The Westport Times. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1869.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 465, 13 February 1869, Page 2

The Westport Times. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1869.

A Provincial Gazette of the 30th ultimo contains an abstract of the receipts and expenditure of the Provincial Treasurer during the quarter ended 31st December, 1868. It is the remark of a Nelsou contemporary that " an attentive perusal of this brief summary will snow our readers the true position of the Province, and enable them to judge correctly of the manner in which its affairs are administered." As one of Ids readers we have given to the subject an amount of attention sufficient, as we have thought, to realise our contemporary's conception of a proper perusal of {he figures, but we confess to having utterly failed in achieving the " correct judugmeut " which, by implication, he seems to have attained, and which he assumes must necessarily follow such attentive perusal on the part of others as well as himself. However, we shall take it for granted that this is the result of no fault in the figures, but the effect of individual obtuseness, and shall willingly give the statement another week's study. Meantime, without any cavillings or invidious comparisons, we shall quote a few of the figures as they stand. The receipts for the quarter were — ordinary reveuue, .£14,579 5s 9d ; incidental receipts (Brunner coal-mine and miscellaneous) £3301 3s Id ; land and goldfields revenue and gold duty, £IO,IBB 18s 9d, with a deposit of £lßl 7s 6d to be accounted for. The total receipts, thus made up, were £28,253 15s Id. Of the " ordinary revenue'' the consolidated revenue, or the share received from the General Government amounts to £9121 lis 2d, and £4338 2s Id is put down as received from the South-West Goldfields, and it is here that the " hitches" begin. All figures connected with the goldfields are " slumped." Those connected with Nelson are given with a painful minuteness of detail. It thus does not appear whether the figures against the goldfields are consolidated revenue or not. We take it for granted that they are not, and if that be the case the goldfields are infinitely fie largest contributor to the receipts, for they contribute the largest share of the £9121, besides £4338, and they contribute all the £IO,IBB of gold duty, &c, with the exception of £I4OO received in the shape of land revenue. The total disbursements for the quarter were £30,082 18s lid. And of this amount as much as £11,395 5s 10d are represented by departmental expenses alone, of which " the South-west Goldfields" are credited with £6987 Is sd. Here again the same anomaly appears. The figures for Nelson are most accurately given. The expenditure on the goldfields is given in bulk, and so serves a purpose by looking extremely impos ing. The expenditure on " public works and purposes" amounted to £10,330 17s 2d, exclusive of advances to public officers of £2306 15s lid. This expenditure is distributed over 42 items in Nelson and its suburbs, and only 12 on the South-west Goldfields, and the distribution and the items are prolific of remark. What the Government choose to do for Nelson is indicated by such items as £1237 for the Nelson hospital, containing fewer patients than that of Westport, £436 for hospital furniture, £1193 for a bridge at Wai-iti, wherever that is, £l5O for steamservice to Blind Bay, and about £I2OO to different road boards. The items connected with the West Coast commence and end with most suggestive sums —£29 12s for the BullerValley,and £2 for the Karamea roads ! They are the alpha and the omega of a list of figures of which the following are the magnificent remainder—Grey Valley, £401; maintenance of coast road, £518; Addison's Flat, £755; Westport to Caledonian, £175 ; brauch roads, new diggings. £173 ; buildings, £124 ; mooring posts, Ac, £340; Westport jetties, £1124; Brunner coal-mine, £3013; public libraries on the West Coast, £IOO.