Evening Sitting

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3374, 15 October 1879, Page 2

Evening Sitting

Wellington, Tuesday. The House resumed at 7.30. The Financial Statement. Major Atkinson, in moving for leave to introduce the Public Bevenues Act Amendment Bill, said the circumstances were of an exceptional character. He had to disregard the usual rule that the Statement of the year should be a carefully prepared document, and submitted that finance had not been dealt with at all for fifteen months. Parliament was in the dark for that time. He would now submit a broad outline, so as to enable members to turn over in their minds what was best to be done. In 1379 the Treasurer estimated he would begin the year with a surplus of £120,468; the actual amount realised was £116,844; the expenditure passed was £4,210,000. The actual expenditure as placed before the House last session by the then Treasurer, Sir George Grey, was £3,652,048; the apparent saving of £558,000 was recoverable by £348,219 of liabilities. The payments for, and made within . the year, amounted to a little over £4,000.000; the revenue for 1878-9 was estimated at £4,045.537 ; the actual sum realised being £3,751.598, leaving a deficiency of £233,939 at the end of this year. They begun the year with £116,000 to their credit and ended, after taking credit for all assets and providing for liabilities, with a deficit of £131,824. He called attention to the following items of expenditure, to show that they were not exercising economy in the public service. They had not retrenched in any one way, and it would be seen that some very decided step would have to be taken to place the finance on its proper footing. In law, j justice, customs, etc., for the year 1877----78, the vote amounted to £866,000; that was an expenditure of £10,000 more than was voted in 1878-79. The same department got a vote of £903,000, whereas the actual expenditure was £956,000. The Native department was next referred 10. In 1876 77 the cost was £34.000; in 1877-8, £43.000; and in 1878-9 it amounted (o £58,000. The salaries last year were £19,000; they were about the same for 1877-78, but in 1878 79, only £15,321 was voted for salaries. The expenditure for 1878-9, as estimated by the late Government, was £3,973,425, but that did not include £140,000 for contingent defence, the proposed charge for loan, nor did it include £122,000 of local revenue. The expenditure, as stated, included £1,325,373 for interest and sinking fund ; £63,540. the 20 per cent of land; and £250,527, the amount of

