The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 1891. THE MIDDLE PARTY.

How fortunatt in the country which can command the political services of Mr George Fisher. This eminent gentleman gravely informed Parlia ment that he had been busy preparing a policy of his own— ergo, he.had been unable to give a thought to the matters which it was well-known had engaged the attention of the Ministry, and would be the subject of their legislative proposals during the session. Mr Fisher had plenty to show for the time he had devoted to the affairs of the country. In fact he was quite prepared with a Budget of his own, and brought it down at the very earliest opportunity, at the first busi ness sitting of the session. The pro posals which it embraced were delight fully simple. They consisted of the remission of Customs duties upon tea, sugar, and coffee, and articles of general consumption, and the raising of revenue by the taxation of musical instruments, vehicles, and luxuries. This, he thought, ought to be in accord with the Liberal policy, because the Premier had laid down in 1887 a .Liberal platform in which one oi the chief planks was to be the removal of the duties upon tea and sugar. Tiie proposals, we grieve to say, fell flat upon the unsympathetic House. The Premier did wisely in not treating the niatterseriously. He acknowledged the assistance which he affected to believe tho member for Wellington desired to render the Government in devising a satisfactory fiscal policy, and then he went on to demonstrate how un fortunate it was that the Government COuW oot benefit |by these kind ;ji»ten-

I tions, as it was perfectly evident the hon. member did not know anything of the subject witli which he was propos ing to deal. The amount of revenue which he asked the Government to part with was £263,864.. The total value of the importations of the " luxuries " specified was £55,000, and in order to raise the required sum through them it would be necessary to impose upon them duties of 100 per cent., while the cause of local industiy would not be advanced. These few figures, quietly quoted, served to show the utter nonsense of what Mr Fisher had gravely propounded as a policy calculated to effect fi-eal and social regeneration for the colony, and the laugh was fairly turned on the amateur financier when it was pointed out how inconsistent his proposals were with the policy he had himself been a party to when in office It is sad that so marked a capacity for government as that evinced by Mr Fisher should be so scorned, but it is the way of the .vorld. The country, however, knows now that it has a man who is confident in his ability to direct the affairs of a great nation, and will know to whom to turn when all other advisers fail.

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The speech from the throne has met with very general journalistic approval. The Governor has been pleased to appoin* Mr Alexander Harvey to be a member of the Licensing Committee for the Mount Soiner* 3 district vice Me E. A. Poache, J.P., re signed. : In the Supreme Court, Oliristchurcli, in Banco, the case of the Bank of Australasia v official assignee re YV. de B. Wilson, Mr ! Juftice Dennisou delivered judgment allow ing the appeal with ten guineas costs. Notice of appeal was given, j Two young men, natred* Joseph Mcynell and William James, were on Monday, at Christchurch, committed for trial on a charge of assaulting Richard Brown, of Flaxton, and [robbing him of a watch and other articles and £4 2s 6d, in Madras street south, early on Saturday morning. The case occupied two hours and a half in hearing. The Ketch Huon Belle, commanded by Ciptain Neilson, and owned by Mr ,7. Sims, of Kaiapoi, and laden with timber, was stranded on the North Spit of the Wanna kariri bar on Sunday morning. The vessel missed stiya owing to ihe Avind failing. The deck cargo has been jettisoned. At latest accounts is wa- hoped that the vessel and the remainder of the cargo would be saved. No insurances we known of. The crew are all safe. In tha course of a trial at Brisbane in which the question of the prisoner's sanity was raised, Mr Justice Bundcy said that with the advancement of the age the time was not far distant when a tribunal of specially skilled men would be formed to decide th« sanity or otherwise of criminals, and that on such criminals being found to be insane, they would be kept apart from their fellows, not as criminals, but as a class not allowed to marry or propagate. The members of the Dunediu City Council are indignant at the auditor declining to pas? an item of £s^l9s, for refreshments for members while making the annual inspection of the Sil trerstrcam water lace. Some of the councillors at Monday's meeting, thought it would be more dignified to put their hands in their pockets and pay the money, while others thought they should assert the principle that their expenses while doing corporation business should bo paid. No thing, however, was done in the matter. The proposition of the Government to tax the totalisator ;'» causing smne consternation among Racing Clubs. The Committee of the Canterbury Jockey <CUtb will probably withhold the programme for nnxc season's racing until the intensions of the Government with regard to the totalisator are known. A tax of sixpence on each ticket would be equal to 28 to 33 per cent upon the Clubs' income from the totalisator, or would fall directly