FINANCIAL STATEMENT,

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 10236, 28 June 1883, Page 2

FINANCIAL STATEMENT,

THE HON. MAJOR ATKINSON, COLONIAL TREASURER. [By Telegraph.] The following is the full text of tho Financial Statement delivered last night in the House of Representatives : — Mr Hamlin : It will be within the recollection of. tho Committee that one of- the objects which Parliament had in view in 1879, in making tho .financial year terminate on the 31st of March instead of the 30th June in each year, was to enable the Financial Statement and the Estimates for the year' to be prepared and placed before' Parliament as soon after its meeting, as the convenience of members would permit. In accordance, therefore, with 'the spirit of that arrangement I have selected this evening, as the most convenient, for delivering the annual . Budget, and placing in the hands of hon. members the Estimates for the year. In submitting the Budget thus early for the consideration of the Committee, I venture to" reiterate the hope which I expressed last session that the House will consent to the appointment of an early day for the discussion of the important question of finance, the Government being most desirons that the subject should receive the early attention of the Souse, in order that it may be fully and exhaustively discussed while the hon. members are fresh and vigorous. The Past Financial Tear. Last year I had the pleasure of announcing a very substantial surplus upon the financial transactions of the year, and although I am not in a position this year to show so large a surplus, for reasons which I will presently explain, the finanoial results of the year have been satisfactory, the surplus, although small, fully justifying the aotion of the House in reduoing taxation for the finanoial year which ended on the 31st Maroh last. It will not be necessary, I am happy to say, to trouble hon. members on the present occasion at any great length, as the form of our publio accounts now permits a olear statement of our monetary transactions and position to be made within a very reasonable compass ; but I must ask for the kind indulgence of the Committee while submitting some details of past 1 transactions and the • proposals of tho Government for the present year. I follow the usual and most convenient course in considering first the expenditure of the ordinary revenue of the year 1882-83. The expenditure for the year, under permanent Acts of Parliament, was estimated at £1 ,027,512, including £1,284,848 for interest and £270,000 for redemption of debt, and tho amount voted for departmental services was £2,060,706. The total expenditure proved to be £3,638,384, being £55,834 less than estimated. The Exphndmure on Dhfeistoe. The onlyitem in the expenditure which calls for speoial remark is that of defence. Honourable members will see when the accounts are laid before them that, for the first time for some years, the total cost of this service has been paid out of the ordinary revenue, without any contribution in aid from the loan. This we are enabled to do in conseqnenco of the large surplus of" £203,683 brought forward from the year 1881-82, but the principle of paying the whole cost of the Armed Constabulary out of the revenue has s> much to commend it tbat I hope we shall not again consent to

charging any part of that cost again | tbe loan, while it is possible, by any reasonable effort, to provide the necessary means from ordinary revenue. Battways, With regard to railways, the amount expended was only slightly ia excess of the vote, notwithstanding a very considerable increase of traffic during the year. Full particulars of the expenditure in connection with this service will be given by thu Minister for Public Works when he makes his annual statement. Liabilities Outstanding on the 31st Makoh, 1883. The outstanding liabilities of the ordinary revenue account on the 31st Maroh. 1883, were estimated at £176,530,' particulars of whioh have been laid before the House by the Audit Office, under section 9 of " The Public Bevenues Aot, 1883." These., liabilities are, as honourable members know, included in the estimated expenditure for the current year. The liabilities outstanding on the Slst March, 1882, amounted to £164,394. At the close of the previous year they amounted to £165,514. It will thus be. seen that in the ordinary course of things, without either hurrying or delaying expenditure, the liabilities on this account from vear to year may fairly estimated at from £160,000 to £180,000. The practice begun iu 1880--81 of making the payments within the finanoial year the expenditure of the year, without regard to date of service or supply, and so abandoning the method of throwing back on the revenue of the previous year the expenditure made in respect of liabilities outstanding ou the 31st March, has greatly simplified the public, aooounts, and has worked satisfactorily. Obdinaby Revenue of the Yeab 1882-83. The estimated revenue for the year, exclusive of the cash derived from land sales, was £3,393,590. The actual amount paid into the public account, after . deducting refunds, £3,470,250, being £70,750 in excess of the estimate. A reference ti the comparative -return of estimated and aotual receipts, which willbe appended to this statement when published, will show honourable members the extent to whioh the several heads of receipt exceeded or fell short of the estimate. It will be observed from that return that the only class of revenue which fell short of the amount estimated,; was customs, the receipts being £1, 494,463, as against an estimate of £1,500,000, or £5537 less than estimated. The total amount yielded ..in excess of ' the estimate by the other classes of revenue was £82,277. Of this sum £23,690 came from registration and other fees. This large increase is attributable to an under estimate of the probable receipts of duty on leases and conveyances of native lands. It will be remembered that the Stamp Aot of 1881 offered the alternative of anticipating the annual payments of these duties by a composition paid once for all, a provision whioh has . been - acted on beyond my conjectural estimate. From this source of revenue we received £25,251 during the year. The revenue from Stamps was £10,389 in excess of the estimated amount. Included in this class, are the duties under" the Stamp Act, Postal revene; fees' and fines of the law Courts, and land transfer fees, for all of which there is now only one description of stamp in use. The Treasury is consequently unable to apportion the moneys received from sales of stamps to the class of revenue to which they relate. The same course, tbat of permitting one kind of stamp to be used for all purposes, has been followed to some extent in qther colonies and in England, and no practical inconvenience has resulted ; while, to the public, the change has been a great advantage. The Telegraph revenue was £8,135 in excess of the estimate. The reeeipts from depasturing licensees' rents were also in excess £10,073. The Railway receipts, not withstanding the large reduotion in the tariff, yielded more than the estimate by £14,740. This has been due to a considerable increase in the. passenger traffic, and in the tonnage of goods carried, and to an unprecedented increase io the quantities of live stook moved, the latter result being doubtless due, to a • large extent, to the activity of the New Zealand refrigerating industry. The previous bad season led to a somewhat diminished grain traffic during the year. The traffic arising from the ' last grain season chiefly falls in during the current year, so that we have not yet realised the results. Land Fond 1882-83. The total amount expended during the year out of moneys derived' from sales of land was £197,101, of which £41,758 were pxpended under permanent Acts of the General Assembly, and £155,34 5 out of the votes for the services of the year. The amount estimated to be expended was £41,500 under permanent Acts, and £195,337 under the Appropriation Act, making together, £236,837. The aotual expenditure was therefore £39,736 less than the estimated amount. This result is mainly due to the absence of expenditure out of the vote of £80,000 for rates under the Crown and Native Lands Bating Aot of last year. The liabilities outstanding on this account on 31st Maroh, 1883, amounted to £27,440. At the close of the previous year the amount was £25,188, the former £20,000, in respect of which no demands have yet been made in consequence of the valuation rolls, which the Property Tax Commissioner is directed by " The Eating Act, 1882," to deliver, not being completed. No moneys were transferred to the main roads account during the past year, no demands on the Treasury for payment having been made on that account. The receipts from sales of land amounted to £272,305, consisting