FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 287, 31 July 1873, Page 7

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

(By Electric Telegraph.) The General Government have favored us with the following. copy of the statement wade by tho Colonial Treasurer in the House of Representatives, on Tuesday evening. Its transmission by telegraph commenced at midnight, and occupied several hours. The Treasurer made his financial statement last evening. The following is but a brief outline of it. The Treasurer said he had pleasure in being able to communicate to Parliament information which would prove that New Zealand had never been in a more prosperous condition than at present. The result of the operations of 1871-2 proved to be within L3OO of what was estimated when he made his statement last year. The new system introduced in connection with the treasury and audit was working exceedingly well. The ComptrollerGeneral and Auditor-General were associated, and there was ready a pre-audit as to all expenditure. In order that the account in the treasury and those in the audit oftice might be made identical, he had this year taken into account, not the actual receipts during the year, but only so much as was received at the treasury in Wellington up to the 30th June. The treasury accounts had been kept open after the end of the financial year, so that all l'oceipts might be included, and by the jcourse- now adopted L 3,500 of revenue received during 1872-3 would not be included in the year's account. The treasury was for the year's purposes a loser to that amount, but such a thing would only happen once, and the practical gain from the new system would be a great one. The present indebtedness of the colony for colonial loan was LG. 881, 2(51. The indebtedness of the provincees for provincial loan 3 was L 3,343,475. The colony was contingently liable for the latter, and it was no doubt open to those who t'.esired to exaggerate the colonial indebtedness to treat the contingent liability as one required to be met out of colonial revenue'; but the provincial loans were primarily charged on provincial ordinary revenue including the land revenue, and there was no room to anticipate any difficulty in recovering the amounts. The risk of the colony as for provincial loans c >uld cer f amly be underwritten for a comparatively small sum. From the colonial liability of L 6,881,261 had to be deducted L 415,352 for sinking fund accrued, leaving a net liability of L6,4G5,908. During the past year, L 45,000 of treasury bills on account of deficiency from 1869-70 had been paid. This was the second instalment, and, as it was proposed to pay off another L 45,000 during the current year, the deficiency would be made good without any addition being made to the permanent debt. He proposed also to pay off L 20,000 of treasury bill 3 issued on account of confiscated lands. There would then remain a balance of L 500,000 of treasury bills outstanding. These, the Government thought, could be paid off during a short term of years, and, therefore, it was proposed to renew them temporarily, instead of makingthem part of the permanent debt of the colony. It was stated that several thousands per year of interest might be saved by this course. One matter which he considered of great importance to the colony was the bold and determined attempt which had been made to reduce the rate of interest ; all the colonies had, in fact, gone in the same direction as New Zealand, and had issued certain amounts of 4 per cent, debentures, fixing the price at L9O 10s. Of the parcel of £20,000 offered in New Zealand, nearly the whole had been taken up by the Trust Fund Commissioners Iv Australia Jabont L 159 ,00') of the new loan had been sold. The operation compared favorably with what had been dono by other .colonies, especially by Queenslaud. That c-olonj' issued 4 per cent, debentures at £86, and the result was really a splendid, one as compared with previous borrowing at higher rates of in-

