5

B.—l

strong finance, I think it is best to place the position candidly before you. Our resources may be stated thus : — £ Eeceipts for past year... ... ... ... ... 4,796,000 Deduct land-and income-tax ... ... ... £377,500 Deduct sinking fund debentures ... ... ... 70,300 447,800 £4,348,200 A moiety of £4,348,200 is, say ... ... ... ... 2,174,000 To this may be added the unappropriated balance of the surplus ... 90,000 Sinking fund debentures to be issued ... ... ... 73,000 Additional estimated receipts for two weeks ... ... 167,000 Making a total of estimated receipts ... ... ... 2,504,000 Estimated expenditure (as above)... ... ... ... 2,441,000 Leaving an excess of receipts ... ... ... ... £63,000 I have put these figures before you so as to show you that there is no uncertainty as to the finances being amply sufficient to meet requirements until Parliament is again in session. I must, at the same time, state that the first half of the year is very much the worst half so far as the revenue is concerned : on the other hand, the expenditure is scarcely likely to reach the figures quoted. Members will notice that I have included a sum of £73,000 for sinking fund debentures to be issued during this current year; but lam carefully considering whether the time has not arrived, as the finances of the colony appear to be able to bear it, to dispense altogether with the issue of debentures against the accretions of sinking fund derived from the Loans to Local Bodies. Probably, next session I shall ask you to have the law amended in this direction. I hope that in placing before the House this memorandum and accompanying tables honourable members will recognise the difficulties there are in the way of giving the necessary information in a more complete form. I trust, however, that I have sufficiently demonstrated that there is no cause whatever for any anxiety in respect to the financial position of the colony.

2—B. 1.