of £225,858 from sales for cash, and £46,447 from sales on deferred payments. The total amount estimated to be received was £354,000, Thi reoeipts therefore fell short of the estimate by £81,695. The receipts oE the year having been £272,305, and the expenditure £197,101, the excess of receipts amounted to £75,204. Adding to this sum the balance of £11,360 in hand at the beginning of the year, we get a credit balance of £86,564 on this account at the close of the year 1882--83, the whole of this balance beiug within tbe sum of £100,000 authorised by " The Roads and Bridges Construction Aot, 1882," ' to be transferred in such sums as may from time to' time be required. Public Wob_B Fund. The appropriations granted out of the Public Works Fund for the year ended Slst March last amounted to £1,727,729, exclusive of the vote for land purchases £82,455. The aotual expenditure was however, only £867,194, exclusive of £29,843 for land purchases. The prin - cipal items of this expenditure were railways, £435,529; roads, £210,605; public buildings, £153,071 ; and other servicos, £6/,989. A goodjdeal of misapprehension appears to exist in the country, and it is not altogether absent from the minds of honourable members, as to the reason for the great difference between the amount voted and that . spent upon public works, the Government often being blamed on the one hand for asking for votes for very much larger sums than it is intended to expend, and on tho other for not expend- | ing witi.in the year the whole of the sums voted. It is practically impossi- i ble that the periods oE execution of large

works should be adjusted exactly, or even very closely to the periods of. the votes. These latter are, in fact, authorities for the payments of the year, and for engaging the colony in operations whioh must extend beyond the year, and the engagements of one year become in part necessarily . and properly expenditure of the next and following years, and the only means by which Parliament can obtain practical control over thu expenditure is by voting such a sum in respect of such works as it may determine shall be undertaken, as will cover not only the probable expenditure within the year, buc liabilities incurred under contracts or engagements which may remain un-. completed at the end of the financial year. Particulars of the expenditure of. tho past year will be found in a table ■ annexed to this Statement, tut of course much fuller information on the subject will in due course be given by tbe Minister of Public Works. The liabilities outstanding at the end of the year exclusive of those for land purchases amounted to £861,861, which, added to the amount expended, £867, 194, gives a total of -1,7559,055, as against £1,727,729 voted for the year. Hon. members will perceive that, in speaking of the expenditure out of the Public Works Fund, and the outstanding liabilities at the close of the year, I expressly excluded the expenditure and liabilities in respeot of land purchases. I did so because I think it is desirable to keep the liabilities on account bf land purchases entirely distinct from the other liabilities of the Public Works Fund, as they stand on an entirely diiferent footing. From the returns of liabilities laid before the House by the Audit'Oiiice it will be seen that" the land purchase liabilities on 31st March last amounted to £309,299. At -the close of the previous year the amount was £338,876, and last year the House was informed that probably not moro than £200,000 would be required to complete the purchase of those blocks which the Government had decided; to acquire. No new liabilities have been incurred on this account, and, as already stated, the amount expended last 'year was £29,843 out of a vote for £82.455, the difference between the amount voted and the expenditure being attributable to the non-completion last year of the purchase of a large block of land in .the Provincial .District of Hawkes' , Bay. The balance : of tho Public Works Fund remaining unex-'--pended on 31st March last, including the .balance of the loan of 1882 to bo received, estimated at £65000, amounted to £1,017,725, consisting of cash and securities readily convertible into cash. The Public Debt. On the 31st March, 1882, the gross public debt of the oolony amounted to £29,946,711, subject to a deduction of £2,266,418 for accrued sinking funds. On the 31st March, 1883, the debt was. £30,357,111, and the sinking funds had increased to £2,571,828, the real debt being thus £27,785,281, or £104,989 more than it was in the previous year. The only addition to the public debt during the past year was the loau of £1,000,000, authorised last session,- o£ which I shall have-i something to say presently. During the year we -were enabled, however, out of moneys at the credit of the Publio Works Fund requiring temporary investment, to reduce the amount of Imperial guaranteed de bentures outstanding od 31st March, 1882, by £264,700, and to take up tern porarily debentures for £319,400, issued under the Treasury Bills Acts of 1879 and 1880, upon which advances had been obtained, and also £3303 of the Immigration and Public Works Loan of 1870. We also redeemed, out of special sinking funds, £2200 debentures of tbe North Otago District Publio Works Loan, which, with £67,803 previously, redeemed, completed the redemption of the debentures of that loan. Further, the sinking funds were increased during the year by £305,411. These sums addei together give £895,011, which, deducted from £1,000,000, leaves £104,989, the sum by which, as I have stated, tbe public debt was increased during the past year. When, 4 however, we have raised the amounts represented by tbe Imperial guaranteed debentures in baud (£400,000), and debentures for £323,300 temporarily taken up out of the moneys at credit of the Public Works Fund, the net public debt of the colony wil) amount to £28,508,581. In accordance with the provisions of the Treasury Bills Aots of 1879 and 1880, the whole of the Treasury Bills issued under these Acts, amounting to £1,832,000, were, on thu 31st December, 1882, exchanged for debentures having a currency of three . years. It will be remembered that the Government proposod, with the concurrence of the House, to convert these debentures into 4 per cent, inscribed stook, I regret that circumstances have not yet proved sufficiently favourable to a successful operation of this nature, but; so soon as a fitting opportunity offers, it is the intention of the Government to inscribe these debentures. Loan of £1,000,000 eaiskd in January, 1883. Papers relating to the negotiation of the loan of £1,000,000 raised last January will shortly be laid before honourable members. It will be remembered that the loan was issued in the form of a 4 per cent, inscribed stock, and that it was offered to the publio by the Loan Agents, through the Bank of England, at a minimum of £98 10s per cent., the average price at which it was placed being £98 12s „sd. The stock i3 now quoted at 102£. The total amount paid by the Bank of England to the Loan Agents, after payment of commission, stamp duty, and other expenses, was £972,297 lis 9d. On no previous occasion has a New Zealand loau been raised at a prioe so favourable to the oolony. The suooess whioh has attended thejudioious negotiation of the loan by the Loan Agents, Sir Penrose Jnlyan and Sir F. D Hon Bell, and the present prioe of the stook, are therefore a fitting subjeot for congratulation. Prior to the loan beinr offered to the publio full information i"<gardiug the progress and prospects of tha Australian Colonies in general, inoluding New Zealand, was published in London by the Ajent-General, in a very able paper read at the Colonial Institute, and fully discussed in the pnblic Press. Not only the favourable rate, therefore, at whioh the loan was placed, but the present price of our 4 per cent, insoribed stock and other loans, show that, notwithstanding reiterated statements to the disparagement of our credit, there is in the money market of the world confidence in the resources of the colony and its ability to meet the charges of its publio debt. So long ae our finance is prudently managed, and the affairs of the colony are so conducted as to promote settlement on its lands and the development of local industries, there is no reason to doubt that our credit will be maintained, and that we shall be able to obtain from time to time, upon reasonable terms, such moneys as may be required to carry on our publio works. Savings Banks and the Government Insurance Department. I should like hero, Mr Hamlin, to refer very briefly to the growth of business during the past year, in connection with Savings Banks and life insurance, as affording a very fair criterion of the continued improvement which is taking placo in the cultivation of habits of economy aud prudence among the people.