After ho had called for tenders

for these 4 per cent debentures m Australia, he was glad to receive :i telegram from the loan agents announcing their recommending that in future the rate of interest should be mado 4^ per cent, and that sinking or drawing funds should be abolished. The agents expressed their preference for a4s per cent rate. They have been instructed to use their discretion in the matter ; but he (the Treasurer) had expressed his preference for 4 per cent. Lands had yielded well during the year, and had enabled a considerable amount advanced with respect to them to be paid off — indeed the receipts during the present month would discharge nearly the wh6le of the liabilities, excepting the £20,000 of Treasury Bills, which would be paid of during the year. The receipts for the year 1872, exclusive of the £4,500 which, as already explained, had not been brought to account at the end of the year, showed a total of £1,119,402 being an excess of £43,402 over the estimat.es, and £111,937 over the receipts during 1871-2. Thecustoms revenue showed an increase of £32,144 over the estimates, and of £76,900 over the actual receipts of the previous year. After meeting all the liabilities of the year, there was a balance of £3,835 left with which to commence the current year, 1873-4. One of the most important matters to bo submitted to the Committee was the question of Provincial loans for public works. The Government were determined to recommend to Parliament to allow the provinces to borrow money for certain public works in a manner similar to that in which tho Metropolitan Board of Works and certain other local bodies iv England were permitted t) borrow. The proposal would be that the provinces should borrow only on specific security, and that it should be mainly provided that neither the colony nor the province cencerned should bt> liable beyond the specific securities given. However, the security of the lender would be absolute, and there would also be a power of law to enforce it. The works for which it was proposed that provincial borrowing powers should be allowed were roads, bridges, harbor works, reclamation, buildings for educational, and in some cases for charitable purposes, goldfields works, and light branch railways and tramways. The colony could possibly execute the main arterial works which it had in charge if it was to be liable to borrow also for local works. That those local works were much wanted w;is in no degree questioned, only it was said that the provinces conld better appreciate what was needed, and should be allowed to borrow for them. It was proposed that the description of securities to be allowed for works should be in the shape of tolls, and, with the approval rf the inhabitants of any district interested, that special rates also should be levied. Tn cases of reclamation the security would be over the proceeds of the work ; and as regarded buildings for educational and charitable purposes, the security would bo over the revenues from endowments. It was further proposed tint the Assembly should in some case 3 allow lrars to 1 c r;iisel3ara ; n3t specific blocks of land, and that 15 per cent, of the whole of the Lmd revenue should be paid into the provincial loan account, and should afford security for these works. The Rill which it was proposed to introduce into tho Assembly would stringently provide that neither the ordinary revenues of the provinces considered nor those of the colony were to be liable for any_ one of these specially authorised loans — in fact there would be no more liability on the part of the colony than there was on the part of the Imperial Government for loans raised in England by local boards. Of the land which was to bft purchased in the North Tsland, twothirds of the whole would be retained as security for the cost of railways, and onethird would be handed to the province interested ; but out of the proceeds of the two-thirds retained for railway construction, 15 per cent, would be paid either to the provincial loan account or to a separate account of public works within the province. The progress of public works in the colony, up to the present time, have fully answered the expectations held out when the policy was originally announced. Money was being borrowed at ix less rate. It was expected that before the end of the current financial year 125 miles of railway would be opened, in addition to the 31 miles that have been opened in Canterbury and exclusive of the Port. Chalmers line. Land was now being sold in large quantities, at what appeared to be less than its value. The absolute valuo of land, had very much increased of lato, and it would not be rightto construct further railways without retaining land as security for their cost. The Government had in fact come to the conclusion that they would not construct any other than tluwe already authorised, except coal lines, without security in land to the nominal value between the estimated cost in each case, as in the North Island. Land security could be provided in the same manner ; and, as it was desirable that the North Island should not be shut out from the benefits of railway construction, it would be proposed that two-thirds of all the lands purchased from Maoris should bj set apart as railway reserves. It wa3 necessary that a firm stand should be made this year in the presence of tho demand there was for local works, and of the large sales of land that were taking place, and that was the reason why Government had come down with their present proposals. The Government would indicate the additional railways for which thevmean to ask authority. Those lines of railway already in course of construction afforded quite sufficient occupation for the available labor in the colony. The Government propose to t-tks authority to fill up the small g-ip in the trunk line between Canterbury and the Bluff, and to ask for authority to spend a further sum of £100,000 on tlie line between New Plymouth and Wangamii, the expenditure bcin^ carried on slowly, so that the works might progress concurrently with settlement. The House would be asked t<> sanction a condition of the line from Mercer to the frontier, and from the frontier in what ever direction might be found best suited for connection with the trunk line through the North Island. U present,, the survey for this line had not been extended further than Nqan a'vahia. This railway was considered desirable for public reasons, to hurry on, especially as it would enable to be massed on the frontier a number of men whose presence would afford the best possible guarantee against wanton outrages^ such as that which

lately occurred . It would bo proposed that LBOO,OOO for debentuic3 included in the loan already authorised, being th;it amount out of the one million guaranteed by the Imperial Government should be kept at home as a reserve to lie available in case of need. ; but that, if necessary, those debentures should be borrowed against pending sale of unguaranteed debentures. This would necessitate at present further authority to borrow. The Committee would remember that iv the original scheme, railways were to be paid partly by cash payments, partly by way of guarantee, and partly by means of payments in land at the will of the House. The principal weight had fallen upon cash payments, and the original provision by way of loan would not be sufficient for present purposes. It was ; however, considered sufficient provision would be made for some time to come if authority was now given to borrow L 1,500,000, 500,000 for railway purposes and half a million for the purchase of native lands in tho North Island. A separate Loan Bill would be proposed authorising the borrowing of L 300,000 to cover the costs of interest on works during construction, including restoration to the Public Works Loan of the amount taken from that loan for this purpose. There would also be included L 250,000 for the purpose of subsidies to Road Boards, including the restoration to the Public Works Loan of the LI 50,000 taken from that Loan for subsidies ; further, there would in this Loan Hill be included L 115.00 for public buildings; L 35,000 for light houses ; and L 50,000 f>r telegraph extension. The question of connecting Nelson and the West <Ji>asf with the main trunk system of the Middle Island should be considered. For the present it wonlcl p'ruposed with a survey of the line between Fox Hill and tlie West Coast, to combine a thorough investigation of mineral reserves. It would also be proposed to examine as to the best routb for connecting the East and West Coasts ; and further to ascertain whether it would be practicable'to connect the Marlborough line with the mainf trunk system. The Government fully recognised, as they have done throughout, that those lines did not come under the category ef either main or branch, but that their construction ought to be looked upon by the Assembly as colonial works. A sum should be asked, he estimated L 41,873, for these purposes.. The estimated revenue for 1873 4 is as follows :—: — L 1,131,980,, 131, 980, including the payment of 1.83,000 out of the consolidated revenue, towards interest and sinking fund of lin migration «.!id T?nl>lio Works Loan or L5'J,090 uiovtj than wiu p;iid from that loan for the like purpose last year. It included also c ipitulioi: allowance to all provinces on tlie saiuo basis as last year, and taking the Ile^istrar-(xoneral's estimate of population, tlio total capitation payments to provinces, including special allowances last year, would amount to L 217,90"4 at 5i., or an increase of more than L 9,000 as compared with the payment in 1572-3. The expenditure included also L 45.000 for the last instilment of treasury bills representing the deficiency in 1 869—70, which were to bo taken during the year. He was glad to say thab there were no deficiency bills outstanding to be taken during the past year. Not only had £45,000 been taken up, but LIO,OOO of deficiency bills had been paid off. lie proposed that during the current year L 50,000 should be divided among Iload Boards. It was intended to propose to alter the tariff.