Financial Statement.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 227, 10 July 1902, Page 3

Financial Statement.

Wellington, July 8. The Financial Statement was delivered in the House last night by the Hon. Sir J.G. Ward. ...... The Acting Premier said the duty devolved on him owing to the absence of his colleague in London of laying the position of the colony before the House, and he hoped they would give him credit for doing so fairly and impartially. After referring to the war in South Africa, the King’s illness, and the progress of the colony, Sir J. G. Ward said the revenue for the year had been £6,053,070, the highest in the history of the colony, and this was achieved in spite of all the concessions made. The expenditure was £5,895,914 11* 2d or £415.211 2s lOd in excess of the expenditure of the previous year, but this large expenditure was due” to exceptional circumstances, many of the items that made it up not being of a recurring character. Compared with the previous year the interest

;i ; ! ''.iking fun 1 li ' i icreased by £63 Tho Acting U no'iial Treasurer went fully into the cause-of the inc.i-easm, but as these have been mostly referred to in the speeches giveu by him in the various parts of the colony we have not set them out in detail. After making all allowances, etc,, the surplus was £270,488, which was highly satisfactory considering all the circumstances of the exceptional expenditure. They had received during the year the sum of £1,000,513 19s 2d for the sale of debentures under the authorising Act of 1900, and £1,062,666 14s 4d from the sale of stock and debentures issued under the Act of 1901, besides half a million of the consolidated fund. These figures added to the balance from the previous year, etc*, gave £2,797,312 as available for the year. There was a balance in the fund at the end of the year of £454,059 Bs, which will be supplemented by _ the balance of the million loan to be received during the current year, roughly estimated at £IOO,OOO. local bodies had taken full advantage of the oppor unity to borrow from the Government at cheap i rates of interest, and the total amount of | debentures created in this way up to f ’

end rf March was £1,744,i0ft-<<|^qi bodies, however, must r.'T »sk ; I Government to increase th u ir facilities tor obtaining money in tins way. The gross public d--bt on the 3lat March, 1901, wa- £49,591.745, and at the end of March, 19;>2, £52,960 417, »n increase of £3,375,202, but the net public debt showed an increase of £3 279 880. But a large part of this increase wsa directly remunerative, and did not become a burden on the taxpayers, no less a sum than £1,610,285 coming under this head, while £2,250,000 were raised as aids to public w irks. Tho Acting Treasurer went fully into the causes of the nonsuccess of loan fixation. In view of the neir approach of an oa-dor money market he had di-c mtinued the issue of the 4 per cent debentures. A brighter future was unfolding for the Maori race. Their decadence had ceased, and in a >me districts there was an increase in their numbers. Th ir housing and sanitary an angements had been much improved. Including five estates on hand at the beginning of the financial year. 28 estates, comprising 114,672 acres wcie committed to the control of the L,ti<33 and Survey department during the year, and ot these 18, containing 85,623 acres, were thrown open for selection, with ihe result that 69,929 acres were selected by 230 persons up to March 31st last. The number of estates which have b-ien placed on the market since the initiation of the Lands for Settlement policy is 97, comprising 418,720 acres. The number of ienants is 2033, occupying 186,529 acres, and paying £100,057 14s annual rental. The settlers were all progressing satisfactorily. Under all the ays'ems the total number of Crown tenants was 18,521, and the rent collected was £427,138. The Government would do all in their power to assist the small holders until their position was assured. After dealing with the conservation of forests, the plague, sanatoria, thermal springs, and tourist traliic, the Treasurer said the amount required for old age pensions this year would be £215,000. The land tax was expected to produce £300,000 this year and the income tax £185,000 a total of £485,000, a sum greater than in any previous year. The gold yield last year was the highest since 1883. Arrangement for the establishment of a Slate coal mine were being proceeded with. The inquiries made by the Trade Commissi >n were highly satisfactory, and would probably lead to an extension of the trade of tho colony. There was ove-y prospect of a sa'isfactory service to South Africa being signed. Three trade representatives appointed One in Great Britain, one in South Africa and one in Australia.