upon the public by being deducted from the dividends, in addition to the present ten per cent deduction. In the commercial columns of the Mel bourne " Argus "of June 4 appears the following important item for farmers :—ln connection with our recent report that Algerian oats were being brought for milling purposes, it is to be noted that recently the machinery has been adapted to this descrip tion, which will therefore largely take the place of New Zealand oats. Tlic matter is of much importance to farmers, the con sumption of Algerian oats being widened. It is csssntiiil however, that the supplies be free from any admixture of drake. At Dunedin on Monday a worn -in named Agnes Sealey was lined i"5 and costs, for travelling in a first-class carriage from Christchurch to Dnnedin on May 21 without having previously paid the proper fare, and with intent to evade payment of the same. The prosecuting solicitor explained that "privilege" tickets we<*e issued by the department in favor of employees who desired a member of their family to travel. In this case an employee had received a ticket nominally for his wife, but it had been used bj accused, who was a woman of the town The employee had been dismissed the service. A meeting was held in the Temperance Hall in Sydney recently for the purpose oi forming a union of "all ladies engaged in hotel and catering occupations." Mr H. Sharp, president of the Trades and Labour Council, occupied the chair, and explained that this union, with the high>sounding name, was being formed to benefit the waitresses and barmaids of the city. About 50 named were enrolled, and the newly made members have already commenced to discuss their grievances, and consider whether it would not bo a useful tiling to strike. The right of advertising at the railway stations cf Victoria has just been let for a period of seven' years. The Spencer street station and the stations on all the lines leading out of Spencer street were let to Messrs Levi and Sons at the rate of £7377 1 "»3 per annum, and the Prince's bridge and Flinders streetstationsandstatiou on the lines l«xdingoutoffc!iem were let to the Australasian- Advertising C'ompamy at the rate of £7654 3i 2d per annum. * This «iake3 a total sun; of £15,031 18s 2d per annum, whereas the price obtained for the whole of the lines in the expiring contracts was £8500, The Wellington City Council having negatived the proposal to increase the Mayor's salary, the "Post" says that although his Worship is not to gel £100 out of the rates wherewith to entertain the coming municipal visitors, it is to be hoped that civic hospitality will not be withheld from them, or the cost of it thrown on the Mayor alone. The Councillors are bound in honor to assist him. There are twelve of them, and £8 a.pjgoe will do all that could have been accomplished jf the motion had been carried, and do it ihob{ gracefully. Then each Councillor will feel himself a host, and the ratepayers will be proud of the City Fathers, The Wonians Christian Temperance Union has been holding its first intercolonial conven tion in Melbourne. Frauleiu Lopper, a lady who lectures on "Diet," and believes that humanity should live on coffee and stewed apples, threw a bombshell among t!i« ladies by her paper on toa-drinking. In her opinion tea ig, next to alcohol, the greatest master of the huir.a.i will and' dcstVoyer of vitality. There was an animated discussion, but it took two days for the convention to make up its mind, which it did in the following forrij j--" That this- convention desires to place on vtmonl pho fact that its members, while thanking Fi'aulcin j^onpor fer her intcrcscing japcr;, aU(I while 4e;>rec&i'ng (the excessive use of tua, docs not agree with all her sweeping assertions, but regards tea drinking in moderation as not open to condemnation ; and fcis/y to place on ieo ml the fact that all its members do not p*eces«arily agree or adopt every piper r ?ad to them." Amongst the delegatss e'ecifcid to represent the union at a convention to be Jifild in Boston was Mrs Fulton, of New I SJetiland, •

Mark Hassan, an old resident of Auck land, was foand dying in the street at four o'clock Sunday morning. He was oaken into the Fire Brigade Station, but died before a doctor arrived. He was single, with no relatives in the colony ; a Jew and a boot maker by trade. ; "Observer" writes in the Wellington " Press " :—lt is really impossible to account, for your extremely personal and abusive denunciation of the (.lovornment. Your paper has always been renowned for being on the wrong side, and the Government arc to be congratulated for incurring your wrath. At the adjourned meeting of the Christ" church City Licensing Committees all the applications that had been held over were granted. The chairman made severe remarks with regard to Sunday trading, and intimated that the Committee intended to adopt stringent measures to stop it, and advised publicans to accept the caution. Political spite governs everything and everybody in Napier. The "Tories" and " Liberals " are squabbling as to which party a wicked man belongs who tried to buy up the Patey concert tickets and sell them at an advanced price. The attendance at the Borough and Hampstead Schools has greatly improved since Monday. The schools have bsen fumi gated in tli! evening, and the operation will be continued until the scarlatina epidemic is a thing of the past.

PARLIAMENTARY.

(By Telegraph.)