- '"> Ll_'J.._"B«In the Savings Banks of the colony on the 31st December, 1881, the amount held in deposit was £1,550,515, at credit of 61 ,054 acoouuts, or an average of £25 7s7dfpr each account. On 31st December, 1882, '.lie amount was-1 ,832 017, at credit of 68,358 accounts, the average amount being £26 16s. There was thus an increase of -£'282,533 in the deposits at the close ef the year' 1882, and 7304 in the number of accounts open. Of the large amount of .£1,832,047 accumulated in the Savings' Banks of the colony, 1,470,950 was deposited in the Post Office Savings Banks. Considerable attention has been bestowed on the work of the Insurance Department, in the direction of extending its usefulness, and especially in bringing its benefits more readily within the reach of those who may desire to insure for small amounts.' : The results have ibeen very satisfactory as regards both branches of the Department, the new business of which now exceeds a million Bterling per annum,' being double the average amount hitherto annually . attained. Theordinary.branoh assurances in force ' number' ov^er "17,000 policies, insuring upwards of five and a half millions. The new assurances average at present nearly £100,000 per month. The accumulated funds of the Department now amount to more than- three quwteraof a million. These figures appear to. denote that a growing section of the general public possess the means and the- desitH to make prudent.- provision for i the future, and are availing themselves of the advantages which the Department offers. ' . • ■ • ' ' . Local Finance. •''•'- The passing of the. Roads and Bridges Construction Act has, I am glad to gay, enabled the looal bodiea to begin many : useful works, but, owing to the faot'that the money for the construction of main roads .was not available until about February,' the work' completed under the provisions of the Aot has been less than would ' have been the case bad the money been available in the spring of the year. The amount available fojc : construction of main roads was estimate- ' at £200,000; bat applications to/ the extent of £640 ,358 "were received,- the 'result being that the applicants were allotted only three-eighths of tbe amount of .their applications, the Aot providing that, should a larger amount.be applied'.. .. I for than 'was available, tne grants should' be reduoed pro rata. The applications ■ for' distriot roads only, amounted ■ to'- ; _61,795i so that the whole of those „: applications which were in proper form,and received the approval of the rate?,... payers^ were ' granted. - The Aot'Seenbi' ' . to be working, .on -the whole)' weU,"b'ut .'> will probably require some amendment; in the direction of limiting the amount whioh any looal body may apply '.for,; This matter is under, the consideration of the Government. • , V .Local Inscribed Sto.ok. ,:.:. ! - tf , i It will doubtless be iu the recollection of lion, members that an Aot was passed' last session authorising tho issuing of a looal loan of a quarter of a million as an inscribed stook. The scarceness of money in the local market has rendered it inadvisable in the opinion of the Go- - jvernmeht to place this loam. No aotion,; therefore, has been taken under the Aot,- . further than' to make, the necessary for issuing the stook, should a favourable' turn in the market render it advisable to db so. Financial Result's of the TsaS. . I will now bripfiy summarise, for the convenience of hon. members, tbe general financial results of the year which I have just given in some detail.' -"We find, as I Have already stated, that the total expeLditure out of the ordinary revenue- of the Consolidated Fund waa.. £3,638,384, and that the revenue/' amounted to £3,470,250. , T0 the revenue";' I add £203,683, that sum being , tlie^ balance standing to credit of the acaouritj on Slst Maroh, 1882, and thus obtain,--£3,673,933 as the total receipts of the year. Deducting from this total the ; expenditure, amounting to £3,038,384, . a balance of £35,549 is obtained as the surplus with. which the year 1882-83 ■ terminated. This result the Committeewill, I hope, think very , satisfactory! especially when it is remembered that _■ taxation was remitted last year to the extent of. about £80,000, while for Constabulary £75,000 was' charged against revenue which before had been borne upon loan, and extra charges for Eduoa« tion and Interest had to be provided to the extent of about £96,500. If therefore the remission of taxation had not . taken place, and the extra charges bad . . not been required,, the year would have J terminated with a surplus about as large. . as that of 1881-82. It should also be '.. specially borne in mind that, during the '• past year, we contributed out of revenue : not less than £270,000 to the sinking i funds for tbe redemption of onr publio : ' debt. I do not of course mention- this '.- sum as an exceptional charge on the revenue of the past year, though ; it '' included £24,000 for arrears in reSpeet ' of tho sinking fund of the Imperial * guaranteed debentures, which was ex- * ceptional, but I refer to the fact for tbe purpose of drawing attention to the large and annually '' increasing sum whioh the colony is periodically setting aside for the cancellation of its publio indebtedness. In the figures I have just summarised I bave not of course included ... the proceeds of land sales, whioh are kept in a separate aooount^and applied, after payment of authorised charges, to • local publio works ; but when we consider the whole transactions of the Consolidated -"' Fund for the year, the proceeds of land sales, and the expenditure charged thereon must be included in the account; " ■ We find then that ths total revenues, received, including proceeds of land ; sales, and the balances with which" we began the year, amounted to £3,947,599, and that the total expenditure, including charges against the proceeds of land'- . sales, was £3,835,436, thus showing a ; ' surplus upon the whole transactions ' of the . Consolidated Fund for the year '• -' of £122,113. As I have already •"; the surplus of the ordinary revenue *• account at the close of the year was •■ '■ £35,549. The real credit balance oi i that account, however, the hon. mnii--; bers will see, on referring to iha' accounts which will be appended *o> ■ this Statement, was £85,549. The> ••' diffe-enoe, it will be observed, arises: from the addition to the receipts of the year of deficiency bills for £50,000, which remained unredeemed on the 31st March, 1883, but, as the balance of the account was £35,549 in excess of the amount required to redeem these bills, I have thought it better, in speaking- of \ the receipts, to exclude the £50,000, in - . order to simplify the statement of th& fe financial results of the year. State op Tbade. Before I submit for the consideration: of the Committee the estimated expenditure-, and revenue for the current year, I am desirous of calling attention to the condition and prospects of the trade and commerce of the colony. The subject is very important, and I am sure hon. members will not think a little time misspent, if devoted to its consideration. I propose to look baok a little in order that we may see more clearly the \ general tendenoy of our trade. I take * for examination the three quinquennial " periods, beginning with the year 1868--and ending with the year 1882. I find that from yoar to year the fluctuation of: both imports and exports is only such as might be reasonably expected in so yonug a colony, while, taking the large expenditure upon ymbl'o works which b is been going uu for thu list ten years,

