FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 186, 17 August 1901, Page 2

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

SURPLUS OF £632,564. PRUDENCE AND ECONOMY IN ESTIMATES. LARGE ABNORMAL EXPENDITURE. PROSPERITY OV THE COLONY. [By Telegraph.] Wellington, August 16. T bG following is the text of the Financial Statement made in the House , on Friday evening, by ihe Eight Hon, R. J. Colonial Treasurer: Mr, Guinness, Sir.-The pople, and especiilly hon. members, are naturally anxious at any time to have the Financial Statement, and this, my sixth budget, is, owing to various causes, awai'ed with much greater interest than other preceding statements. I will, without reservation, endeavour to place the finances of the colony before memberß in such a way that all may understand the national account.

REVENUE. i Ihe revenue received last year exceeded my most sanguine expectations. Notwithstanding theremissions granted in Customs duties, railway freights, passenger fares, and reduction of postal t rates by giving penny postage, there w»s a pleasant surprise in store, for after m e iog all current obligations there was a balance on the credit side amounting to .£532,564. I IMAGINATION OP PENNY-A-LINBBS. It has been stated in several newspapers that it is proposed to meet tin estimated deficiency in part by additional land tix and some slight rearrangement of Customs. It was further alleged that some B'ringpnry hag occurred in the finances 'h rough the clams of old age pensions being much more numerous than was I anticipated, and our detractors have 'even gone the hnnth of cabling this nonsense to London journals. The crndence giv»n to imaginative pennya liners should mfc be found fault with by me, for wi h a patriotism that, does them infinite cr d.t, which, as Colonial Treasure, I v ry much appreciate, merchants have riseu to the occasion, cleared kerosene, sugar, and tea, with the result that the Customs revenue this month is buoyant in the extiema, and contrasts very favorably with the same month last year. The only possible foundation that could give rise to what appeared in certain papers was a statement made by mo warning a deputation of members and other gentlempn agunst pressing for excessive public worhs expenditure, thereby entailing borrowing and squandering. I incidentally nta*ed that tie revenue returns as furnished by the Departments did not warrant tha expenditure, ind that this ctused me some anxiety; Again, in rssp°ct to the increase of er»duiited land tix I stated in the House some weeks ago thit if the Government wis to keej? the pltsdge given I*t year in granting a reduction of %i in the £ on the mortgage tax, the eradmtad t»x on land would require to be increased to yield an ammnt equal to that cmceded by way of reduced moitgage tax. After cuefully reviewing the position, I find that the views then expre-sed have been verified, for a reduction in revenue to hhe extent of £25,000 could not prudently ba granted unless otherwise recouped. ]

i ABNORMAL EXPENDITURE. I The announcement thatrevenue can-1 I not be given away without a necessiry 'recoupment will very naturally and properly lead'to the conclusion -that revenue and expenditure are fairly evenly b*lance<l. This conclusion is correct, but it is awing to the inclusion of nearly £120,000 of abnormal and non-recurring expenditure this year, and the increase in education and technics education votes which are in excess of those last year by no less than £67,000, al«o to an increase in tha vote fortheColonial S'cretary's D partment, which exceeds the voto last year by £69,300, caused by extraordinary service", and the vote for defence, including the number cf volunteer companies baiog more than dnubl 'd. Even with these exceptional demands upon our resources there will be sufficient to meet every requirement, and at the j risk of disappointing pessimistic alarmists I am able to announce that there will be no deficit but a reaouable surplus.

NEED FOB ECONOMY. It is well however, that I should in | respect to expenditure urge the absolute: necessity for p-udence and economy,' for although the revenue is buoyant and increasing, yet owing to reduction of Custom's tariff the concession of penny p-stago, remissions in railway charges, and other concessions, tbeie is th : s year as comp're' with last year a d«cna eofo'.ly £9500 corn spwdingly. There should be a jealously guarded expenditure-, for a restricted population cun only beir limited and r asonable ioopwt of taxation. POSrr-ONMENT OF FURTHER CONCESSIONS. With asnrp'irt of ovar half a million Ist y ar, and c mtinued fnvourabl* «•» venue coiniog this year, there seeded evory prospect that the desire of Ministers to grant concessions in tixati n, and retlucel rates on products carried, on ths expenditure this year the more prudi nt rours-i is to defer any further reduction in revenue to a mo>e. f ivourabl« opportunity, ond national exp- nrlitnr? should he cut, down to the lowest limit cons ; s' ent with efficiency. LIMIT OF BORE WING REACHED. Afrer pi-ovidinr? for necassarv requirements, r,he eager and pressing des;re fir rapid cons'ruc'ion of public works and conveni nee* hasfoic d borrowing up to a lioti , b.<yon,l which it would not be safe to go. NO CURTAILMENT IN WORKS OF NECESSITY There ne<d be no cur ailm nt of ex- ( pend.iture with respect to obtaining lands for settlement, or for rotding back blocks and Or»wn land, which so naturally afsiats in furthering the settlement, of peiple on the land, or in respect to advancing monies to settlers or pushing on the North Islatd Main Trunk and other railways, and developing within reasonable limit*' the resources of the colony, for this means increasing the output of products and export ß , and tends to promote an in- ' created population, which the colony' badly needs. In respect to expandi- j ture, several classes of public works,! district railways, and ecpacially buildings and works which are mwe| a matter of convenience than necessity, prudence demands that there should be a reduction in the expenditure thereon, espec'ally seeing that the population is so s'owly increasing; for it shou d be borne in mind that the increased ratio of population is much brlow that of the increase of ordinary expenditure. For every million borrowed and expended on non-revenue producing works and' objects an annual charge of about tenpence a head is entailed upon every European mac, woman and child in the colony, '

