HAMILTON LEGISLATIVE ASSOCIATION. Financial Statement.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2059, 17 September 1885, Page 4

HAMILTON LEGISLATIVE ASSOCIATION. Financial Statement.

[11l Committee of Supply, September l'th, I.VC>. By the hon. the Treasurer.] Mr Ksox • I need not crave the indul genet: of members, because I feel assured th.it they will extend to me that consideia tion which Englishmen are always s»o ready to grant to youth and inexperience. It is no part of my intention to deal with the past financial policy of tho colony, and I shall therefore at once address myself to the expenditure for the current yt\u\ The permanent appropriations art):— Civil list, £29,750; interest and sinking fund, £1,1i07,.573 ; under special acts, £102,484 ; t"t.vl, t1,500,107. The annual appiopiutions, as estimated by tho officials at Wellington amount to £2,182,021>, making 1 a guild toUl of ordinary expenditure of £3,1)72,133. We calculate upon effecting considerable reductions in these estimates. As hon. memberi are already aware we piu pose inducing the number of members of the House or .Representatives to ">O, which will gi\e usa saving of £'J4tO. The abolition of the payment of members of the Uppm H>>\iso will pri>duce a- further i.iung of £11,310. The abolition ot the civil process for tho recovery of small debt-, will, I cstitn ite, result in a suing of Wt.OOOin the Justice Department. The remission of mdiiect taxation will, by reducing the work of the department enable us to economise to the extent of £(5874 ; our savings thus amount to the respect able total of 1'd2,70"4. We pmpose remitting £'415,310 in customs duties and «urrendeiing the property tax at a cost of t'14"),350. Our remission* of taxation amount therefoie to £">(io,<> ( )o. To meet this deficiency we purpose nnpos ing an income tax (without exemption) of Id in the £. At this rate eveiy million will produce an income ta>c of £l(5,lil!li. The estimates of the savings to be effected by reduction"! in the Customs and Justice Departments are very moderate. Liw officers of the Crown, including public pi osecuton, will be required to undeitake the whole of the business of the Crow n before the com ts of the colony. Although the salanes of these offices w iil necessarily have to Ik? increased, I anticipate that the amount «o required will fall far shoit of that saved by discontinuing the present im satisfactory practice of paying ont-uleis foi doing the work. KxceptionaT cases will, of course, have to be met as they arise, but the stricte«t economy will be exercised in thi-> as in all other departments of the (Jo vernment. The substantial decrease in the w oik now devolving upon Customs ofhcei? by the remission of duties on such items as appuel, which have necessitated the em ployment of a largo army of expeits as valuators, will enable us to effect large swings, which I have only moderately estimated at some £6,000. Tho reductions effected in the permanent charges for members of the Legislature involve the question of tho re-organisation of tho representative system, and cannot, therefore, be f.iiily dealt with except on a direct proposal foi such chinges. It would be but political sophistry to deal with a subject in which our deepest constitutional interests are wrapped upas a baie question of £ s. d We have now shown how we believe it possible to effect a saving in the expendi ture without impaiiing the efficiency of the Public Service. The total ordinary pxpindituie estimated for the yeai is 1'3,!*72,133, and the amount which, in the shape of savings, may s.ifely be depended on is £02,7»'4, leaving a balance, which represents the ordinary ex penditure, of, roughly, £3,910,000 1 now come tothe question of ways and means. The actual revenue of the colony for the year ending 31st March last was £3,817,1i>1, of which Customs realised £1, 111, 102, and the Property Tax, at 4d in the t, £14">,:W0. Tho balance, to which I do not consider it neces soiy to icfer in detail, is chiefly undo up of railway, stamps, land and sinking fund Although I do not in this statement pio pose any change in tho railway admmistra tion, the ( tovcrnment have under considera tion a scheme for working the lines more in the interests of the peoplo at large, and with a prospect of increased revenue. This they have reason to believe can be best effected by moans of a well judged system of leasing tho railways in groups. As 1 have already indicated, measures will bo laid befoie you almost immediately, having for then object the more profitable utilisation of the public estate, by which the settle ment of the country will be encouraged, the revenue incieased, and a propoitionate reduction made in the individual burden of taxation. Having indicated the "savings ie-,ultmg from our proposed reductions in ta\ ition, f now an ive at that p >mt when I must consider what reductions are fair and at the same time practicable. We purpose abolishing tho duties on what may broidly be termed the necessaries of life. If I refrain fiom going into details, it is because I «smi me it to be the function of this asso cmtion to deal latlier with the principles than the particulars of policy. Wo purpose remitting the entue duty on wearing apparel, &c, amounting last year to £254,f>00 ; upon sugar, £110,458, and upon metal-work £50,3")2. This gives a total of £41'),310. We purpose also abolishing the Propei ty Tax, £145.380, which figures represent the actual receipts for tho yeir ending 31st March last. The grand total remissions of taxation amounts to £"IJ0,(>!)0. Deducting from this the amount of estimated saving*, £(52,704, wo have left as the total deficiency £4!17,!'2(», or say, m round numtarH half a million. We propose meeting this deficiency by the imposition of a tax upon all incomes without exemption. ]>,ismg our calculations upon an estimated annual incomo of £30,000,000, wo find that a Id in tho £ will return £125,000, ho that a fix of Id in the £ will junt balance the account. The Government are opposed to the too common practice of creating a large rim plus, as they object to taking out of the ])(» kets of the taxpayer more than the service of the country absolutely requires. At the same time, I think it nece*«ary to add that our estimates are no studiously moderate that we have sound reason for be lievinjr that at the end of the year the receipts will show a substantial margin over tho f><cpcnditiiic. I have not thought it neres^ary to refer to the Public Works expenditure as our intentions have been .so largely anticipated in an othei place. I have thus briefly, and as clearly as lies in my power, epitomised the financial proposals of the Government, and it now only remains for me to thank the committee for the courteous attention members have shown mo in this my maiden effort, and to ask their careful eon mderation of the policy I have enunciated I have the honour to move the following re solutions. (1.) That tho duties on apparel, ke , •ugar and metal work be remitted. (2.) That the property tax- be abolished. (3.) That an income tax of Id in the £ be mposed upon all incomes without exemption.