subsidies. The estimate of revenue by the late Government. wa« £3 442,000; made up from taxation of £1.580,000; for ser vices rend, red, £1,362.000; from land, £500,000; but deducting this revenue from the stated expenditure there was left a deficit of £532.03'!; and addius? to this the deficit from 1878-9 of £'131,824 thero was left the deficit to be met this year of £663,858; but in fact ho feared with the experience of which this Government had had the receipts of the current year's revonue would not be realised, lieming the estimates as' Carefully as he had been able to, he fumvd the receipts would not exceed £3,193,900 ; made up of taxation £1,512,300; ou account of services £1,301,600; aud from land £380,000; this would increase the deficit already stated by £120,000, and would leave a total deficit to be provided for this year of £911,000. It was not his business at present to suggest a remedy or to give reasons why he anticipated such results, as the House would only expect a broad statement of results. When he took possession of the Treasury, the public accounts stood thus: The receipts during the quarter had not come up to the payments made by a sum of £330,000. The late Government had issued £400,000 deficiency bills, and used j the whole or the proceeds. No provision had been made for paying subsidies to local bodies, nor to meet other payments which it was necessary for them to make. To provide for these they proposed to take power to issue a further £200.000 of deficiency bills, in order to enable them to carry on the necessary serrices of the colony up to the month of October or November, and l»y that time he hoped the House would have determined how the deficiency was to be made up. It would be improper for the Government to do more than submit a mere temporary reoied3'?, so as to enable the House to take time to dctertniue as to how the matter was to be generally disposed of. That was his reason for asking the House to ipass the bill. Regarding the position of the Public Works Account, they began the year with a credit to the Department of £507,000 nominally, but of this £300 s 000 was due for outstanding debts, so that in reality that was no better than so much money paid, away; so that they only actually be^au the year with £207,000 to the good. The expenditure for the last quarter was £712,000, ao that the late Government had actually spent, to the 30th September last, half a million of the £5,000,000. Then, again, he found upon inquiry that their engagements entered into to the 30th December next amounted to £733,000 more, and further engagements, of which they would have to pay on the 30th Jane next, £912,818 more. In other words, up to 30th June next, on public works, what they were already committed to without any new ones being undertaken, would amount to £2,160,000 out of the £5,000,000. He was much startled when he found the amount so very large. He had taken pains to see that it was correct, but he found that it was not possible to reduce the amount below what he stated. Included in the £2,100,000 was a sum of £200,000 for the purchase of native lands; of that £36.000 had been spent already? and there were further engagements up to the end of this year to spend £85,000. They had a further liability upon these lands, which, apparently they had engaged to fulfil, amounting to £957,000. In round figures a million more was to be provided for to complete the purchase of these lauds. They also had contracts on public works up to the 30th June amounting to £121 818 los more, so that one million would bo required by end of June. What he desired to point out to the House was this: They had actually spent*up to the end of September one quarter of a million, which, together with, their engagements, would amount to a total sum of £2 000,000, and the before they knew whether the loan could be raised, not the slightest intimation having yet been received on the subject. He deprecated in strong terms the impropriety of pledging the- credit of the colony in that way.* He did not know how far the loan would g,> off. Fortunately* the credit of the colony was good; atill, that was no excuse for the course pursued in the matter by the late Government. Such, then, was the financial position of the colony at the present time. He wished the tale he had to tell had been a little more, cheerful. It was clq^rly, however, the bounden duty of hon. members to face the whole question of colonial I finances. Since the position was undoubtedly a grave one and would demand immediate attention, it seemed to him that it was absolutely necessary that at the present not only a capable Government, but likewise one sufficiently .strong to legislate for the interest of the colony, and not merely for those of a party, should be established. It was their bounden duty to dispense with party tactics and turn their undivided attention immediately to these serious difficulties and in some way devise a scheme to get the finance of tho colony placed on a sounder and better position than it stood at present.

Sir George Grey said the statement that a financial statement had uot been made tor the last 15 months was not quite correct. The accounts had been published quarterly, and anyone could have made up a statement similar to the one given as well as the Treasurer. It was not the fault of the late Government that a financial statement was not made last session. They had a financial statement ready this session, and but for what had taken place it; would have been down before this time. Regarding the deficiency, it was brought about by exceptional circumstances. There was a large falling off in the land revenue of this country, which was from its very nature a commodity which must yet be in demand, and it was a pood security for any money they might have to raise for immediate purposes. Had they remained in office they would have brought down a bill similar to the one proposed by the Treasurer, and had they been allowed in July last to conduct the business as they ought to have been, j provision would have been made for tho j deficiency, and funds would have been coming in now from taxation they intended to have imposed, and that on men well able to bear it. The course proposed by the Government was a worse one, than one which they would have carried out had they been left in office. If they carried out the course of taxation as the late Government proposed they would be entitled to their support, but if not they would not get that help. Mr Hall said no doubt the accounts had been gazetted, but very few men in the colony could arrive at any comprehension of the true bearing of those facts. It wai true that the proposed new menace

ofli'.xiitioii taken by the Government from Us pred' cessors might provide £200,000 towards tho deficit of £900,000, but no provision was made for the balance. The purchase of native lands heretofore had always resulted in a dead loss to the colony, and the mo*t gloomy feature of the present prospect was the utter inability of the Opposition to realise their position. Mr liallanct; threw blame on the Opposition last session for keeping this colony in ihi'. dark as h> the financial condition. They uaed their majority at the commencement of last 3ession to intercept any consideration of financial matters by bringing down a vote of want of confidence at the commencement of the session. He admitted the purchase of native lands had not resulted in direct; gain to- the Treasury, but the negotiations had proved profitable in promoting settlement through the North Island. One of the legacies the Atkinson Government left to their successors was the necessity of having to draw against the loan before it was raited. He defended the late Government from the charge of departmental extraragance, and referred to other matters of detail in Major Atkinson's statement. - He contended that the real deficit last year was' only £60,000, and that, considering all thy facts, was not unsatisfactory. The expenditure on the Kopua meeting was tas justifiable as any expenditure incurred in the colony result* ing as it did in Kewi's adhesion, whichwould be highly beneficial in' various * ways. No doubt the House bad to face , a deficit, but not so serious a one as stated, probably £500,000 to £600,000, chiefly through the falling off of the land revenue. Major Atkinson had under* estimated on one hand and the position was by uo means as gloomy as,,was depicted. - ' .; ■*