UTILISING TUB SURPLUS. In tbo Budget last year I stated tlw', thereafter, the aid to the public works fund from tho surplus in the consolidated fund would have been partially, if not wholly abandoned, find public works requirement* this ye»r are, however, so largo that I am compelled to use £500,000 of the surplus, md thai »mount will be transferred accordingly, , j Trni £500,000 loan. !

I regret again to have to state that from various causes, well-known to members, the money market in London continues to Ue unfavourable for floating loans, and we have bad recourse to raising £500,000 locilly, on short-Ja v .fd debentures bearing £4 per cent, interest. Full particulars of floating this local loan will be given. Recently a paragraph appeared in the press something to this effect, " The needs of the Treasury were so urgent that £IOO,OOO was borrowed from a leading Life Assurance Society at 4 per cent., with a condition that the interest would be paid at the head office in Sydney." The fac's are that the prospectus of the £500,000 local loan raised in April last provided for interest being made payable in New Zealand, Australia, and London. Some time after t'ns loan had been closed the Society in question asked the Government if it would accept an investment of £IOO,OOO, and seeing that at the time we were selling debentures openly over the counter on terms as to interest similar to those above referred to, we naturally obliged the Society and accepted their money. O.her institutions and private individuals have also been led to avail themselves of this further opportunity to inve«t their money in short currency security carrying a fair rate of interest. The war in South Africa still continues, and large Imperial loans, and other demands upon the London money market lead me to the conclusion that it will be s >me little time era any loan could with advantage be floated in the Mother Country. It s necessary therefore that a large proportion of the amount required anl au'horised should be raised locally, and, this b«ing the case, there should be a careful publio works ezpendi' ure until a favourable opportunity for raising money in London arrives. Hiving given a general summary situation which, viewed light of the e'asticity of our res wrc" is, if anything, oa the side of cauiion, I will now proceed to give de'ails of reseipts and expenditure for last vein

FINANCES OP 1900 1901. Bevenue. The actual revenue reached £5,852,705, to which has to be added £52,800 derived from tin pro ceeds of sale of debentures fo- sinking fund accretion?, and a small sum of £l4ll recovered in connection with the expenditure of the previous yesr. These amounts reach the 1 irge total of L 5,906,916, representing the la'g st v.tlume of reoeip's i»»o the Oolonml Exchequer since its foundation. The' e is an excess of L 272.320 over tin previous year (L 5,580,385) made up as follows: L 73.295 from Customs, 143,036 from stamps, L 45.936 from Ltnd and Income Tax, L 99,028 from railways, and LI 1,025 from other sources. These figures conc'us've'y prove the wonderful progress the colony has made without undue pressure on the tixpiyers. My estimated revenue has baen exceeded by L 429.516, nude up as follows:—Customs L 157,871, stamps L 48,935, Land and lacomt Tax L 43.393, beer duty L 2170, railways L 146.241 marine L 3353, miscllaneouj L 2411, territorial L 30.203, and recoveries LI 411. Registration and other fees were L 6462 lees than expected. With rega'd to the inoreiee from Customs, I m*y remart that my estimate took off nearly L 85.000, from the actual receipts of the previous year to provide'against the antioipttv) loss from concessions which I hud stated would probably spite, however, rf the reductions made, tli«r« has been an extraordinary clearing of o h»r line* untouched by tariff alterations, which has resulted in increases of revenue. Spirits increase! by L 22.800, tobacco LI 5,800, cigars and cigarettes L9IOO, sugar L 3500, ad valorem goods and other items £98,000. These items, which are mainly luxuries, miy l» taken as clearly demonstrating the increased earning power of our colonists, and the prosperity which aris •§ therefrom. It is quite likely that the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York and Cornwall to some extent infUted the figures connected with the ad valorem dutiev The stamp revenue increase of nearly £49,000 over the estimate was caused by anticipating a reduction of £20,000 from the penny postage concesson, which in reaUty did not take plac", the sales of new stamps making good any loss arising from, the reduced rate. I feel Bute the los* to revenue by adop ion of iin universal p'mny posag-i will bs rapidly m-»de good by increas d correspondence. Land tax wuS wi hin £SOO of expectation*, »nd incora- tax exceeded them by nearly £43,000 The increase in territorial arises fi oru land saUg for cash, £IBOOO, and misceilmeous itams nmo'inting to £12,000. A* to the £6400 orer-.«t imaged for registration and other fens, I find tbe> fws received under t>he Gove nm "nt Valuation of Lind Ac , 1896, fell short of my estimate by £6OOO.

