The Waikato Times TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1879. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume XIII, Issue 1154, 18 November 1879, Page 2

The Waikato Times

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1879. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political. Here shall 4 the Press the People's right maintain, . Unawed by influenoa and tmbribed by gain.

sum than £911,958 to be provider! for m some way. The estimated expenditure is £4,105,858, and the ertimatel revenue £3,193.900. Major Atkinson, m vofereuc« to the- RpMtion, says : — " We hope, moreover, by careful administration, to be able, after further experience, to effect considerable inductions ; but upon tlv.s point it is impossible to do more than promise that we will use our best endeavors to confine the expenditure within the narrowest limits consistent with efficiency m the public service. Wo shall u'so during the recess carefully examine into the present organisation of the oiril service, and see how far, by the combination of necessary offices, and the abolition of unnecessary ones, the deficit may be covered.?' The revenue returns for the last four months, says the Treasurer will not warrant the hope that the estimated revenue may turn ont to be below the mark, nor can an ino'rease m the land sale returns be expected till the price of money falls, and that depends npon a Sfood harvest being secured. The great falling off is of corns© to be attributed to the decrease of land salos, revenue from taxation indeed was shown to be steadily increasing. Referring- to land revenue, he says :— " Should we continue to treat land sale receipts as income, and were we content to sacrifice the future settlement of the country for the sake of temporary adjustment of finance, the deficit to which I have drawn attention would not, with our large area of unsold lands, be for some years to come of a permanent character. So long, .however, as we do so treat these receipts we cannot disguise from ourselves that there will be years of depression, and that we shall be subject to large deficits which it will be difficult to provide for without adding from time to time to our permanent indebetcdneas. In other words we shall have an uncertain and therefore an unsatisfactory finance and shall be combining the objectional practice ot relying upon what is really our capital for ordi nary expenditure, instead of providing for such expenditure as ought to be met out of legitimate income. If on the other hand we should determine that the receipts from land sales are not income and shall not m future be so treated, then it is clear that there is a permanent deficit of £800,000 to £900,000 a year upon our present expenditure, and income." Major Atkinson then weno into the question of the public debt ; stating it to be £23,000,000 and that it would be £28,802,000 when the loan is raised. Of the loan, however, a sum of £3,300,000 had been already anticipated. He prooosed that the land fund for the | future should be scrupulously applied to the expenses of surveys of land, and then to promote public works general and local, and not be absorbed into the general revenue. I A matter which will be learned with great regret is that local, subsidies will have to be discontinued. When every possible increase of taxes is resorted to there will still remain some &51 5,000 to be provided for. Increased customs and property tax and the absorption of the sinking fund into the consolidated revenue will, however, he thinks, equalise the revenue and expenditure. Every encouragement will be given to foster local industries. Many articles necessary to assist local manufacturers will be admitted duijy free. The duty on tea and sugar, we learn, is not to be reimposed, and timber, wheat, and floor aDd 1 all articles will be charged I advalorem. The duty on spirits J will be raised 2s per gallon, and tobacco will be further taxed Is pnr Ib. The total, amount thus raised is estimated to bring up tb.6 revenue by the sum of £300,000 or .even more. Carriage and sad-dle-makers' materials are to be introduced duty free, and light dues are to be abolished on all local shipping. Succession duties will be increased by a graduated tax. The financial year will end on March 31st, and merns will be taken to help local bodies m place of subsidies. Respecting the floating of the loan, the Treasurer says:—" The Government have, reason to believe that not more than £3,000,000 of the £5i000,000 loan can be floated this year, and that it will be twelve months before we can place the other £2,000,000, and that we can not go upon the London market for two years afterwards. These facts will render the exercise of the utmost prudence ncessary on Uie expenditure of the balance of the loan yet available for appropriation by Parliament. This question will be fully treated by the Hon. the Minister for Public Works, when he makes Jus public statement."

We received the Financial Statement of the Colonial Treasurer too late last night, and it was fai too lengthy to admit of tho attempt being made to publish it m to-day's issue. AYe have therefore adopted the expedient of giving a resume of its more salient points. The view taken by the Colonial Treasurer is not one whit more reassuring than when he addressed the House a month agb, nay even less so, for he confirms the fact to which he referred, that, starting with a deficiency from the previous year of £131,824, the deficiency of this year is no less a