tbe rapid, and, on the average, steady increase in the imports is not more than might have been anticipated from tbe impetus given to settlement and speculation by the iotroductkm of the Immigration and Publio Works Scheme. .The value of the imports for the period ending 1872 was £23;822,033 ; for the period ending 1877, £36,494,260; and ifortheperiod ending 1882, £39,358,574 ; giving a grand total for the fifteen years Of £99,674,867. Of this total probably abont £35,500,000 represents, in round numbers, capital for which we have to Pay interest to persons not resident iu -the colony. "We may divide this gross amount as money borrowed by the State -rid municipal bodies £25,000,000, and "by private persons 'about £10,500,000, 'tre wholej, for the development of our Resources. The balance, after deduction of the amounts, thus borrowed, is564.174.867, being the payment we receive for our exports, and tne value of the personal property imported by the settlers which has not -to be paid for, being their own. The value of the •xports for the period ending 1873 was £23,949,563, for the period ending 1877 £28,691,204, and for the period ending 1882, £30,820,392 ; making a total of £83,471,159. • Deducting this sum from, the. value of imports just given, we find that' the value of our imports during the, .fifteen years under consideration w;as {£16,203,708 more than t'>e value gSti, pur .. Now if it is true,. as,-., I have .. assumed, that of our to.tal, imports, £35,600,000 worth, wa« the : , property, of non-residents, or, in' Other words, capital sent here for in-' vestment, it will be seen, if we take this amount from the total value of our imports, viz , £99,674,867, that the value of the imports, for which we paid from q_r own resources, was only £64.174,867. Our 1 exports, however, were worth £83'i47r,159, so. that we have paid for interest during the last fifteen years, to Bon-residents, the difference- between these^sums, £19,296,292, in addition. to tliat portion of the value of our imports which represents capital introduced and owned by our own settlers, which- may be',estimated at about £6,000,000. Thus we^have paid for interest outside the oolony about £25,296;292 in the fifteen years .between 1860 and 1882, or'.ari average Lin round numbers of nearly £17700,000 a year.' " J This, of course, is a serious drain in one sense upon our productions, arid' the fact must' never be' lost sight bf if we desire to -understand our real , financial position ; but if the capital ".borrowed is being employed to advantage, as we^ti'ave'good reason to suppose, it is clear that the transaction must be a profitable "one for the colony,., for, -although itj, is- true . that we are' sending away a large portion of onr produce m payment for the use of this money,! it is evident' that it would be impossible for .us to export anythinglike the quantity of produce we- do without its aid. The practical question, then, for our consideration is — Are we producing enough to pay. 'our debts, to liveiboriifortably, and to in.- ; crease' our capital? Now, in order to answer this question, it will be necessary to 'analyse the figures' which I . have; giv^'n'relatiner.to-our exports. : We want., to'seeif, as a people, we are directing our' 'kiten tion to' the oftfiqse industries which will enable us to increase our exports'in proportion to the wants and increase of our population, and,,to do^thia, the best plan will be-to ebrninate for the. present both gold and w^oql from our inquiry. - gn^-.v.- >Thb Gold Ikdustrt. cHon. ; members - .' will :find, "upon re-' ference : to' the .tables which will be .published 'with - this Statement, that,' outof the total \export of £83,471,159, n6 -less- than £24,680,658 was for gold, arid3£4b,339,9Ufor. wool,, or a total for gold arid woot^f £65,020,639. A Now tHe;' 'alluvial gold industry, although it' was at one time the principal production ofC/the colony, ...stands upon quite a different • footing from either agriculture orftanufaotures. ,- Alluvial diggings can only be of short duration in such a country as thif, and, as a matter of fact, weifind that the produce of gold has gradually fallen "off from £2,492.793 in 18fi&_J»„£921,644 in 1852, .Of the amount' exported last year about ono" third was the produce of quartz reefing. There" is good.- reason I. think- to expect in the future a considerably larger yield of gold from' ;quartz reefing than has hitherto beeri'bb;ained. but, judging by the -gradual falling -off -for many years past of the- produce of- the alluvial fields,,'"we cannot rely- upon maintaining our gold export at more than the average of the last three years—that is, at slightly over oneimilliori a year. The export of gold for the first period was £11,517,655, for the second' £l-,645,396, and for the third £5,517,607---»-«.-Sl<,;___ 'WOOL INDUSTRY. , Eliminatirigthe'nisthe' gqld^xpdrt; we find ither- exports for the periods whipb wenare'eonsidering.to.be £12,481,908, £21;045,808, arid. £25,312,785 respectively j'" or' a total, of- £58,790,501, of whioh. wool contributed' £8,735,785, £15,987,346, »ndj£15,616,850, or a total of £40,339,981;- ' From this we tbpt the value of our exports of wool rose rapidly, during the second five-year period nearly doubling, but" that it slightly decreased in the, last five-year ; period. 'Not 6b,' ! ho'wever,',the quantity, or quality, : the,; deoline in value being due; to fluctuations of .market. Tbe "importance to~tbe oolony of the wool industry, cannot well be" exaggerated, for we may be said to have paid | the~wbo!o. of theiinterest due to outside creditors out-of wool during the- last fifteen years, And have reoeived in addition; a balance of abont one million a yoar for expenditure within the colony as its result. Other Exports. If we, also deduct our wool export from our total, we find tbat the exports other than wool and gold during the. perifia~e_dirig_i 1877 were £5,058,462, ' and during the period ending 1882 were £9,695,935. . From this we see that the -value of bur exports, other than gold or wool, has very largely increased during eaohf period, and was for the five years ending in 1882 nearly three times as muoh as for tho period' ending 1872, while our population had only about doubled in the time, and the proportion of male adults to the whole population had, fallen from 35.4 to 28.8 per cent. The; value of exports per male adult, after eliminating gold and wool, has been for the three periods £8 10s 2d, £9 5* 9d, and £14 6s Bd. We find large and I steady advances in the export of grain, flour, gum, leather, potatoes, sheepskins, tallow, and sawn timber. Fro-en Meat. X'ast year there entered for the first time amongst onr exports a new industry, vrhich promises to be of great advantage to tbe community— l refer to the export of frozen meat and dairy produce. This trade, as soon as it can be fully organised, should' enable us to -ring into profitable cultivation a much larger area of land, in proportion to our population, than we can use at present for mixed farming. Colonial Manufactures. Nor must we forget that we have, among others, fully established woollen mills, soop and candle factories, clotbi n o- factories, boot and shoe factories, iron foundries, tanneries, and agricultural implement factories, which will -tend either to increase proportionally our exports, or by reducing our imports -+0 liberate an equivalent part of our exports for payment to outside creditors. __r the^e reasons I ttrrik we may Safelj? conclude that wo are giving

