THE ESTIMATES.

Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 976, 4 June 1872, Page 3

THE ESTIMATES.

In the Provincial Council, on the motion for going into Committee of supply, Mr Kynnersley after referring to the dissatisfaction prevailing on the ■West Coast from the impression that while the people contributed largely to the revenue, only a small proportion was retiuyied to the Coast in. expenditure upjHfcublic works; stated fully the resuiraf his examination of the Estimates for the coming year, and the Provincial Treasurer's abstract of ; disbursements and receipts for the i year previous. The estimated revenue for the year appeared to be £85,000. Of that amount £20,700 were expected from the " settled districts," and £64300-from the West Coast. The West Coast in fact, contributed more than three-fourths of the revenue. Under the head Capitation Allowance and Public Works Grant, £II,OOO appeared, of which £4OOO might be get down to the West Coast. The Land Fund was estimated at £15,000, £,3000 being expected from the Inangahua, and £SOOO from the Grey. Another £SOO might be expected from agricultural leases, aud the sale of land on parts of the West Coast ; put they were entitled to. estimate that, at least £IO,OOO would come from the West Coast, The gold duty uas estimated at£lß,Ooo. and of that amount he allowed £SOO as coming from Collingwood. Of the Goldfields revenue, £24,000, he also allowed £SOO for Collingwood., and from publicans and other licences, amounting to £203, he expected £IOO as for auctioneers' licences on the West Coast The items Wharves and tfcab ! Act he assumed to refer to the settled districts solely. Of the education rate he set clown £2OO as coming from the West Coast, and £SOO of Miscellaneous, while £BOOO from the Brunjer was all from the West Coast. He had debited the West Coast with half the general expenses of governing the Province; with half of the Land Office, and the whole of the Land Office money on the West Coast, with half the Nelson gaol, and the whole of West Coast gaols, with half the Nelson hospital and all the West Coast Hospitals, with half the General Contingencies, though not one-fifth wasspentonthe Coast, and in reference to all the other items he had a similarly liberal allowance. As his , calculations might be criticised afterwards, he proceeded to go through all the items, and the following figures represented his allocation of the expenditure under each division of the estimates:—

ESTIMATED EETENDB. Settled districts £20,700 South-west Goldfields and BrunnerMino 64,300 .£85,000 ESTIMATED EIPENDITUBE. Settled

Excess of expenditure over revenue I in settled districts—£oßo9. ' Excess of revenue over expenditure . in Goldfields—£7sl6. By these figures it would be seen that, while the West Coast contributed £64,300, the Blind Bay district contributed only £20,700, yet in these districts the estimated expenditure was 27,509, showing that the settled districts gained £6809 by connection with the "West Coast; and with regard tn the goldfields the expenditure was estimated at £56,783, while the revenue was estimated at £64,300, showing that the goldfields loßt by these con.with Nelson to the extent of £T5i3. He had gone through last year's Estimates, dividing the amounts the same way and found that out of a revenue of £70,085, £46,662 was re-

ceived from the goldfields while only £39,934 was expended on them. The excess of revenue over expenditure was thus £6688 ; and this year it would be' something over £7OOO. He contended that even if the whole of the money derived from the West Coast was expended on the West Coast, the people would have cause for dissatisfaction. They couid point out that money was being expended or roads which were seldom used—as trying to improv.o roads which were as smooth w a bowling green —while on the West Coast they were going about; up to their knees in mud. He repeated wat he had brought forward these figures to contradict the constant assertion that the'goldfields were a burden on the Province, and coat more than they yielded. He had always known that suoh was not the case, and

that it never had been the case in anyone year. The facts he had quoted, he thought, were sufficient explanation of the discontent prevailing on the West Coast. The people there might have no particular objection to the people of Nelson, but they did not like them to the extent of 7000 a-year ; that was an amount which would go a great way to improve roads on the West Coast. If these Estimates were passed, they need not be surprised if the people on the West Coast should be more than ever desirous of separating from the Blind Bay portion of Nelson.

