NELSON PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 973, 24 May 1872, Page 4

NELSON PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

THE TBEASURIiR'S STATEMENT. Tho following is tho extract from the Treasurer's statement, which is referred to iu our correspondent's letter: —Passing to the Goldfields expenditure, that, he said, had fallen far short of the amount voted, hut the proportion spent there would bo found about twice as much as that over the rest of tho Province. Ho did not declare this proportion to be essential, as he held that the money sliou'd be expended where it was most wanted Ono largo expenditure on the Goldfields was 0:1 roads in connection with the Inangahua; this, ot course, was a large addition, to tho expenditure on the Cxjldfiehls a? contemplated when tho Appropriation Act was passed ; it was made by tho General Government in carrying and forming tho two lines of communication between the Inangahua and the Grey and Buller valleys; this expenditure, he might say, had, as a whole, the most hearty concurrence of every member of the Executive of the Province. It had been the first fruits in this Province of the publicworks scheme of the General Government, and it was one which ho hoped Ctvould be highly productive in the future* and instead of exciting any dissension would tend to unito both sides of the Province, not. only in the bonds of trade, but also in those of friendly feeling. It was eminently satisfactory to find that the overdraft of the Bank which last year was over £5500, \va3 now reduced below £3500; being a reduction of over £2OOO. It might be alleged that it might have been just as well to let that alone, but he thought it as well to keep up our credit by reducing our-debt to the bank ; wo knew that wo had good . credit, and had always the power of a ■ certain amount of overdraft under the Act. The reduction had not been : effected by starving or cutting down ' public works; it arose from a more gratifying cause, namely, that during last quarter, the revenue'came in faster than before. Proceeding to look at the estimates of revenue, and 1 expenditure for the Year now commenced, he said the capitatiou allow- ' enco and public works grant would produce £II,OOO. There was still £IO9O to accrue from the public works grant for last year, and he estimated that £IO,OOO would be the product of the capitation allowance on its present basis, making the sum set down in the estimates. The land fund was set down at £15,000; while last year it was estimated at only £SOOO. The reason of this increase in tho estimate was that £SOOO at least, was expected from the sale of land already surveyed in tho Inangahua; another £SOOO, from the Grey Valley, regarding which a bill will bo introduoed, to allow of the taking up of land in that valley, to be paid for in road making by which means communication would be completed between the Inangahua and the seaboard. The balance of £SOOO was estimated to come from ordinary sources. It was possible that this proposal to take land for road making might fall through, but the formation of roads in the Grey district would, no donbt, improve the selling of land, independent of this arrangement. "We estimated the gold duty a and it is not at all an unreasonable expectation, seeing that we started with £SOO of last year's revenue to our credit, which reduced the estimate to £17200, and there must indeed be a woeful fallinj of in the anticipations of all, if the from the Inangahua fields did not bring the duty up to that amount. Tho Goldfields revenue was estimated at £2-1,000 ; last year it was £21,000, but he expected a good many people would come from other places in thi& Colony and other Colonies. Indeed a very moderate increase in the prosperity of the Goldfields would realise the sum they had sot down. The other items were small and required no reference. "With respect to the proposed expenditure for tho coming year, it would be seen that the large proportion of public works proposed to be carried out, were main roads, connecting the various parts of the Province, and opening the interior. • The fact of the Goldfields producing a large amouut of the revenue entitled them to great consideration. But that was not all; tboy required large expenditure; they gave, it was true, largo receipts, but they made also large demands, compliance with which to the utmost extent of our power was necessary in order to open and settle the country ; and he hoped that those on this side of the Province, would assist the Government in carrying out something like a policy. The Government desired to connect this side with the other by good main lines of road . a connection whose advantages must be obvious not only to the districts here, but to those on the other side of the Island. A road such as was proposed up the Grey river, was a work of great importance, and it was quite char that iffc'io land fund was to be appropriated to its legitimate purpose, it must be devoted to the opening out and settling of the country. Thero was also Ihe Amuri road to the Goldfit Ms, to cost £ISOO, a work calculated to benefit both districts, lowering the price of meat on one side, and raising the price of cattle on the other' Another work of a similar character, in the Buller Valley, was proposed in no selfish spirit; it was one calculated to 0; en Goldfields country, both to the stack of Nelson and Marlborough Provinces. The Government desires I

to carry out those measures, not in a narrow, but a Colonial point of view; and they hoped to be aided, notonly by the West Coast members, but also by those from this side of tho Province who had known tho early struggles of settlement and tho necessity of forcing on connnunicati >n.