Wellington, June 16. The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. and went into COMMITTEE OJ? SUPPLY. Mr Perceval was voted to the chair for that evening. THE FINANCIAL .STATEMENT The Colonial Treasurer the Hon. Mr Ballance :— Mr Perceval—Tn asking the atten tion of the Committee while I place before it a pbiiu unvarnished statement of the finances of the colony, I hope to be as brief as the nature cf the subject will per mit, and not to weary lion, members by unnecessary detail. THE YEAR 1890-91. (OIiDINARY RE VENUE ACCOUNT.; CONSOLIDATED FUND—EXPENDITURE FOR The estimated expenditure the tot year lSklO SH, including the civil list and other permanent changes, amounted to £4 125,502. Th« actual expenditure was £4,175,108. There were savings in some clashes of the expenditure and excesses in others, bi fc the net i esult shows an excess of expenditure over the estimates of £49,6uti. Details will be fuund in the annual appropriation account, and in the tables attached to this statement. It is unnecessary fur me to analyse and explain in detail these savings and excesses, but the Committee will expect me to at least indicate the larger items comprised in the excess, and to briefly explain their causes. Under special Acts there is an of two meetings of the General As sembly, and the extra amount of compensation pail in carrying out the retrenchment proposals cf the present excess of £19,140, arising out of the cost Government. There was also an excess of £14,059 in the amount paid fco local bodies by way of subsidy on rates, the exp anation in this case being that claims were nore promptly sent in before the closo of the year than wis anticipated. In the Colonial Treasurer's Department there is an excess of £11,107, chiefly for discount on drafts which was not provided for in tho appropriations of the year. This large item was no doubt partly caused by the high average rate of interest ruling in London. In the working of the railways Lhe excess 0f.£27,892 is explained by the 'CuminissLO.iei'S In ;i mum . titbnuhml tv their es imates, and which they suite arose from the mc-isslty of employing ad ditional hands, fr»m the rise in the cost of fuel and stock at tho time of the I recent sVrike, and by increa ed traffic. Under the head of Minister of Defence the expenditure exceedel the votes by £14,712. The Committee will remember that £7000 was taken off these votes in supply, but no saving was effected. Of the excess £i>oo3 was incurred through the labor troubles of last year ; the other incrcus s principally arise from the pay ment for ar.ns and ammunition not suffi ciently provided for in the votes " Ser vices noc provided for" amounted to £10,410. A laryo amount of this repre sents compensation and conipassionace ■ allowance granted to officers and widows of men of the Defence and Police Depart ments which could not bo paid under the provisions of the Civil Service Act. HEVENJE FOR YEAR 1890-91. (crdimry revenue account.) The late Government estimated the revenue to be received at £4,159,000, which included £55,000 for Primage Duty for tho wl.ole year. It will, however, be in the recollection of the Committee that it was determined to discontinue the col lection of Primage Dufcy at the end of last September ; the revised revenue to be received was to be accordingly £4,131,500 instead of £4,159,000 as before stated. The actual amount received was £4,282,504, or £151,004 in excess of the revised estimate. With the exception of revenue derived from the depasturing licenses and rents all the heafts of revenue have been exceeded. Full particular.-; will be foun;l in the table attached. EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE Of LAND J?U> TD ACCOUNTS. The estimated expenditure was £115,689 ; tho actual figures are £110,108, or £419 in excess of the estimate. The estimated revenue was £90,600, while the actual receipts came to £164,270 or $67,670 in excess of the estimate. Large quantities of land ia the Canterbury dis trict were sold for cash ; but the lands available for disposed in this way have been nearly exhausted, and even were the policy of wholesale disposal for cash justifiable^ would be impossible to obtain the same amount of revenue from this district again. As a.: illustration of what I mean, the value of land sold for cash in Canterbury last year iv*i £65,9£9, while the estimate for this year is only £4000. The lar^e access of cash receipts during the year provided a balance sufficient to pay off the deficit of £45,710 at the com mencement of the year, ar,d leaves a surplus of £2445 at the close of the year, RESULTS OI? YKAR 1890-91. At the beginning of the year a surplus was shown of £36,568 19s 4d after paying off the balance of the deficit at the 31st of March, 1889, £78,605 0s Bd. As I before stated, the receipts amounted to £4,282,504 9s 7d, making a total of £4,319,073 8s 4tl available for expenditure during the year. The total expenditure amounted to JJ 1,175,107 13s sd» thus leaving a surplus of £143,965 15s 6d on the 31st March last—a result which must be very gratifying to the Committee. fHF, PUBLIC DEBT. j The gposs pubjig debt on 13 Maroh, 1890, was £38,667,950, and tjje sinking funds accrued amounted to £i,3£0>,186, as rjvis.d after tecjipt of the English accounts. The net public debt was, therefore, £37,281,764. On the 31st March last the grogs public debt was £38 832,350, showing an increase of £164,403 during last year. The sinking funds accrued are estimatedat £1,473,193, aifd the not debt therefore stands at £''37,5't)9,1&7f During the year the following transactions Jjave taken place ■ irrespective of the conversion operations, j to which I shnll presently refer •.-^De bentures for £144,000 of the Consolidated Stock Act, 1884, were redeemed out of Lhe sinking fund of the Consolidated Loan, 1f67, set jfree, and £47,000 of cfeben,tu,res of thelasb named loap, drawn