EXPENDITURE The actual I'xpe'idifcure was L 5,479,703, shnvin<; an incve s d cnst of neuly L 50.000, nf *hi h old »ge pensions toik L 39,500, an I local biding L 7500. Departm ctalexpemlitivti exceeded last yo>r by L 289 672, railways by L 105.500, defend L 64.400, post and le'egraph services L 27.700, CeloniiilSecretvys 'epirtme&tLlß,soo. Expenditure wai less than eKtiuiau d in some d to the ex e it of £206,940, while in o'hers it ex e?dfd the estimate by £113,350 Thi net saving in expendi'U"« «s compared with estimates was £93,590. Resul", the revenue foi' the year was £5,906,916, ordinary ixpendi'ure wag £5,479,703, leaving a balance of £427,213. Out of the balanoa bo ight forward from the p*evkns y»ar a transfer of £SOO 000 was made »o tVie public works fund, having £105,351 to be aided to the r. suits of the yea< 'a transactions, thus producing at the clase of the yea'" a balnea »mountint> to £532,564, on which aucce-sful r suit I feel sure honourable uiemb <rs will join with me in congratulating the colony. THE PUBLIC WORKS FUND. The transactions on both sides of aocount of Publio Works Fund we.e largely increased last year, the excels over the previous year being L 315,000. The bilance of the loan of 1899 amounting to L 700.000 was raised, a'so L 200.000 under tha Act of last session. Total receipts L 1,901,787, expenditure L 1,899,021, bahn'e brought forward L 139.749, bilince at the end of the I yesr 1.232,515. j LOANS TO LOCAL BODIES. ( The balance on 31st Mnrch, 1900, was L 20.593, debentuies for L 176.000 war* ieiutd, and r«fuad» of ucsptnt

balances of grants, together with a, payment made in redaction of inscribed debt were rec ived amounting!* all to L 7.766. Loans to local bodiM were LI 38,956, and for opening up land for settlement L 37.390, 'caving * balance of 127,973 to the credit of tke account. Up to 31st March last, total j debentures issued was L 1,530,900, the j total disbursements to local bodies was LI, 138,497, for opening up lane ! L 282-356, and, to tublic Works fund L 898.800. Loans to local bodits were nearly doub'e those of the preoediog vear. i The Public Henlth Ao% and tbe S'aughtt-ring and Inspection Act of last session permit of lwns being granted for sinitury works and fer erection of abattoirs, and applications for loins under these Acts are now being received. The rate of io f eresl lon loans was reduced from 5 to 4| per cant, with power to reduce to i and SI per cent, upon correspondingly extending the currency of their loans. Tbe amount of leans reduced to 4J per otat, was L 874.443, to 4 per cen*., L13,6M to 3£ p«r cent. L 335.157; total L 1.222,234. Payments of interest continued to be fully and punctually made.

LAND TAX AND »C 01» TAX. . The proceeds of the Land Tax exceeded the preceding year by LIOOO, the department having been unable, from a defect in the Valuation Act, to p'ace the increased valuations upon the rolls for last year. The Income Tax receipt brought up the revenue from direct taxation to an amount which it has nov.?r before reached, affording evidence of the unexampled prosperity in the co'ony. During the nine years the Income Tax h«s been in force the number of taxpayers has more than doubled, andtbe revenue has increased by LI 06,000 a year. A careful revision of the land values of the colony is no* in progress, bat will take some time to complete. Bo far, there is a net increase ia tine capital value of L 8,390,000, and of the ni- • improved value of L 6,375,000. Tbe: sain to the Land Tax revenue tills rear I estimate at LI 0,000. LAB» FOB BETTLXKOT. The balance of this account broogkt forward amounted to L 53.389 and by the sale of debentures L 21°,000 was obtained. Rents and other moneys o«me into the account to the extent of L 72.796. Purchase money for the acquirement of fstitoWaHed L 186,621 interest on debentures L 50.910 and expends LI 4,305. Tbe bfcUnne at the cl>se of tbe year was L 03,549. The purchase of land for dose settlement ia being vigorously pushed forward and it is phasing to know that the estates which hve b»eu hitherto purohaei hive been satisfactorily satrted. Duritu the last year were provided and aboatl7owdFkmeaa' home*. LANS PURCHASED.