attention to necessary industries, and that they have been permanently established. But, notwithstanding the fact that these results are as I bave said most satisfactory, as showing^ that we are rapidly developing industries which will be of almost unlimited expansion, we must not forget the present in the prospect of the future, for although, as I have just shown, we have begun in earnest to develop, those industries which are most essential, if we are to prosper it is nevertheless also true that, taking our total Exports, inoluding Wool and Gold. The value of exports per head of the male adult population has, for the three periods we are considering, steadily diminished. The exports were £55 2s 5d for the first period, £52 13s 9d for the seoond, and £45 1 Is 5d for the third per head respectively. Now these figures, if taken alone, would give a very erroneous impression of what is really going on with regard to production in .the colony; and they would have a very serious aspect . indeed- if our exports, other than wool and gold, had not both steadily and largely inoreased during the same period. But fortunately the exports, other than wool and gold, have largely increased, as I have already shown, from £8 10s 2d in 1872, to £14 6s 8d in 1882, per head of the male ' adult population. •" I have -said that we have paid annually on the average for interest, outside the colony, during the laßt fifteen years, nearly £1,700,000; but it must be borne in mind, in considering our present position, that we are now paying not less than £2,500,000 a year for interest to non-residents. In other words — rather more than one third of our exports do not belong to us; that is to say, they have to go to pay our debts abroad, and bring us no return whatever, except the difference between interest we pay for the use of our borrowed money and the profit we make on its., use, which ia probably not more thari two per cent, for that privately borrowed, although the indirect gain must be considerably} more, .both upon •the ■ public.- -. and . private, borrowing. Bearing in.inind, then, Mr Hamlin, the'' estimates and facts , wbioh I have just submitted, we are now in a position, tp understand pretty well the meaning of what is going on around U6 with regard to trade and money, so far as these matters are governed by what we do here. "Now the first thing that strikes us is the curious coincidence, that the total amount of interest and sinking fund, so far as can, be estimated, whioh we have paid outside the colony during the laßt fifteen years, is practically the'-' same amount as the money borrowed by the colony and Municipal bodies taken together. But, although this has been the case in the gross during the last fifteen years, the, case has been different for the last three years. For that period the expenditure of money borrowed by tbe State bas not much exceeded one-half of the interest and sinking fund, amounting, as' before stated, to £2,500,000, whioh we have to pay out of the oolony .-for colonial and Municipal loans and private indebtedness, and for the last two years it has only 'been a little more than one-third. From J this it will at once be evident, assuming our exports' to remain the same, tbat unless a sufficiently ' large influx of capital, tbe property of settlers, is maintained' to justify the continuance of our imports at their average, or unless -the produce of our local industries Supplying the , colonial consumption increases to the extent of any reduction,, that may take place in onr imports, , commercial depression must follow. Now our exports for the last three years . bave been : — £6,352,692 in . 1880 ; £6,060,866 in 1881 ; and £6,658,008 in- 1882 ; while our imports for the same years have been £6, 162,01 1 , £7,457,045, and £B,6o9,27o respectively.. Our exports for 1880 were £6,352,692 ; and for 1882, £6,658,008 ; an increase of £305,316. Our imports for 1880 were' £6,162,011; and for 1882, £8,609,270; an increase, of £2,447,259. Now there is i eason to believe that the introduction of capital, the property of settlers, was very large- during lost year, and to that extent the increase in our imports" waBi; legitimate ; but, -making every allowance for this important item, it is oleaf'to.my mind tbat our imports last year were at least £1,000.000 more than th3y ought to have been to supply our reasonable -wants; that they have been obtained on credit ; and are therefore pressing very heavily upon the commercial clisses, and through them upon tfee rest of the community. It is, I think, clear that until we hava worked off our surplus stocks, and this .can only be producing .the means to pay for them, which will be 'the work of time, we cannot full. relief from the present 'commercial'' depression, although the ,:gradual ' easing- of the money market in Australia, as it takes place, will give ug some help. ■ The "CysritEßOiAi, Depression. But are there any' real 'grounds, on account of the 'present- commercial iepreßSiolaJ which undoubtedly 1 "exists aver a large part of the. colony, or from jny deduction :! whioh ' can -'•fairly : be' drawn from the" figures I 'lave just ?iven, to justify us in taking a gloomy rie w of our future prospects ? ' To that ideation, Sir, my answer is most amphatically N°- : I, say distinctly, if ter a most' careful consideration af ' tbe.-whqle jconditipn^of . the; country, that ''there 'are" riot*.. only no real grounds for,.. taking a .despondent view of our position, .but, on the contrary, there is much' reason to justify us ! in looking- forward with ■ confidence to a future- of great prosperity. Future Prospects'. ,-. No' doubt we, like other communities, Bhall have' our tips arid downs. Unusual prosperity will be followed by unusual depression,., as, is the case all-over the world. N6 L one, I think, who sees the steady improvements that are 'going on alii over the colony, who observes the very substantial increase in the Savings Banks deposit, tbe great increase in life assurance business, and the rapid development of our manufacturing industries, and -who" 1 has watched our import and export trade with care, can doubt that we are producing enough to pay our debts, live comfortably, and gradually accumulate capital. The present state of our trade is not satisfactory, but we might have avoided it almost entirely had our judgment been a little better. No doubt business men were" tempted by cheap freight and comparatively easy money to over import, forgetting for the moment the effect which would follow the contraction in the expenditure of borrowed money, an expenditure which I am glad to say Parliament has determined to keep within much narrower limits than have been observed in the past. The Remedy por Depression. The remedy for such a depression aB we are now suffering from is in our own hands. It is old, very simple, and thoroughly effective, but, unfortunately, there is no royal road to it. It consists, Sir," in an amount of self-denial and self-restraint of whioh we are somewhat impatient in these days. The remedy is, Mr Hamlin, to five within our meaus i both publicly and privately, and there are, I am happy to say, many indications tbat we aro really making up our minds to follow tho gpod old plan. Estimated Expenditure out oj? Ordinary Bevenue, 1883-84. I now come, fir, to the consideration of tbo expenditure of the ordinary t uvenue of the Consolidated Fund for the

ourrent year, ana, ronowing cne usuai custom, I divide it into two parts, viz : — Permanent charges and the proposed appropriations for the year. The necessity for maintaining on the part of the Committee a careful supervision and strict watch over the annual apjjro-. priations will, I hope, be a sufficient excuse for my troubling honourable members at some length with a comparison of the expenditure of the lastjtwo years with the proposed expenditure of the current year. First, then, as regards permanent [charges. The amount est-i mated to be expended under this head during the current year is £1,645,694, of , which £1,567,430 is for interest and sinking fund, amounting respectively to £1,309,930 and £257,500 — that is to say, we shall pay £1,309,930 to the pwblio creditor, and set aside £257,500 during the year for the redemption of our debt. Last year (1882-88) we paid £1,566,441 on this account, being £989 less than the estimate for the current year. In the vear before, the amount paid was £1,500,989, or £65,452 less than last year. This large increase in the amount of interest and sinking fund paid last year i« '"'counted for as follows : — Interest on fur 'her advances obtained on the Imperial guaranteed debentures, £13,119 ; sinking fund in respect of the same debentures, £40,000, being £16,000 for-1882-83, and £34,000 for arrears; and interest on Treasury Bills, £12,776. No new Treasury Bills were, however, issued, the explanation of the additional interest being that certain bills, which had been taken up temporarily^ out of the Publio Works Fund, and which bare no interest so long v as they remained investments of that fund, had been disposed of, and the proceeds returned to tbe fund. The sums I have mentioned slightly exceed the increase bf £65,452 in the amount of interest and sinking fund paid last year (1882-83), but there were certain small decreases which account