It is the intention nf the Government to concede a rebate of 25 per cent off the mortgage tax, amounting to £25,000. It is with a great deal of pleasure that I intimate that the G .vernment has decided to make further reductions this year upon wool freights and passenger fares, also in rates for small lots of dairy produce, butter, cheese, egg J . bacon, poultry, and honey ■ in the minimum of ariifioi il manure from 2CGwt to sc\vt, and in the extension of the period of the free return of stud horsey cattle, and sheep. These concessions will represent in round figures a reduction in rates of at least £40,000 per annum. Ihe chief dired ion that the passenger reductions will tike will be the long distance fares. After fifty miles the charge will he reduced both for the first and second class by one farthing per mile tor distances of fiftvone to a hundred miles, and then a further reduction of o ie halfpenny per mile for all distances of 101 miles and over. In order to assist setthni mt it is pr .posed to introduce a Bill this session providing that in all future disposal of bush lands on settlement corn! tions the selectors, upon payment of the first halfyear’s rent, will not be called upon to make further payments of rent for the period of from two to four years of th'dr leases, according to the expense of clearing, the rents remitted being capi'alised and intere t charged thereon 1 .r a period of ten years from the date that rents became payable. For the information of those who take an interest in the concessions that have been made by the present Government since they have been in power, it may be convenient to state them, including reductions in the Budget, naming only four heads of revenue. The concessions are as follows: —Bailways, £510,000 ; mortgage tax, £25,000; Customs, £738,000: postal and telegraph, £IBI,OO0 —a total of £1,494,000. The export trade of the colony in dairy produce had increased, and_ the quality was recognised in Great Britain as being of the best. The frozen meat trade had been fairly good. The total estimated expenditure for this year out of our ordinary revenue account is set down at £5,987,063, which is £91,149 in excess of last year’s expenditure and £88,361 more *han last year’s estimate. Interest and sinking fund have increased by £89,000. The large amount of loan money is responsible for this. Owing to the progress and prosperity of the colony, other items of expenditure had increased, but the strictest economy in all departments would be enforced. I anticipate a revenue for the year ending 31st March next of £6.026,000, to which has to be added the proceeds of debentures authorised to be raised by the Consolidated Stock Act, 1881. amounting to £57,000, issued against the accretions of sinking fund. These figures will give total receipts amounting to £6.088,500. .. , , ...

Summarising the estimated revenue tor the present, the total of which, as I have before stated, is set down at £6,026,000, I find that it is £27,000 less than the actual revenue received last year, bub is £187,000 more than the total estimated revenue for the preceding year, which was stated at £5,839,000. The estimated results at the close of the current financial year having been placed before hon members, the figures relating to our estimated revenue and expenditure for the cnrrent year, it only now remains for me to bring the two sides together, and state what I hope will be the results at the close of the year. The expenditure is sot down at

£5.987,063 and the receipts over ex nenditure amount to £95,436. to which Eas to be added the sum of £270,488 brought forward from last year. Those two sums added together amount to £366 925, which will be available to m.et’transfers to the public works fund and such further apprrprialions m the supplementary estimates as hon members will place at our disposal.

The Government hr.” w-y ca'e r ul ! y conside ed the finn -ui u(< >-i *n and also the imperative nail of our railway works which a.o in course of construction to a paying point. After very careful consideration the Government have come to the conclusion to ask the 1 authority of Parliament for a loan of £1,750,000 to be allocated for the following purposes ;—For the construction and completion of trunk and other lines of railwiy, £750.000; for the construction of roads, tracks, and bridges, £450,000 ; for the coat of additional rolling stock and the laying of permanent ways, I £450,000; for the purpose of developing I the goldfields, £50,000; for telegraph extension, £50,000; total £1,750,000 There can be uo question as to the propriety of the public purposes I have enumerate 1, and I feel quite certain that the expenditure of the money will be m>re than justified by the beneficial results to our colon : sts, which must ukimUely ensue. It will be seen th I the g eater proportion of the m >n°ys to be raised wi'l at once eirn interest upon the expenditure, and no additional taxation will be required. Experience has shown that a por*ion of the money nan be borrowed locally, and this is a

rare which will be f dlowel. 1 am confident Unit all will agree with me in saying that the best interests of the country will be pro-noted by the exercise of a judiciously prog-essive policy.