The Provincial Treasurer after some introductory observations said, Mr Kynnersley had made his statement in what he believed to be a fair spirit, but still there were a few unintentional errors he believed, which, when all were taken into account, made a considerable difference in the result of his calculation. Admitting that nearly three-fourths of the revenue came from the West Coast, it teas clear that threefourths of the general charges of the Government should be debited to it. Mr Kynnersley credited the goldfields with about £I3OO to excess of the revenue estimated to be received from them. In the Capitation Allowance there was credited probably about £2OO too much In the Land Eevenue the figures were about £SOO in error. The Capitation Allowance did not depend on the Customs Eevenue, which all went to the General Government, and did not come back in such a stream as it ought to do. Efforts had been made to obtain a special allowance for the Province, on account of the large proportion of adult population contributing to the Customs duties far beyond the average of the Colony ; but, although the County of Westland had obtained such allowance it was not granted to Nelson. There was a total amount of £II,OOO, but of this sum there was a balance of £1095 for grants for public works, which was •still unpaid by the General Government, although the works themselves had long since been executed, so that the total of the Capitation Fund was reduced to about £IO,OOO. The hon. member had credited the Goldfields with £IOO for auctioneers' licenses ; but receipts for all licenses on the goldfields were included in the Goldfields Eevenue already estimated. In Miscellaneous, where Mr Kynnersley estimated £SOO, there were no receipts under the head all such being also included under the head of Goldfields Eevenue. These sums made up the £I3OO of excess referred to. Then mider expenditure, as three-fourths of the receipts and expenditure belonged to the West Coast, and more than that proportion of labour, a similar proportion of the general charges of Government should be debited to the Coast, adding £SOO to Mr Kynnersley's estimate. The Provincial Engineer was occupied for more than threefourths of his time there, and for part of his time the Superintendent of Works was employed on the goldfields districts, and for that nothing had been allowed. For surveys on the West Coast out of £3OOO Mr Kynnersley had allowed only £2500, but at least £250 ought to be added to his estimate, and th s, with other small additions under this head, would make up another £SOO. Under Gaols, the proportion to Nelson gaol was small, but he would not cavil at trifling differences. Under the head of Police, he had under-estimated the proportion chargeable to the West Coast by some-, thing like £2OO. A small portion of the Nelson Harbor-master's salary might fairly be charged, as he had general superintendence of harbors all over the Province ; and an additional , portion of the Provincial Council salaries should be debited to the Coast. Taking Nelson Hospital, Lunatic Asylum, and Maintenance of Destitute Poor, together, he did not feel disposed to dispute the proportions allotted, though as to the Lunatic Asylum, it was clearly below what was just. For Schools, the proportion was under estimated by at least. £4OO. Insurance and other items were also under-estimated, and especially General Contingencies, which were expended for the General Government of the Province. Then there were repairs on Government buildings, Hospital buildings, and Lunatic Asylum, which Mr Kynnersley declared he had estimated on the basis of a speedy separation, but which be (the Provincial Treasurer) treated as Provincial property, as such a Btate of thing might never occur. Other additions that could fairly be made to the West Coast charges produced a total of at least £2200 of West Coast expenditure to add to Mr Kynnersley's estimate ; and if to this £2200 were added the £I3OO of revenue claimed in excess for the West Coast, this would give a sum of £3500 in error, which, taken from the one side and placed on the other exactly extinguished the supposed: injustice of £7OOO. He concluded by stating that the Executive were between two fires. On the one hand, they had cut down sums in a manner such as they were never before cut down—the Eoad Boards, for example; and they had cut down Public Works in the settled districts, in order to give a fair and just share to the West Coast; and, looking at the estimates, he asked have we not dealt even-handed justice between the two sides? Tho reply ! he believed, is we have ; but no more ; than justice. i The- Council then went into Coin- ) mittce on th.eosdmate3, a considerable i portion of which passed through un11 altered.

Districts. G'flelds. Total. Executive... £1055 £1055 £2110 Land and public works ... 14003200 5300 Justice ... 150 3937 4087 Gaols 681 1983 2664 Police 2336 5031 7067 Harbors ... 1330 1126 2456 Scab 775 . . 775 Provincial Council 175 175 350 Charitable 2420 5840 8330 Education... 7280 1000 8280 Miscellaneous 2687 2175 4862 Public Works 4,825 200 5025 Road Boards 2325 . 2325 Public Works S.W. Goldfields* and Brunner Coalmine 3036 3038 . £27,509 £56,783 £84,292 Eevenne . 20,700 64,300