A " window cleaning company" has been orginised in London. 'I KB Lost E\n,oKhu Lbi< ifakdt. — Onci- more the oft-repeated rumour is re vived in Queensland (saya .1 contempoiary) that the ill-fated Dr. Letclnrdt, who left Macl'herson's Station, on the Cogoon River, on April 4, 1848, bound for Western Australia, and whose subsequent f.ito has never since been iin\tiled, i 1!i 1 ! still living, a prisoner amongst the natives. The story is being now circulated from the Macarthur River that a short time ago Mr Lynett, who is manag ing the cattle station of Messrs Amos brothers and Broads on the Macaithur River, whilst out on a trip, accompanird by a party of six Europpnns, suddenly came upon a party of blacks on tinrange up the Macarthur River, and ■with them the whole of the part} distinctly saw * very old white man, who on tho party calling out made a movement as if to come towards them, but was immediately blocked by several ltibrai, who caught hold of him and diat?c<*d him out of stght amongst the rocks in the ranges. The party had been out some time, and were not in a fit con dition to prosecute a search, but on retaining to the station enquiries were inadu of a lubra who Ind hern stolen from .i neighbouring tribe by the Mac arthur blacks, who had kept her long enough to acquire their lang.iage, and to be thoroughly conversant with their haunts. She aeserts that a white fellow, very old and partially blind, has been living with the Macarthnr niggers for a long time. This affair has set nfoplc wondering if this unfortunate miii ,^in m way way bo connected with Lcichardt'.s paity. Wi npriPVP that if every one would use American Co> Hop Hitters freely there would he much lew sickn^M and misery in the world, and people arc tast finding it out, wliolf families keeping well at a trifling cost by iM use. Wo advise all to try it. Read.