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advice that the necessary authority has been issued on this side. It would probably have been completed before now, but for the interruption to cable communication. It was provided last year, by " The Immigration and Public Works Appropriation Act,lß7s,"that the unexpended balances of the Immigrationand Public Works Loans and the General Purposes Loan of 1873, should be combined in one account, to be called the Public Works Account; and from the Ways and Means so provided, the expenditure authorized by the Immigration and Public Works Appropriation Act was to be made. I will proceed to state, under their several heads, the amount which it is estimated will have been received into the account during the current year, the sums appropriated, and the amount expended in resnect of those appropriations up to the 30th of June, the probable balance in hand on that date, and the amount of Ways and Means derivable from further sales of debentures issuable under the Loans referred to, and from miscellaneons items recoverable for credit of the account. If honorable members will turn to Table G- accompanying the Financial Statement made by my honorable colleague last Session, they will find the credit balances of the Immigration and Public Works and General Purposes Loans set down as £2,187,088 11s. Bd. and £67,062 Bs. 4d. respectively. These sums added together make a total of £2,254,151, from which I will deduct £1,050,000, the amount of drafts on the Loan Agents outstanding on the 30th of June, 1875 (which drafts, I may state in passing, have all been retired), and commence my statement of the Public Works Account with the balance of £1,204,151 then remaining. The receipts of the year consists of— £ s. d. Proceeds of Sales of Debentures in London, being the balance receivable on account of the Pour Million Loan ... 1,387,884 0 0 Part proceeds of Drafts for £175,000 on Loan Agents, London... 40,000 0 0 Proceeds of Sales of Bonds in the Colony ... ... 8,747 0 0 Moiety of Stamp Duties transferred from Revenue... ... 56,187 2 5 Eecoveries on Account of Advances made from Public "Works Account, namely— From Confiscated Lands Account ... ... ... 20,500 0 0 Prom Eailways "Working Account ... ... ... 3,000 0 0 Prom Provinces, for Advances made for Immigrants' Cottages 3,000 0 0 Prom the Province of Otago on Account of Advances made under " The Otago Provincial Public Works Advances Act, 1874 " 5,208 6 8 These several sums add to ... ... ... ... 1,524,526 9 1 But to this total of receipts I will add the nominal value of the unsold Guaranteed Debentures in London, which may be regarded as cash, and upon which advances have been from time to time obtained, as occasion has required ... 800,000 0 0 These receipts aggregate ... ... ... ... 2,324,526 9 1 And added to the balance with which, we commenced the year ... 1,204,151 0 0 Make up a total of ... ... ... ... 3,528,677 9 1 and represent the "Ways and Means for Public Works and Immigration purposes on which we have operated during the year. The expenditure has amounted to £2,984,204 14s. 10d., which is less by £918,021 os. sd. than the amount appropriated for the year by the Public Works Appropriation Act.

Operations on the Publio Works Account:

Ways and Means, with Appropriations and Expenditure under it.