for the difference. I have said that the amount estimated to be expended for interest and pinking fund during the current year exceeds tbe amount actually paid -last year by- £989. As, however, the first year's interest, amounting to £40,000, in respect of the loan of one million raised in January last, becomes payable , tbis year, it is necessary to explain very briefly how we estimate that we shall only pay £989 more than we paid last year. The . chief reason is that £24,000 wbioh we paid last year for arrears of sinking fund, in respect of the Imperial guaranteed debentures, does not recur in'tbe Estimates for 1883-84. A saving "of £2438 has, moreover, been effected by exchanging, under the Treasury Bills Acts of 1879 and 1880, £1,832,000 Treasury Bills, bearing interest at 3| per cent, per diem for 5 per cent, debentures, and a , further saving in interest by taking up temporarily a portion of these debentures out of moneys at the credit of the Public Works Fund requiring investment. The remaining permanent charges on the Estimates amount to £78,264, consisting of the civil list, £29,750; pensions (civil and military), £27,641 ; other charges, 20,873. Last year the amount actually expended on these services was £74,845 ; in the year before, it was £78,964. The amount of the appropriations proposed for the year is £2,015,802, as against £1,997,098 actually .expended last year, and: £1,698,868 the year before. These figures' show that our actual requirements last year were greater than those of the year before by £298,230, and that this year we propose an additional expenditure of £18,704, thus making the esti-' ' mated expenditure for the current yeargreater by £316,934 than the actual expenditure of the year 1881-82. This state of things is rather startling at first sight, but I hope to be abie to explain .tothe satisfactionbf the Committee that this apparently large increase of expenditure will be either nominal or practically unavoidable. ' I shall first of all refer to the expenditure of last year (1882-83), which, as I have said, exceeded that of the year before (1881-82) by the large sum of £298,230, and it will be convenient that I should deal with the several olasses of expenditure in the order in which they are placed in the publio accounts and'Estimates. -In Class. 1, Legislative, there was an inorease of £3924, chiefly in expenses of members.. In Class 2, Coloiial Secretary, , there was a large increase, amounting. -to £48,465, in the expenditure on hospitals aud charitable aid, which is accounted for by the fact that no recoveries were made from looal bodies in 1882--83, subsidies baving ceased. On the vote for Electoral there was, a decrease of £7825 last year, the general election for the House having taken place the previous year" ; and oh the vote for the Registrar,- General's there was a decrease 0f.£8021 after the. census of 1881. On the other hand, the ex : penditure • on- the' stock • (sheep, cattle; ; aud rabbits) branch of the Colonial Sec-' retery's' l Depar'tirient -was 'iricfease'd by £10,654, mainly owing to' the transfer to the ordinary- revenue account of a portion bf the cost of this service, paid out of land revenue uvthe pre«ous,year.. ; The expenditure 'on lunatic ' asylums" was. increased by £5957. There were increase's in the expenditure On 'other serviees'ih the same class, amounting, to £3593, and, decreases amounting to £265.9., ' ,Th,e net increase 1 of 'expenditure last'year' on the class was therefore £50,164..', 1n Class 3, ColonialTreasurer, . there was an increase of £29,937. Of this sum £10,843 represents th6 expenditure of the Property Tax Department in connection with the general assessment,, which hon; members are aware occurs- every, three years only. £19,000 was: for exchange and commission. The increase of expenditure on the latter item is merely nominal, as under the arrangement with the Bank of New Zealand- for payment of interest in ' London,. -bj^' Which' 'an' additional charge for exchange became necessary, a larger amount of interest is received on the balances 'at credit of the public account in the colony.. In Class 4, Minister of Justice, there was a net. increase of £4645, the total increases being £6093, of which £1975 was for criminal prosecutions, £1473 for prisons, £860 for Resident Magistrates' Courts, £740 for coroners, and £1055 for other services. The decreases amounted to £1445, of which £962 was for the Department of Justice. In Class 5, Postmaster General, there was an increase of £20,351, tho vote for salaries being accountable for £7505, maintenance of telegraph lines, repairs, &c, £8111, and conveyance of mails by sea £4128, the balance being made up of small increases and decreases on other votes in the same class. In Class 6, Commissioner of Customs, there was an increase of £2356, £1350 being for salaries, and the remainder for seal fisheries and the Stella. In Class 7, Commissioner of Stamps, there was an increase of £2672, arising mainly from contingencies, including commission paid on collection of duties on native lands. In Class 8, Minister of Education, the increased expeLditure amounted _to £31,074, partly owing to the restoration of the 5s per bead by which the grants to Education Boards had been reduced in 1881-82, and partly to a greater increase of the average daily attendance at the public" schools compared with that of the previous year. In Class 9, Minister of Native Affairs, the salaries and contingencies of tbe Native Department were less by £915, and miscellaneous services, &e„ by £2677, than they were the prerious year, but the esptus-ts of lhe Ndtfve Land. Court wire

increased by £1392. ' There was, therefore, a net decrease. of £2210 in this class. In Class 10, Minister of Mires, there was a reduction of £2159, chiefly, in subsidies towards construction of tracks on the goldfields. In Class 11, Minister of Public Works, the increased expenditure amounted to £47,952. The expenditure on workshops was greater last year than the year before by £43,473, but this increase of expenditure was compensated by an inorease of £46,111 in the traffic receipts during the same period. In Class 12, Minister of Defence, there was an apparent inorease of _109,044. The actual increase was, however, only £34,014, the vote from the Consolidated Fund having been aided by a vote of £75.000 from loan in 1881-82, whereas last year' the whole cost of defence services was paid out of revenue. The increase of £34,044 arose out of the unsettled condition of the natives on. the, West Coast of the North Island. The increase in the actual expenditure of last year over that of the year before may, therefore, be broadly summarised as follows, taking tha darkest items first : — Defence, £109,000, including transfer from loans, £75,008, and £34,000 for services on the West Coast of the North Island ; hospital and charitable aid, £48,000, formerly recoverable from, subsidies to local bodies, now discontinued; working railways, £43,000, for extended- mileage and traffic, and fpr increase in the rate of wages; education, £31,000, for restoration of the grants to Education Boards to four pounds per head, and for increased attendance at public schools; Post and Telegraph Department, £20,000 ; for additions to salaries, maintenance !of telegraph lines,' and extended accommodation to the public; Property Tax Department, £10,000 ; for triennial assessment, exchange' and commission, £19,000; .about a similar amount received for additional interest on public account charges ; other ser-"' vices, £18,000; including the 10 per , cent reduction of salaries in force for the : first three months of 1881-82, making in ! all £298,000! If hon. members will! i carefully examine, the accounts of the.] ,two yeara to which I have referred, they i liwill, 1 think,. in. the light, of these ex- - ; planations see that the larger portion of j the apparent imerease wis ..merely ; {nominal, that is, was either transferred' - jfrom loan or balanced by equivalent ! receipts on the other side of the account, and that such of the increased expendi • ture, not nominal, could only have 'been avoided by inflicting undue hardship on the public servants of the colony, or bycausing inconvenience to the public generally. Having thus explained to the Committee, I. trust satisfactorily, how the apparently large increase of expenditure last year arose, J. shall now proceed to compare the Estimates of last year (1882-83) with those of the current year. It is more rorirenient than to compare the Estimates for. the current with the actual expenditure of the past year, because, in voting supplies for the j service of the year, it is always necessary to vote such a sum as will leave, a sufficient margin to coyer unforeseen contingencies rather than be > under- the necessity of charging such expenditure ' to "unauthorised," through having left no margin. Before doing so, I must, However, draw the attention of the Committee to the amount 'by which, in accordance with . section 10 of '' The Public Revenues Act, 1882," several of ■the votes on the Estimates have been abated. This amount, £55,772, represents estimated recoveries to be re--ceived during the year, which, will ; bet '. 