in 1890, were redeemed out of the sinking funds of the same loan. £7000 of debentures issued under the New Zea land State Forests Act, 1885, have been paid off out of revenue accrued, leaving only£100»f these debentures outstanding. On the other hand debenturea were issued for £288,000 under Consolidated Stock Act, 1882, representing the estimated equivalent of the increase of the sinking fund for the year. There lias alt>o been an additional issue of £75,000 under the Government Loans to Local Bodies Act 1886. It will be noticed that I hare made no mention of the £154,800 debentures under the .Now Zealand Loan Act, 1863, which became* clue on March 15 last, t have left the amount in the public debt table because a complete account of the operations connected with the con version, including those debentures, has n.jt yet been received from the stock I agents. If they were struck off their equivalent in 3|r per cent, stocks woul 1 require to be shown. Therefore, as full information has not yet reached me^ I have judged it best to let the old deben tures remain, bub, of cour.se, the Com-, mittee will understand that all the uncon i verted portion of the loan due on March 15 was duly provided for at the time. Hon. members will have noticed that large parcels of debentures are falling due during the current year. Those of the Joans of 1860 and 1863 are included in the conversion operations, and will be duly provided for by the conversion of such debentures as are sent, in, and by the creation of 3i per cent, stock to pay off balance. As to the debentures issued tinder- the Public Revenues Act, 1886, amounting to £150,000, falling due on the 10th October next, the Government pro pose to ask Parliament to amend the schedule to the Consolidated Stock .ict, 1884, so as to include these debentures in its provisions. .As regards the short dated debentures issued under that Act, due on the 18th November next, amount ing to £1,314,084, the sum of £156,600 has since the close of the financial year been written off the public debt by the application of the sinking funds set free •it the last drawing of consols in London. The balance unredeemed will be renewed for a brief term under the previsions of the A. t. THE PRESENT CONVERSION OPERATIONS. Papers will be laid before Hon. members showing what has been donft and what is contemplated. With reaped to conversion of remaining portion of our high interest-bearing loams, amounting to £868,900, the debentures surrendered for the conversion of the loan 1863, due on the 15th March last, had to be de posited at the Bank of England not later than 14th March; and all other de bentures on or before the. 15th June next. The Government have reserved the right to convert into 3^ per cent in scribed stock (with the assent of holders), aU debentures not brought in for con version on terms to be notified from time to time at the Bank of England. The stock agents have been able to make exceedingly satisfactory arrangements with the Bank of England whereby the success of the conversion will be assured, and 1 need suiroelv point out the saving which will be effected. I take this oppor tunity of recognising the eminent ser vices of the stock agents, particularly in the difficult negotiations respecting this conversion business, for which I think they desire the thanks of the colony. 1 am indebted to the assistant controller an I auditor for an interesting and ex ceedingly valuable statement of our con version operations since the passing of the New Zealand Consolidated (Stock i*ct, 1877, which I append to this state ment. I'CnUO WORKS FUiSII.S. Part I.—The halaixo at credit of this acjount on I'.Ltsb March, 1890, including ;m a«sot of £87.974 Is .">d under the '"•tivcrnmont Loans to Local Bodies Act, 1886, was £233,675 lls 10,1. Duri'U' the year it- became necessary to issue £25,000 of debentures on account of the asset above mentioned Some miscellaneous recoveries were also received, amounting to £5781 4s Bd. The expenditure dur-ing the year amounted to £128,810 18s 9d, thus leaving at the close of the year an available baltnce of £110,645 17s 9d. The outstanding liabilities are returned at £96,608 3s 10J. PART 2.—NORTH IHSLAXI* MAIN TRUNK RAILWAY LOAN. The balance to commence the year was £386,985 9.-.. The expenditure dui'ing the y^ar amounted to £30,878 9s, thus leaving an unexpended balance of £356,107, subject to £44,992 19s : . for outstanding liabilities. The allocations of this balance are as follows : —For railway purposes £232,424; for roads to give access to railway, £34,052 ; purchase of Native land, £83,831. The liabilities against the railway amount to £26,103, and against roads to £18,799. Part3.