The name* of the provincial distrieta in which the lanl during the yew hu been pirohisid, the acreage, and <h« price paid ther 'fore are:—Hawk* B»y, Httum", 26 350acres,prire £141,618; Maoaatori, 19,550 acre«, price £87,975. Wellington: LwgoVe, 9,406 acre*, price £30,689; |what>, 1226 acres, price £16,129; Wangaraki, 423 aires, prios £3,000; Epuii, 103 awes, £9148; Marlborough: WUptpt, 3,600 a«res, £8.250. Canterbury: Lydnden, 4.243, price £15,750; Kohfke, 8,864, £28,093; Bainoliff, 745 acre*, £2,424. Taranakj': 32 acres pd<» £385. Pukaki, «9 acre*, (price £BBI. 'HW : Dil&rgyt 100 acres* sric* £BOO. OrateY Eanasnleugh, 1162 teres, pries £8,000.' Total 70,688 acres, price £850,198.

thb public mwrr. The grow public debt on the Sill Mvoh, 1900, «as £47,884,472; on the 31st March, 1901, itwaa £49,591,248, or rq increase of £1,716,793f0rth* year. The net puhlic debt on Silt Ma< ch la«t was £48,557,751, showing £1,627,675 of a net increas?. Analysing the above stated increas*, I find that an I have before mentioned, £900,000 of new han money has beea raised for fie Publin Works Fund, eonsiVing of £700,000 under the Aid to Fublio Works and Land for Settlement Ac*, 1899, and £200,000 undo' a similar Loan Act of last session. The requirements of the Advances t 0 Settle*! Officeneces-itatedourraising £880,000,' and f >r purchase of estates for close settlement we obtained £219,000. To enable grants to he made to local authorities £176,000 bal to he borrowed and further sums of £l7Bl and £2OOO for dairy industries and Government accident insurance respectively. Asumof£l7,9o2wasdepoel'ed lin New Zealand consols, and £52,800, representing debentures for accretions of sinking funds, were disposed of, as I *l»o £IB,OOO rf 3 per cent, inscribed stick. On the other hand £50,400 of 5 p' r o >nt. debentures wrre paid off un*er the Consolidated L**n Act, 1867, and £290 under t'w Naval and Military »eW rs and Volunteers Land Act, 1892. With respect to interert upon £BOO,OOO of moneys wised I*o* ytar it is right to mention that no b.irden will be imposed upen'taxpayers, suck interest being recouped anc uding to the conditions under whioa the loans hive been applied, so that th> se loans ere virtually self sapportling.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUJTIY. With regard to the balance, it it impossible to nggist cur «et,lerg in de>vel 'ping our co'intrr without providing tli-ra with r.jad< and bridge, and *» i provide for suoh . xpenditure it i* o<seu<iil that, raoreys shill be found out of a loti". By the same me us only car. our mil way hystein b> <*x-t.-rrled, :ind . ffHctjjiveu to ihi wislie* of hon. memb-rsand the people. | MUX TBONK LINES. I With re:a d <o a vigorous prosecution towttds the coin pie l ion of m ia line* during th« y. a<-, £509,500 of debentures und«r the Government L «M t> L cal Bjdi.'g Act, 1886, fell due, and were lenewed under theOoLSilidated Stosk Act, 1884. BANK OF NBW ZEILiHD. The Ba> k of New Zealand having pud off £500.000, the value of it* preferred shares, that amount w*t band-id oytr to the Public Trustee, and, by him. inves ed in a like amount of deh»nturas under the Aid to Pubks Works and ,Land for Settlement Act, 1899, held at the time by the Bink as security for advances made under the said loan. I observe that only two p>roels <f debenture* will have been. provided f..r during the curreet year> namely, £25,000 under the Aid to Public Works t»nd Land for Settlement, Ac-, 1896, and £300,000 under land for S ttlenunt Aots, 1894 aod 18W The form v parcel is held by the Port. Office, and ran bi renewed, and thela'ter was a London isiue, ojnvertibW in'o 3 per cent inserted sfook. TBI £500,000 LOAjr. Oir financial ndvieera in London having rsp-rted unfavourably of thestate of the money market-, and that a very low figure would be obtained for a 3 per cent, loan, it was determined to tap our own resource*. I as* pletMd to »j the mult nor* the*

justified the action, as the recent flotation ptoied a complete success. The ■mount to be subscribed was £500,000 authorised by the Aid to Public Works and Land Settlement Act, 1900. It was decided to make th° issue at 4 per cent, with the price fixed at par. Tenders were opened on 23rd April last, and it was found that the amount applied for was £861,300, reprisented by J26 tenders. The average price offered w. £IOO It 6d, the highisi fender being at £lO2 and the lowest a' XIOO 0s 6d. One hundred and twelve j tenders received allotment, 62 over par and 50 at pw. The average prien ovepir yielded XIOO 6s 7d . Ho le*s than 98 lenders have been accepted for sums of £SOOO and under, namely 19 tenders for £2OO and und.r, 9 from £2OO t , £4OO, 25 from £4OO to £6OO, 5 from £6OO to £BOO, 15 from £BOO te £IOOO, and 25 from £IOOO to £SOOO. .The remaining 14 tenders were in sums from £BOOO to £IOO,OOO. Australia received 29 allotmenta in sums ranging firm £2OO to £50,000, and wi-h the eicep tion of cne tender at premium, from Is to 16a over par. The offer to make interest nnO principal payable either ir> Sydney, Melbourne, or London induce-) offers for investment, and this action had Ik en favourably commented on in leading financial journals. No f<ws for brokerage were raid. The expenses have been light - rather lestban § per cent., consisting only of advertising and commission to the bmk for transmission of the money from Australia to Wellington. An allowance at the rate of 1£ per cent, per annum was nude to tenderer*, who ctoee to pay their final instalment before due date. A sum of £43,312 was forwarded as deposit by would-be investors. Of this sum £18,035 wasreturned. Sixty-nine inv*stors availed themselves of the discount allowed on payments made in foil prior to due date of the last instalments, and £345,459 was received aider this condition end £223 was a'lowed for discount. On 7th Hay, the l*st date of the first instalment, £61,605 was received, and on the date of the last instalment (4th Jane), £67,949 was paid in. To complete the stent it y required by investors 1658 deb*ntur«-shave been printed. Their lobm emission has proved a very great: soccers, and although the rate is high fa comparison with late issues, expanses have been to small that I think we .may consider we have got onr money nearly if not quite as cheaply as, under present condition?, a 3 p 3 r cent, loan could have been obtained. The currency is short, running only until Ist April, 1904. KPXNUITUKB ABD BETENTJB.

