <

CONCLUSION. [ In concluding', I would say bhafc in giving prominence to these. encouraging facts, I desire again to impress on lion, members what I said in the beginning 'of ' my Statement, that our public expenditure .will ,still require the most ..watchful!: care. My object has been, whilst drawing' attention to'^many satisfactory evidences of in-< creasing production and improved values, to lead to the conclusion that it is by such means,aided by public andpriyateeconomy,' rather than by large public expenditure, that the permanent prosperity of the' colony will bo secured. That,- sir, is all I have to say. > I have, L believe, laid before the Committee all the information needed to enable hon. members clearly to understand* the financial position of the colony, ' and to judge of its substantial and most satisfactory progress, especially in the occupation of the land, and the steudy, I might say, the rapid development of its industrial enterprise. In 1887, in disclosing to the Committee the difficulties which then lay before it and the Government, I ventured to say with, the necessary effort and sacrifice those difficulties were well within bur power to overcome. Parliament and the people took really the same view, and the facts and figures which I have jusb laid before you show, I trust, beyond question, that they were right — right, I say, not only in the belief that we could overcome our' financial difficulties, bub in the deeper underlying belief in which the other rested, an 'assured belief in the vitality and resources of the colony.