—At the beginning of the year the balance was £4.16,80515s 4d. During the year the expenditure amounted to £175,4(12 7s 64- The balance at the close of the year was 4X51,343 7s !Qd, and the outstanding liabilities £98,875 19.s 3d. Taking the three parts together the avail able balance at the beginning of the year was £1,047,466 16s 2d, which was in creased to £1,053,248 o.s 10J by some small receipts. The expenditure during the year amounted to £335,751 15s 3d, and the available balance at the close of the year to £7J8.096 os 7d. The out standing liabilities on the 31st March last are stated at £240,387 2s Id. The fol lowing are the particulars of the unex pended balance :—Cash in the Public Account, £72,911 10.s 9d ; cash on fixed deposit in London, £30,000 9.s ; in the hands of officers of the Government, £33,59013s 7d. Temporary investments— Guaranteed debentures of the loan of 1879 £246,000 ; Westport Harbor Board de bentures, £127,000 ; Greymoulh Harbor Board debentures, £5000; Government Loans to Local Bodies Act debentures £75,000; 3|~ poi 1 cent inscribed stock, £65,620 9s ; total temporary investments, t'655,122 4s 4d ; available under section 31 of the Government Loans to Local Bodies Act, 1886, £62,974 Is 3d ; total, £718,096, jja 7d. I may inform the Com mittee that the available cash of the Public VVorkj Fund has during the past financial year been used' to purchase further debentures issued by the West port Harbor Board to the amount of £71,000, This Board has Parliamentary powers to issue debentures to the amount of £500,000, and has availed itself of the law to the extent of £150,000 raised in London, and guaranteed by the colony, and £171,000 raised in New Zealand. The revenue derived by the Board, after paying working expenses and providing for interest and sinking fund on the borrowed money, yields a fair margin which is expended on improve ments, It is the opinion of the Govern- I ment that the works for which the money in being found are of a substantial and valuable character, and so long as the Government consider 1 that the expendi ture is being pinlentjy conducted »*id the Hunt allowed by law is not exceeded, tljey deem it their duty lo'assist as far as possible by^royiding teiupgrary advances, pending fche sale of the debentures'in jtlie open market, With reference to Civey? mouth Harbor Board, I nifty remark fch'at when the present Government took office they found unauthorised expenditure amounting to £11,953 for advances made to this Board. The Board, havins ex ceeded the limits of its borrowing powers amounting to £150,000 under the Grey mouth Harbor Board Act, 1874, has: represented to tlie Government from time to'tiino iis urgent necessity to carry on its work of considerable importance for the improvement of the harbor. The proposed works having been favorably reported on by our engineers, the Gtovera-'

ment have continued to advance the j necessary funds, retaining the Board's revenues derived from the mineral trajflc and land endowment in reduction of the sums advanced. The net amount now outstanding against the Greymouth Harbor Board is" £10,354. As it will be absolutely necessary to carry on the workb already begun to a successful completion, further borrowing powers will requite to be obtained by the Board, A Bill for the purpose will be introduced to raise an additional sum for the prosecu tion of necessary and urgent improvements in the harbor. Under Suction 9of the Con solidated Loan Act, 1884, it is enacted that aftor'the redeeming of such debentures as uiaj have been issued on accountof increases in the sinking fund of the loar in re.speet of which the sinking fund has been sot free, the balance of such sinking fund shall be paid into the public recount, and shall form part of the Public Wcrks fund Until the loans of 18(10 and 1833, falling due this year, have been fully converted or paid off (the last parcel of the loan of 1863 is not clue until the 15th December next), it is impossible to estimate with any ceitainty the amount of sinking fund accretions which will be payable into the Public Works fund. I may, however, state that the loans having sinking funds which mature during the year, amount to £491,100, and that debentures amounting to £178925 issued in respect of the accre tion of the sinking funds of these loans are now outstanding. It is fair to assume that the accumulated sinking funds willat least equal in amount the loans for which they were created. We may therafore safely.,calculate upon receiving more than £300,000 into the Public Works fund without taking into consideration the profit derived from the sale above par of the finking fund securities, which have been mainly invested in our four per cent inscribed stock, I propose later on to show how £100,000 of this amount may be specially applied to discharge an obligation, thus leaving a balance of £200,000 this year available for public works, the appropriation of which will be fully explained by my colleague in his statement. It will show that we have | notestimaled for receiving a-largeramount of released Sinking Fund from the con version operations than will be actually available in the present year, but if the operations extend to loans falling due in future years, the sum receivable will be proportionately increased. Of course, in sUting these figures, honourable members will understand that the con version scheme embraces the substitution of 3J per cent inscribed stock for the un converted portions of the loans aa they fall due, whereby the whole of the ac cumulations of Sinking Fund are set free, and become available under the provisions of the Consolidated Stock Act, 1884. GOVERNMENT LOANS TO LOCAL BODIES. There has been £300.000 borrowed up to the'3lst March last, for the purpose of making loans under the Government