'carried to" credit of the relative votes, a!nd witl to that extent increase the spendingpower under tbe vote. As, this is the ' first time that suoh abateoaeuts have been made it is necessary, in order to jnstitute a fair comparison between the votes" of last year and the' proposed votes for the current year, that these abate-' ments should be treated as if they had not been made. The amount voted by ' the House for the services of last year waB£2,o66,7o6,abatementsforreooveries . amounting to £55,772, to which I have referred., They amount to £2,071,574, . being £4868 more than the amount voted last year. I Bhould explain, -however,* that tbe Estimates of last year : included a siim of --50,<100 harbour defences, which we do not propose, to - -' revote out of the revenue ; bnt we shall, ask tbe House to vote out of the .Publio Works Fund such a sum as we are likely ; to require for tbis purpose during the current year. The real increase in' the Estimates for tbis year is therefore £54,868. That is the net result. _ I shall not weary , the Commit'ee by, going into a lengthy comparison of the two years' , Estimates, ,but I should, like to draw attention to one or two prominent points'.' In the vote focßail ways there is;an increase of, £73,647, ipartly due to increased traffic on !the lines,- partly, to an extension of milage open, there being bow,! 1407 miles- as against ISoS'-laßt 1 . •year; and in -the- vote for Armed Constabulary there ■is a decrease of ' - £13>226, our' improved relations with the natives on the West' Coast having enabled the 5 Government •to effect a reduction in the" number of : men in the ■Held force. Hospitals and Charitable Aro. • The vote for Hospitals and Charitable "Aid. has been^inereased by £16,000, and the total charge on this account- is now £83,900.' Some -distridts, recognising the truth that it is more blessed to give than to receive, still continue to subscribe to local. Hospitals and Benevolent Societies, but the' general tendency, I am sorry to 'Bay, is to more nnd more vthrow the whole burden of relieving the poor upon the State.'- The comfort and wellbeing in the future of 'the great body of ! the people of the country so much depends upon the way in which ; we may decide to deal with this important question, and public opinion is so unformed upon the subject, tbat, notwithstanding the many evidentobjections to our present system, ;th'e Government have determined to ask for a continuance, of ,the vote in the present shape, thus leaving the - question open to be dealt with when the matter has been more carefully considered. Poor Laws and National Insurance. Sir, there seems to me to be insuperable objections to a poor law in any shape. I believe suoh a law not ODly to be unnecessary, but highly demoralising to any community that adopts it. The Government Ere not, therefore, prepared to submit any law having for its object to charge the cost of maintaining the indigent upon looal or general rates, but, with the view of helping to form public opinion upon the subject, I shall ask leave to lay upon the table of the House a Bill for Compulsory National Insurance, not with the intention of asking to read it a second time, but witb the hope of getting a debate upon it, and then distributing the Bill throughout the country for publio consideration. Salaries. Hon. members will see, upon examining the Estimates, that the whole of tbe salaries remain . the same as voted last year, except in the case of cadets, who rise from £50 to £60 or £80 to £90 a year according to scale, those officers who are classified, and some half dozen extraordinary cases, for whicb special reasons will bo given by Ministers in charge of the Departments, in which increases are made. Tho reason why no increases have been made is not that the I Government think none ave fair or . necessary, but because of the difficulty, i through want of classification, and the s iMefQD.oos in pay of officers doing

practically the. same amount of work, i which renders it impossible to make increases with fairness to officers of tbe , various departments. . 1 Reorganisation op the Civil Service. Government have, therefore, deter, mined to submit the Estimates as they stand, and to ask the House to consider a. scheme ''"for 'the' reorganisation and 'classification of the Service. I shall, therefore, propose in the course of a few 1 days, some resolutions embodying the principles which the Government think would be given effect to by a Bill, and, after discussion, I shall ask that they be referred for the consideration of -a Select Committee of members of both sides of the House, with 'directions to report,, after careful inquiry into the subject, as to the principles upon which a Civil Service Act should be founded. This question is of such importance to the colony that I hope that, by this means, we may exclude all party feeling from the question, nnd be able so to reorganise our Civil Service as to render it both efficient and economical, while its status and pay will be such as to attract men of ability and character to its ranks. The reorganisation of the Civil Service is, no doubt, a work of considerable difficulty, and.it is possible, after thorough consideration by the ' Committee, that there may not be time to carry a Bill this session ; but I yet hope there willbe. If, however,' there should not be time to legislate this session, the House will have laid down the principles upon which it will be the duty of the Government to prepare legislation for next session. Bhould no Aot be passed this year, it will be necessary to ask the Holise for increases to the present salaries Estimated Revenue iron the Teat* 1883-84. I ( have now, Mr Hamlin, to bring under the notice of the Committee ' the estimated revenue pf tbe year 1883-.84. I anticipate that we shall receive 'a total ordinary r revenue of £3,573,800. f0r. the current year, exclusive of land sales; if jour taxation remains the same. I have 'thought it prudent not to increase the (estimated receipts from Customs duties jmorethan £20,000 above the Estimate lof last '.year, but I hope, looking to all the circumstances of the oolony as far as ,possible in advance, we may reasonably 'expect' to.receive £1.520;000 from these 'duties. I- also estimate an increase of {£8000 on -Stamps, £7000 on Telegraph receipts, and £18,000 on the Property Tax ' under the new valuation. I estimate, then, the total revenue at a33,578,800, to which I add the balance bf £85,549, which stood to our credit at the 31st > March last, and get a sum of j£3,6Q9,349 as the total amount available for^the services'of the year; - ".Deficit for the Current Year. . Now. the t6tal revenue received last year? was £3v673,933, including the balance with which the year began Hon. members will, therefore, see that' our ways and means for the ourrent year are lesH than those of last year by j £64,588. The estimated revenue proper, it is true; for this year exceeds that of last by. £103,550, bnt the credit balance yrith. which w.e begin this year is less by .