T ere h»s been considerable adverse criticism, and assertions have been made to the effect that there has been an undue increase in expenditure daring the ye»r. It is trne that there an increised expenditure, and that necessarily eo, for we hive a largely increased papulation and alsi a «re»tly increased revenue. We have bow also in existence departments of Sta»e which were in 1891 unknown, and many of them untboueht of at tbe time. In 1890 91 the total expenditure w« £4,091,215, and rev.nno £4,158,774; in 1900-01 the *xpecditare was £5479,703 and revenue £5,852,506. In 1900-01 the total increased expenditure was £1,188,488, and total increased revenue £1,693,932. Turning to tbe revenue-earning department* of the Btate it will be men from the foDowiog table that whilst there has been an increased expenditure there have also been increased earnings and increased profits: Government Railway D»p»r - menr, 1890-91: Expenditure £ 700,703, earnings £1,121,701. In 1900 01: Expenditure, £1,127,847; earnings, £1,727,236. The increased ixpenditere was £427,144, aiid revenue £605,535. Th« pn»centage on cost in 1890 91 w.s £2 18s lid, and in 190001 £3 9a Bd. On opened lines the percentage on c<Kt in 1890-91 was £2 14s lOd, and in 1900-01, £3 5« 9d. On opened and ur opened Government Railways, when taken over from tbe in 1895, the expenditure was £732,160, and earnings, £1,150.851. In 1900 01 the expenditure- was £1,127,847, and earnings £1,727,236, re>ng an increase in expenditure of £395,687, and in revenue of £576,385. The re" cent-go on coit in 1895 was £2 14 6d, and in 1900-01 £3 9s Bd. On one* ed lines the p?r centatp oncost in 1895 ms£2 lis 101, and in 1900 01 £3 5s 9d. Postal and TeVeranh Department expenditure in 1890-91 wa5£261,285, and revenue £334,699. In 1900-01 expenditure was £416,364, and revenue £503,181. The Stamp Df>par'm«nt in 1890-91 had an expenditure of £4659, and a revenue of £565,784. in 1900 01 the expenditure was £8925, and tevenue £792,943 The Customs Deparm*nt in 1890-91 showed an expenditure of £33,998, and a revenue of £1,527,207; in 1900-01 expenditure was £33,666, and revenue £2,180,862. In 1900 01 the Lards Department expenditure was £137,565, and revenue £431,338. o* an increase in expenditure of £44,951, and in revenue of £80,787. Land sild fa-cash in 189091 r-nhVd £111,157; in 1900 01, £78,794. The expenditure in the Tax

Department in 1900 01 was £19,031, and revenue £468,392, or increases of 1' £11,950 and £111,044 reepec ivelv. j REVENUES BECBIVED—IB9I Rnd 1900 01. j It will be interes l fng, and rfmovo fflfeeivingF, if in simple fcrm the revenues teeeived through the p>incipiJ (•''venueproducing (lenartm^ntfiof Stae during the year 1891 aDd ypsr 1901 sm p'aced before members. The following tafcle gives ths actual receipts for each year respe-tively: Uus»om« (1890-1891) £1,527,207, (1900 01) £2,180,862, iV re*iw.£653,655 ; stamps L 631.191, L 903.935, L 272.744; property toe L 357.348 (1890-1891), Land and Income Tax £468.393 (1900-A1), an increase of £111.045; beer railway,' £1,123,322, £1,720,641, £597,319; registration and other fees £41,495, £67,537, £26,042; marine £20,483, £29,553. £8,970; miscellaneous £49,004, £126,411. £77,407; territorial £350,552, £270,203, decreise L 80.349; to'als L 4.158,774, L 5.852.706, increase L 1,693,932. POPULATION, ETC. In my introductory remarks I expressed the opinion that the colony was in need of iacrea«ed population. The latest census proved that during the last five yem our papulation had been relatively to the previous five yeirs (that is from 1891 to 1896), actually decrease' hy 7,366. The opinion of the late Hon. John Ballaic=>. as expressed in his Budget in 1891, may not b« out.of place. Mr B illance su'd : *• I consider it my duty to direct the attention of the committfe to the lesson conveyed by the census j returns of the population recently: JBgoed. Bii'fiy, the ro»gh results •of the census M shown by the enVoeratorß, give a population (flubj.ct