Mr Geo. McLean thought much of the present evil was due to Mr fi&Uanee, and also blamed Mrßallance for leaving the late Government without meeting Parliament. He contended the present prospects were even more gloomy than predicted, for under the present pressure for money the revenue was sure to fail off, and the country could not bear an increased taxation. The late Government had allowed everything to drift. In times of I grn&t monetary pressure they had put.a most unfair pressure ou local institutions by draining them of their money and so' causing a financial crisis. They should have called Parliament together to devise means to relieve the pressure instead of increasing it. . . Mr Most defended the late Ministry; Mr Header Wood thought the deficiency of £600.000 would be a cheap expenditure if it really induced the House to :loafc seriously at the financial position of the colony, and led to putting an end to the Bystetn of corruption and extravagance which bad so long prevailed. He feafed, however, it was hopeless. -'■ " Mr Wakefield couteaded that Sir George Grey's statement about being prevented from making his financial statement was not correct; the fact was he was utterly ignorant of the state of colonial finance. They had been told it. was impolitic to curtail the public expenditure during a time of depression, | it might be unpopular, but he denied it was impolitic Then again he told them that tho conditions imposed by the Governor in gran tine; the dissolution prevented' him from bringing down a financial statement, the fact however was that! finance was excluded from that condition. He concluded that too much reliance had been placed on the 'land fund. That fund should be the very last relied upon, it ■ belonged to the public creditor, and should be left out of the calculation altogether. >■

Mr Pyke said there was no objection to the motion, aud yet the whole question was being debated as if the motion was being opposed. In view of that fact he charged the Government with unnecessarily delaying the business of the country, he would say there were not ten men in the House but knew as much as the Colonial Treasurer, himself.

Mr Turnbull spoke in the interest of the' Opposition, and gave it as his opinion that the financial position ot affairs would not turn out ao grave as had been predicted., Mr Montgomery thought the statement by Treasurer had been unnecessarily gloomy, and as such would tend to damage^ the credit of the colony. He contended that it was a common practice in previous Governments to anticipate loans, and such. being the case he thought it was wrong in blaming the late Minister for Public Works for having followed a similar course.

Major Atkinson said the Opposition seemed to be altogether oat of hari raony amongst themselves; one sectionof them saw the financial aUte of affairs was not by any mtans so serious as had been represented, and the other fully admitted the gravity of the position. He admitted that a large portion of the fonr million loan had bees anticipated, but that was before he joined' the Government, and not at any timeduring his connection with that Government was any portion of a loan anticipated. His estimates of what would be required for the current engagements had been questioned by the Minister for Public Works. Ho had caused an estimate to be prepared by the department and found that between the 10th October current and the 31st December, the sums required amounted to a total of £516,000. He had not thrown blame on' anyone but would do so at the proper time. -4" The motion for leave to introduce the bill to amend the Public Revenues Act:

1878, and to suspend the standing orders for the purpose of passing the Bill wii then put and carried. The Bill was then introduced, paved through all its stages and adopted. ! Mr Hall then moved the adjournment, which was opposed by Mr Sheehan. Speaking to the adjournment Mr Hall said, that if the Opposition would agree to allow them to state their policy, they would take the. no-confidence motion as a first order of the day as early as possible; if not, they would take measures to get their policy submitted before the motion was allowed to be taken up. At 1.5 a.m. the House was still discussing the motion for adjournment. ';.