£168,184 than the oredit balance with :\yhichv,we<Jbegan last'-, year. It should also loe remembered that the inorease in receipts from railways this year _ is only obtained by the necessary addition to the. expenditure of £48,187 for working' expenses and .maintenance, and it must also further be, borne in mind that it was- only in ponseqnenee of the large •surplus^ on '31st . March, 1882, that the whole cost of the Armed Constabulary .was for*"; the first time \ charged against ' the Consolidated . Revenue. I. have .already shown the lestimatea* 'as £3,661,496. There will ■■ therefore be a deficit of £52,147, as to .the means of meeting which liwill speak presently. „ .'.'J '' ' ' 1 The' estimated" expenditure chargeable against the Land Sales Fund is as follows:— Por charges fixed by Act's of General Assembly, 136,600 ; for Crown Lands Sm vey and Mines Departments, 111 57,280; . and for rates on Crown lands, L40.000; amounting in all to 1J233,880. ,7116 receipts from land 6ales are estimated atL275,600 for the current year. To this must be added the balance ■ standing tp'the oredit of tbe" fund on 31st /March last, L86.564, makiDg the total estimated receipts for the year L362, 164, against whioh, however, iB chargeable, jJIOO.OuO's payable to main roads aooount for last year. There' is therefore only available, i if. the above estimates are o6rreot,.-_i28,284 for main roads account, under the Roads and Bridges ConstruoApt, for the ourrent- year. I shall refer to this subjeot again. Proposals for the Year, Ordinary | „.-;-.. Revenue Account. •'■ ll 1 have' "said that the estimated expenditure for the year is L3,661,496, and that, without further taxation, the estimated- revenue is only L8,609,849. It is evident therefore- that we must either : decrease ', our' expenditure or increase our revenue. The Government see -no prospect, after careful consideration of- -tbe' subject, of - reducing tbe expenditure' for this year below the amount estimated, whatsver we ■ mayhope for from the reorganisation of the Civil Service to which I bave already referred. There remain^ therefore, as the only alternatives, increased taxation or, charging some services upon lean. The latter course. the Government are riot prepared to recommend, r ; , Increase of, the Property Tax. I shall" therefore" propose an increase in ]the Property Tax of one farthing in the pound,! and this I estimate to produce -■ L85.000. Adding this amount, then',;' 'J to ! the- estimated revenue, 1,3,609,349; we get a total revenue of L3,694 1 349,and substracting from this our estimated expenditure, L3,661,496, we obtain a profitable, surplus of 1)32,853 : on,the 81st March, 1884. 'Thisis not as large a margin as might be desirable, but the fact of its. smallness will no doubt render the Government even more careful than heretofore' in- tho' expenditure of the votes authorised by this House', and will, .1 trust j' ensure the assistance of the House being given to the Government in resisting any extraordinary proposals for expenditure which may be submitted for its consideration. Land Fund. I have already said, Mr Hamlin, the amount available from the proceeds of land sales, after the necessary charges for expenditure upon main roads under the Roads and Bridges Construction Aot have been deducted, will only be L28.284. This result is deoidedly unsatisfactory from one point of view, especially \yhen it is seen that no provision has beenjnade for the expenditure of 20 per eent.,,~as"pTomised by the Aot, for opening up new lands. The deficiency in anticipated funds arises, as hon. members will no doubt see, from the falling off in the land revenue, whioh was L81.695 less last year than the estimated ainount, and this year it is ouly estimated to produce L275.600. This falling off in [the lurid sales has arisen partly from the reservation, as subsidies for railways under the Act of 1881, of land which had heen previously intended and prepared for- sale, and i partly from the principle upon which the department bas been and is being worked, the chief consideration whicb i is now gviiflin'g our land administration being the settlement of the country in i small holdings. Tbis has necessitated . large ar^as being sold and set apart for ■ sale under tho deferred-payment system, i and also under the perpetual lease > system. The subject will be brought ; under the notice of tiie House by (h.O.

Minister for Lands, upon the second reading of the Land Act Amendment Bill.' It is one of great moment to tho future prosperity of the colony, and will require, and I am sure- receive, the careful consideration of the House. Tho financial aspeot of the question ia also of importance. We have, since separating the proceeds of our land sales from ordinary revenue, in 1881, relied upon onr land sales to produce, over and above the permanent charges and necessary expenses of the fund, from L150.000 to L200.000 a year, which, was to be applied to the construction of local public works. We have, however, in the interests of settlement, been gradually diminishing -the sale of our publio estate, without properly recognizing the fact, for the last three years, and. if the House should determine to continue this course, as I have no doubt it will, we shall have again to face the question as to the best way of providing means to supply the Main Roads Fund constituted under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act. The course, however, which we shall finally pursue in dealing with our public estate being yet undecided, it would be premature to make any proposals upon the subject at present. It is, however, clear that, as we are administering the Land Department in the interests of settlement rather than of revenue, we must also, in the interests of settlement, make sufficient provision for the Main Roads Fund. I shall, therefore, propose that there shall be paid to that fund for the current year, out of the Public Works Fund, a sum of L74.000, a sum sufficient, with the available balance of the land sales, to make up LlOO,OOO. Vote for Surveys. With reference to the opening up of land before sale, hon. members will recollect that L200.000 was placed upon the schedule of the last three million loan for this purpose. Of this LBO,OOO, in round numbers, was spent last year, and it is proposed by the Land Department to ask this year fer the balance of the vote. A large amount of most useful work has been executed with this money, as hon. members will see when the report of the Surveyor.Generalis before them. General Remakes. In conclusion allow me to say that, notwithstanding the existence of some commercial depression in parts ' of the colony, the result of influences of which 1 hare endeavoured to afford explanas tion in my previous remarks, yet the steady growth, of ' essential ' industries,' the gradual improvement'of our internal communications, the rapid and spontaneous increase of commercial facilities by means of fine fleets of sailing and steamships, whioh unite us with otherlands and Sly constantly on our coasts, the estabshrrient of an export trade in frozen meat and other produce of the laud, tbe encouragement afforded" to settlement of the country in small holdings, and tbe prospect of an early and complete solution of those questions which have so long delriyed the reconciliation of a large seotion of the native population to our rule, are considerations whioh justify a sober confidence iu the future, aud encourage tbe Legislature to persevere in the. course which it has followed with such advantage to the colony, of a careful arid methodical finance, of a just and firm, but conciliatory native policy, and of the settlement of the land in such holdings as will promote its ocoupation by the people.

, Mb liinoard's Insolvencx — Tho first meeting of Mr William Lingard's creditors will take place this afternoon at the Courthouse, at half-past 2 o'clook. ' . Said an actor whose private reputation was nono. of the best — " They haTe cast me for a character that I don't like, and 1 doubt whether I ought to ta"ke it or hot." " O, tako it, by all means," urged somebody, adding, sotto voce, " Any character must be better than your own."