to revis'on) a? 623,352 persona, not inc'uding Mur's, a<r->inst 578 482 [ fawn* in Mnrrh, 1886, miking an increase fo- the live years of 44,870. Bu:. the natur.il incr. ass for this p, beir-g aa o\( oss of bir hs over de i lis of 64,168 persons, lie by ■».•"« <<r (lupirtiuvs ov«i anvils is 19,298. Auivuls vocoidul in the five yi:vs were 73,306, ml dep» tme583,948. It I would thus appear rhat the idepartures amounted to 8736 persons. i The fill out-go of population from the vol.-ny has s vidently nut been returned to tlin Reg'strar-General in the monthly st-L<eroenU-, and it is wo!] known Shut in the yearn 1888-90 and of late B : £amers for Australia, have been greatly crowded owirjg to a disp<siti<n on the part of the floating population to leave, mainly for New Sou'h Wales. Now here is a loss of <vealth and wealth-producing power in he departure of so many pejple from our shores to seek employment in other ioloni'B, which demands the serious consideration of Parliament." The following tabl'S give arrivals and departures fiom the colony, and births and dtaths: In 1900 arrivals were 18,074, depaitures 18,243, and births were 19,546, deiths 7200; excess of births ovrr dfaths 12,356 There was, between 1896 and 1901, an increase of ■nly 69,385 (the Chatham and Ker madtc Islands not included.)

our woßKifra railways. The rapid and continued growth of tbe business of our railways, the principal highways and means of communication between the various parts of the colony, iso&e of the best indica'ions of 'he con'inusd healthy and prosperous condition of the colony. The lines were taken over by the Government in January, 1895, and on 3lst March of that year the number of miles of lines open for traffic was 1993, and the '•rain miles run 3,221,620. On March, 1901, tbe mileage open was 2212, and train milts run 4,620,971. The traffic for the yeu- ending 31st March, 1901,shiw8ar-incrras>eover that fortheye'rending 31st March, 1895,0f 1,399,351 ttr-in miles, 2.338,515 passengers. 54.298 seifon tickets. 188,789 pwls, 586 earring's, 31.978 cattle, 892,270 sheep. 7767 pigs. 1,291,296 tons of goods traffic of various rlass"*, I £576,385 in revenue, and 2836 in ncmberof men empbyed. The actual profit for the year ending 31st March, 1901, was £599,389, as against £571,533 for the previous year. Thoj capital c st of railways open for traffic was £17,207.328. The profit on tbe i working gives £3 9s 8d «s compared with £3 83 5d for last ypar. Considering the large reductions iu ard increased cost of materials, iron, etc., and increased wagfs, this result is very satit-fa-tory. N-itwitb-standing that the increased traffic during the pist six yea's has been of such a phnomenal character here is' eveiy indication that ' <i •■• r-m for the pre-ent financial ypar ti II equal that of prec.diiig years.

RAILWAY CONCPS^IOXS. The toal redue!ior>s made since the Gavemmrnt took over the railways nmoun'ed to no lrsa than £369.439, and ti 31st; March, 1901, to £420,239. The railwav regulations have been made race liberal, train pervices improved, and speed increased, and to further meet public convenience go"ds and pissenger traffics have been separated wherever business warranted such a step. NOBTH ISEAND STATU TRTJITK KAILWAY. The central route having been finallv dpt'rmined upon for the Main Trunk Railwav, immediate steps were taken to further work in hand'. The formation is now well advanced between .Kaw-ikawa and Tauroaranui, while busbfelling, etc, is in hard south of the Wang'nui river. Jrom the south end fie » orks extend nearlv to Turangsrere, all important works on the section beine fully manned. The erection of the Makohire viaduct is prngr.-g=ing sati f ctorilv. The viaduct will becomple'ed during tKe coming summer and simultaneously the railway will hp opened to Mnngawka An inews'd vo p wi'l Ve necessiry for the comin? year.

MIDLAND RAILWAY. In atwrdanre with a parsed by the Public Accounts Committee last s"ssion, a Royal Oommis«on was sppoin'ed, and after an exhaustive irquiry, reported prscticnlly that the company and debenture holders have been very wfll treated. The Commis;ion states tbe financial charges in connect'on with the undertaking were enormous in comparison with the work clone, and that the sums paid for interest and administration were out. rj all proportion to th<» amonn 1 . expend-d on construft'on. The? further report 'hat the selling va'ua of the whol« railway, based on revenue farned, and j » Hewing for prospective increa c e for ten years, is £192,833, and that the] amount realised by the company] from the G grant was L 313.060, or L 50.195 in exefss ff the value debited to the company. Commissioners, on the hypnthsticil basis that the feveral con'rihu'ing parties towards the creation of this asset should share in its distribution, ra'eably apportioned the selling value of LI 92,833 es follows :-To Mehen'ure holders L 126,688, to the 1 Company nil, to the Crown L 66,045.