Loan? to Local Bodies Act, 1886, and £25,000 for the purpose of tiansfei to the Public Works Fund, in part realisation of the assets of £87,974 Is 3d of the fund, : payable under section 31 of the Act, in respect of converted debentures originally issued. Under ihe Roads and Bridges Construction Act, 1882, up to the 31st March, 1890, £248,20) has been paid over to loeil bo.Ues, and during the past year £47.164 has been further advanced, making a total of £295,364 paid over to the 31sb March last year, 10-iving a b dance of £4636 available. The engagements of the Treasury in respect of these loans amounted on the 31st March last to £41,018, and further applications had been rec4'- rad for £3,3,538, which hud been granted provisionally at the l^t February, 1891. Th.) amount of debts standing inscribed in the Treasury .register* including the equivalent of the converted debentures of the Roads and Bridges Co i (ruction Ac, 18*2, was £380,403. Between the first February and the3lsl March' la^t fiuihoi* payments to the amount of £10,^35 have been made The.se with interest thereon will be added co'the registered debt in February next The Accprovides (section 4) that an annual appropriation fitr ;i sinking fund shall be made, but nothing has been done up to the present in this direction. I have, however, determined tint J per cent per annum, including arrears from the Ist February, 1888, s' all be sot aside for the purpose of providing a sinking fund to comply with the terms <>f tho Act, and I have accordingly placed ujvm the esti mates a sum Huiiioient to ever arrears, and for the current yoar. c< )nsoli i »at rj) fo d. ordinary kevejsue account, expendi ture for the yeah kndinu ma*ch 31, 1892. I have had very careful estimates pre pared, and they will presently be laid before you. The expenditure as pro posed will be found to amount to £4,155,105 Under the head of Interest arid Sinking Fund there is an increase of £34,687, mainly arising from an abate ment last year of £15,750 from the amount payable on the new 3i per cent inscribed stock on account of overlap of interest on the. 10/40 debentures paid off A new item of £§856 has been provided for sinking fund at J per <asnt on the amount borrowed under the Government Loans to Local Bodies Act, 1886, in order to carry out the provisions of the Act. The appropriations are increased also under tho head Special Acts. For the first time we have had to provide a sum of £21,000 for payment of our contribu tion towards the maintenance of the Australian Naval Squadron. An in creased sum of £8000 provided for com pensation under the Civil Service Act, while £B,OQ lv-is ilso b,een adefed for pay ment of subsidies, based upon actual payments made last year. Coining to annual appropriations it will be found that, excluding working rail ways, very substantial reductions have been effected in the ordinary [departmen tal expenditure. Piovision, however, has had to bo made for exceptional services, such as the census, £125,000; for the trien nial property tax assessment, £13,000; and for discount on our remittances to Loirlon, £3500, the act of provision for winch last year caused the Treasury vote to be overdrawn. Notwithstanding this extraordinary vote, the estimates of ex penditure for 1891-92 is £45,303 less than the expenditure of 189.0-91. It is neces sary td refer specify to the small amount estimated for cost of remitting money, to London, £3500, compared wjxh the amount spent last year in' the same ifcein, namely, L 12.435. I have entered into arrangement with the Banks under which bills at ninety days instead of 120 will be issued-at par on London, The effect of this arrangement if it had beon in op eration on our finance last year would have been a saving, the Treasury has cal cul-ited, of upwards of L4OOO, and if other things are equal of cour.se there will be a similar saving this year. EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE OF LAND FUND ACCOUNT. The estimated expenditure for the current year amounts to £116,956, whereas last year provision was made for £115,680. Although the present estimated expendi ture slightly ape'eds the amount voted last ye'i.L' (arising out of tlio necessity for employing additional surveyors* and charging of .salar-io* heretofore paid out of loan), VQi-y (jonsider-able s,avjng has been effected by the amalgamation:of the separate departments of Crown lands and surveys. I have not thought it prudent to estimate the revenue for the current year at more than £92,700. Last year it was estimated at £9(5,600, The expes^ of expenditure over revenue tor the current year, according to the above figu.-es, re sults in a deficit of £24,265, reduced to L21.82Q by the surplus of £2445 at the beginning of the year. This deficit I shall deal with further on,