TOST ATD TELEGRAPHS. For this year th« expenditure is es'imaffd at L 441,214, "tid the revenue i>anticipated to reach L 485.800. TELEQRkPH 1890-1900. Number and ir.crease per cent, Or-din-.ry (e'r crams 1,465,992-2,792,871, 90-51 ; value £71.307 15s 4d, £93,474 lis 2d, 31-09. Urgent 135,667-154,406, 332-91 ; value £4749 17s Megiaws 192,882-267,919, 38-9; value £8785 7s 10J, £11,866 19s B', 35-08. Bureau communioafioni 39,840 239.432 500-98; value £llll 4s-£6830 10< 7d, 514-85. Tie tofci'. i unnb'rof piid messages was 1,734,3813 454,628, 99-19: vlnn £85,954 4s 6<l-£122 423 13< 2d, 42-43. flovfrnmer.tmerea<>e« 226,780-365.079,60-98 ; v.alu* £26,070 12s 7d-£37,680 Is 2d, ,44-53. Totil m°fsagps, all cod<=s, 1,961,161-3,819.707, 94-77; value £112,024 17s Id-£160,103, Hi 4d. 42-92. Number of omVs 540-977, 80 93; te'ephnne exchange connections 2592-8190,215 97.

POSTAL. Number of lettnrs and l-t'er-cards p p. 8 >-' rds 991,065-1858,064, 875; n«w5paper38.691,522-l 2,347,373, 42-1; p-.rcels 121,292-199.220, 64 2; post offices open 1185-1686, 4236. The total n-venue was £222,881-£316,202, 4187. POST OFFICE SAV SGB BANKS, The Po-t OfhV.> savings banks show a marked increase in the volume of busincFS, and in the i ")tal amount at ersdit of depositors. List year the excess of dersits (£4,170,428) over withdrawals (£3,827,416) amounted to £343,012 over the previous year, and inters credited t 1 dsp'Mtirs to -'£146,169; wh ; !e the total i -cumulated savings sto d oa 31st Decemb r at

£5,809,552, an average of £29 8s 7d to the credit of faun of the 197,408 dep:*ifc rs Compared with the j'e-ir ended 31st Deeumber, 1890, thn irciea e is almost phenomenal, the !total ;it crodit having increase 1 : horn £2,441,876 to £5,809,552, or at, I tlr.) i.i'o iif 137 91 j- r ceit, brting an j i ncroase iu the average amount at cri dit jot each account of £4 6s 3d. The interest paid in 1900 was £146,169 m against £92,319 in 1890, an increase <qual to 58-33 percent. Therewith hilances up o £IOO increased by 97-97 percent, from £IOO to £200,135-22 p-rctn', from £2OO to £3OO, 242-94 per cent, and ahovo £3OO 218 54 per pent. The total number of accounts open increased from 97,208 to 197,408. NATIONAL EDUCATION. Capitation and Teachers' Salaries.—' Out of the statutory capitation of £3 15s per annum on average attendanca Education Boards have to pay teachers salaries and allowances, the incidental expanses of school committees, and their own offica expenses, together with th« cosii of the inspection of school?, re-c-i>i'ic-, however, an additional grant of £4OOO p»r aniium towards the las*, item. Tbe circumstances of various Boards diSVr, and it ia practically impo-sible for Boards of smaller dis'ricte, and even for larger Boards (such as Auckland) in whose districts xtuall fcehools are numerous, to pay silaries equal to these paid in distric's in which there is a greater number of large schooß The consequent anomalies and irrrgu'arities iu salaries of teschers occupying similar positions in different parts of the ca'ony are such as cer;ainly exist in connection with no oih'r de;wr tmert of the public service, and probably in no other cla«s of workers in tbe clony ; yet it cannot be said that :h-j night st salaries are by any mem* tro high., So many issues were involved th >t it seemed best to appoint a It ynl Commis-»ion to inquire into thf! sails tind salaries for public schools. Tha first scale p oposed by the Cammission involves an expenditure of £4 per head on tbe> awrsge attendance in alt puhl-cscho! h cf the colony, and is a v*st improvement on existing conditions. The second scile which the .Commission strongly recommends, is on the basis of £4 2s 6d per he id. The salaries under the second scale would mean, wii h very few exceptions, a general levelling up. Last year's appropriation for c pi<..<>-> t was 1.398,000; this year L.416,200 i* required. Next year, the finances of the colony permitting as I believe they wil 1 , we hope to be able to provide for the payment of teicbers oh the second sc;le i''.c.mrnev>ded. j

MANUAL AND TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION. Th« sdouinistratiou ti the Manual and Technical Instruction Act of last session has ersgng-d the attention of the Government fluting the recers. Organising Inspectors have been appointed an i regulations required to give *ffecs to thy Act havrf beea issued. iThe of these regulations, I beflievp, a>e euch r.s will offer a degree of er.eou'agement to manual ami tech/rial education. Tbe InI specters have eli eady visited nearly ■every part of the colony and me' ' eachi rs and o hers inter- sted, giving ni del lessons, atd such information and advice as will enable local controlling authorities to begin work on the bess or extend their work where it has befn already b e guo. The Inspectors have also in hand a series of small manuals suggesting suitable programmes of work in manual and technics classes. One of the most sat:efactory features of the movement is the degree of interest that is being manifes'ed with regard to the introduction of hand and eye training into the schools of tbe colony. Inasmuch as trained teachers ate fssential for effective work, special grants have been given to all the Boards of Education to enab'o thetn to tstab'isb classes for eiving manual instruction to taachers. The (X'ension of technical edacatien proper will be sufficiently indicated when I say that since the passing of the Act there have btsen some 40 or 50 applicants for grants iu aid of buildings, apparatus, and material. The txpi-nditurH under the head of technical instruction, exclusive of grants for b-iiidingp, for the y*ar erjding 31st March, 1901, was £2690, the expendiure 'his xeir may be estimated at £14,000 or £15,000, exclusive of building gran's which List yeir amounted to L 2.178, This year we anticipitt an expenditure oi LIO,OOO or L12.Q00 noon buildings acd apparatus. Airer a few years tbe gran's in aid of building and and apparatus may be expec*ed to decrease, as the need is generally satisfied ; while on tHo other hand, grants for capitation ar d other current items will increase year by ye>r foi' some i time.

GOLD MINING. Gf.l<i Mining, generally, is steadily progressing, although many companies which weie floa'ed, more for the purpose of collecting cal's from sharebo'dersthan for 'he purpose of winning preoinufi metal, huve beeD, and are being wip. d out of exis'ence. The yield of gold is increasing, the quan*ity ar.d value reported for the half-year ended 30th Juno last was 217,478 oz valued at 1,844,888, being an increase of 38,175cz. valued at LI 50,029, the highest for twenty-six years previously. The export hhows an increase of 24,347(z. valued at L 94.389. It is not unreasonable therefore to expect that 'he yi'J! ;'or (lie present year will • qui'!, if it does not exceed, that for tho -ar 1899. The scope of the commis ion ret up to inquire and report as io cl>ims forcmper.sition i'i respect to ripatim lights and l*nd "tiVct-ed by dredging in 0 ago and Southland was extended s•> as to include all rivers io the Middle Island, and the Uominission i has now concluded its investigations, rwuliiug inteports having been mud.' on forty-six rivers, of which number six h<ve been proclaimed, and compensation amounting to L 5799 13s 4d paid. Notices of application to proclaim twenty-four rivers have been issued, but as the period of ninety days within which claims for compensation can be received has not, expred the total sum that may be claimed is not yet known.

STATE COAL MINES. The tima has arrived when the colony should supply itself with coil. The oupuc at present does not adequately meet the requirements. Priva'e eotrpiiso is not meeting the increased demand. The annual consumption of coal for the public servics is about 115,000 tons, the railways alone requiring 100,000 tons per year. Of this, 65,000 tons are hard or bituminous coal, aisd it is estimated this coal should be obtained at from 5s to 7s 6d per ton le~s thai, present prices. For coil delivtr. d for one of the Government steamers at Greymouth we are asked 17s Gd a ton and it is well known that the sama coal can be actually and with profit put on board at 10s. There is a combination of the coal dealers, and the mine owneis are working in unison with them, the result D'ing that abnormally high prices

are charged to consumers. The effeeb cf opening a Stato coal mine will ameliorate if it does not remove this e-.il. In tfce cauis?, of time, and shnuld thn necessity therefore aJse, we could in addition to supplying our own S'tita A mauds, «xtond tlw output so as to en.iblo coal (o be supplied 1o house--1 olders a 1; reasonable rate?. Another valid reason was the necessity fnr having a rcseivo of coal, at least in the four centres, to meet contingencies that might arise. The r me ?y is the opening of a State coal wine, and the authority to provide the means for working it. j

FINANCE 1901 2. The estimated expenditure for 19012is sat down'at L5.763.8U, the details of which the Premier explained. The rovenue was estimated at L 5,839,000 together with L 57,000 to be deriv*d from sale of debentures for sinking fun.l accretion. The falling off ia tho rewnu* as compa>ed wi h last year was L 9506. The loss of Customs revenue was put down at LIOO.OOO, some part of which would be made good by increased consumption of ardcles not affected by the tariff alterations. The balance of recfipts over expenditure was estimated at L 132,186 to which is to be added L 32,564, balance of last yrar's surplus after allowing for L 500,000 tr»nsfeired to the Public Works Fund, making a total of L 164.750, ous of which provision must be made for supplementary estimates.

OLD AGE PENSIONS. I The cost of the-is pensions was alleged to he the factor in croating the recent unnecessary alarm as to the financial position of tho rolony. Last yeir thero wa9 piid L 197,292, and this year the estimate was L 215,000. 0 ireful supervision was necessary to prevent imposition and evasion of the i law. It bad tow become quite a profession with some people whe bunted up applicants, and whan successful taking a high fee. It would not be prudent tj press the old age pension being made universal. (To be continued.)