ORDINARY REVENUE OF THE YEAR 189i;92. ' After direful consideration, I estimate that our ordinary) revenue receipts will fimountJto £'3,986,500, or £8004 less than the actual receipts last year. Tn addition to the above, there will be issued in aid of revenua £282,300 for sinking fund in creases as against £288,000 issued during the past year. Adding these together, our total receipts are estimated to fall short of lust year's actual receipts by the sum of £13,704.- The revenue derived from stamp, is sot down at £21,191 less than last year's receipts. Of this amount L15;7O0, which his heretofore been credited as revenue, will now be treated as a recovery in reduction of expenditure in connection with, San Francisco and direct mail services. Owing to the light grain crops I have not deemed it prudent to estimate more than £1,114,000 i*ailway revenue, which is L 9322 less tjian was received last year. Some exceptional amounts swelled the miscellaneous re ceipts of the past year, and, ?s I do not expact their recurrence, I have set down this item at L 43,000 instead of L 49,000. On the other hand, I see no reason why there should not be an increase under the heads of Customs and beer duty. I have, i therefore, made a slight addition over last year's receipts to both these items. I expect the general acceptance of our Und settlement proposals will cause an augmentation of L 22,918 over the receipts of last year, derived from depasturing licenses, rents, &c, usually designated our " territorial Revenue." ESTIMATED"RESULTS OF THE TEAR 189 i 92. . As I have before '■stated, a surplus was brought forward of £143,965 15s 6J to commence tho pre-entyear with, to which 1 add the estimated rtvenve for the year, amounting to £4,268,800,-- together £4,412,765 15s 6d. From this I ("• lucb the anticipated expenditure of £4,155,105, leaving a surplus of £257,660 15s 6d at the end of the present financial year. FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS. The question will now suggest itself to the Committee, in what way can this sur plus be best disposed of ? It must have \ been recognised that the tendency of the age is to increase the postal facilitifis of the world and to reducp the cost of carry ing letters. The timo is not far distant we believe, when there will be an Im perial penny postage, probably within the next three yeara. The loss estimated by the English authorities is not expected to exceed L 75,000 a year. Of this amount a number of persons in England have offered to guarantee L 50,000 a year, and public opinion is rapidly growing in the direction of adopting a minimum rate of postage as a means of consolidating or federating the various parts of the Kmpire. The postage at present with Australia is 2d a letter, and that to Gio.i: Britain 2|-d, while to tha suburbs of our cities and other parts of the colony the charge is 2d. So manifest an anomaly suggests a change in the directiort-of our.proposals. The time has arrived, the 1 Government believe, when a penny post should be established in New Zealand, The cost of the reduction in the 'present year is esti mated at not more than L 40,000, and from careful calculations and comparis >ns with the colony of Victoria, where the penny post is already an accomplished fact, it is estimated that within three years from the present time, through an increase in the number of letters sont, the loss in revenue will be more than covered. It is also intended to ask for power to establish the penny post with the ■Australian colo nies, and negotiations to this end are now being conducted by my colleague, the Postmaster-General. If this extension of - the penny post be adopted, the'immediate loss bo tho colony in revenue wilL be. about LI2OO a year. The Com-; mittee will agree that this is not a for midable sum to secure so great an ad vantage as the intercolonial penny post. On newspapers to other colonies the postage, now a penny, it is proposed, shall in future be cue halfpenny, a vid it is an icipatod the increased numb?r posted will prevent any material loss t.f levijnue. It is also proposed to reduce the telephone charges to n uniform rate of L 5 a year, which we believe will not entail any material loss to the revenue, m the increase in the number of connec tions in consequence will probably be large The details of these and othep reforms in the Post and Telegraph Office will be explained by the Postmaster- General, The question of settling the land and carrying on the work of colonisa tion in making roads to open up land for settlement will have, we think, to be borno in future to some extent by thd Consolidated Fund. Whether this can be done will depend on the progress of the colony in the way of yielding an increase, ing revenue ; but it will be recognised that the connection is intimate between a growing revenue and the exten sion of settlement. We propose, therefore, in the present year to apply the sum ,of L 30,000 out of the revenue for the work of opening up land for settlement. This amount will pro bably have to be supplemented by a vote fro.n the Public Works Fund. We pro pose to remit the Native lands duty on leases, amounting on the average to about L6OOO a yeijr. There appeals to the Government to be no justification for im posing an exceptional duty uppn the alienation of Native land for settlement, a work that ought to be encouraged rather than restricted by the imposition of a duty which is irritating and at the same time difficult to collect. I. have hot disturbed the distinction which has been made between territorial revenue and the land fund, though I can hardly see any reason fcr its continuance. It is true ttiat the Land Fund in the past ha; benn sub ject to strange aad.serj.pus perturbations, throwing out all the calculations of the department, but tlje elements of uncer tainty haye in regent yaars been reduced to moderate dimensions and. the Consoli dated Fnnd to which both descriptions of revenue legally belong, must soon re ceive back its erratic and wandering child. The Land Department has made a calculation of the sum it will cos!) in surveys and administration to obtain the territorial revenue in the present year, and the estimate is £40,000. In the past the Land Fund has inpiapcrly borne the corresponding charge, and this lias tended very often to produce a deficit in the fund. There is an estimated deficit hi the present, year in the Land Fund through jihe probable Recline in cash sales of £21,820, winch T propose to meet by transferring a.similar'amount from the ordinary revenue account, which will come out of the estimated surplus. The simple and direct plan of dealing with the moneys is to amalgamate the ordinary and land fund accounts in stead of maintaining the distinction which has been made for many years, and this would have been done this present year, but that I desired to pre serve tho usual comparisons. The Committee may remember that my predecessor male a proposal in 1889 to pay out of the sinking fund accruqments under the Consolidated .Stock Act,, 1884, to the amount of L 40,000 a year, the deficit of the year 1888 amounting to L 400,000. It was also proposed that any credit balance of ordinary revenue.from £ear to year snail be devoted to the same p^urposef instead of being carried forward to' the ' nqxt 'account. * ''Short dated debentures' 7 we,re issued fQ ■■■c.'pver the deficit, and. tlig debt, still relnains, arrangements to extinguish it nqt having been put in foreo, Wq now propose to apply LIOO,OOO of the surplus of this year to the reduction of this debrj "Y\fe pro; ose to place a tax of 2£ per- cent; (|n the money passing through thetotatfsator, which will amount to about- LIO,OOO. a year, and for the remainder of the present year to about LSOOO. SUMMARY. These various proposals 1 shall now

bring together, to show the financial re-' suit:—Cost of penny postjge, L 4©,000) 1 do not include the intercolonial postage, as the negotiations are not completed) ; [.30,000 for opening up land for settle ment ; LGOOO duty on Native leases; L2J,820 to meet estimated deficit in land fund ; and ah appropriation of LIOO,OOO to pay off debt incurred in 1888 to mtet the deficit of that year. The total of these various , amounts is L 197,820 ; de ducting this from the estimated surplus of L 257.060 we have a net surplus avail able to carry forward of L 59,849. ,To this has to be added the tax on the totali sator amounting to £5000, bringii>g(up the surplus for the current year to £64,840, which will-be an ample margin to provide.for supplementary estimates and possible contingencies. REVENUE RESOURCES. A table attached to this Statement shows the revenue per head of the popu lation derived from som« of the main items of the tariff, and points to the fact that it will be impossible to depend in the future on the increased consumption of alcoholic liquors to strengthen the Con solidated Fund. This fact is gratifying from a temperance point of view, and I only point it out in order that we jnay guard against an undue reliance on what is termed the elasticity of the Customs revenue. A time of great prosperity,. high wages and constant employment for the labor classes will bring with it, no doubt, pn enlarged consumption of luxu ries, and on the whole the Customs revenue under such circumstances will continue to increase, but not rapidly nor to a great extent, more especially as the colony will continue to manufacture more and more of those articles which fall with in the limits of protection under the tariff. Stamps will as greater wealth is diffused among the community continue to give a yearly increase and must be con sidered as one <jf the pillars of our financial system. The railways can never, I think, be relied on for revenue purposes. If they pay interest on the cost of construc tion they will do all that need be expected, as any excess ought to go in the way of i\>-' ducing the cost of production ie lower rate of ca riage. Direct taxation in the way of a land and income tax must, remain with the development of our industries a fruit ful source of income, and an equivalent of the amount obtained from the present property tax may for some time be a necessity. When the nature of our obli gations Will permit it, we are of opinion that relief should be given on the neces saries of life now paying duties through the Cus'oms ; but we must, be certain while the great object is being reached, that we shall have sufficient revenue to meet the growing demands on the Con solidated Fund, arising through the ces sation of borrowing large amounts of money in the English market, for if we are to maintain our credit and financial independence, borrowing in that market mi i > cease, while any local borrowing is likely to be confined to the absolute necessity of carrying on those essential works of. colonisation, such us settlement of the people on the land, on which de pend so directly the prosperity of the community. On the other hand, if the machinery cf Government could be sim plified and judicious retrenchment carried to ids proper limit, the expenditure side of the account might be considerably re duced, But we are 'strongly of opinion that any material reduction must come from a dtreot and simple f jrm of adminis tration directed to tlu attainment of practical ends, and it will be necessary to sea that our measures of legislation do not include liabilities which will render this form of economy an impossibility. THK FLOATING DEBT. The amount of floating debt incurred to meet past deficits is L 550,030, this will 1)0 reduced to L.450,000 by the appropria tion of LIOO.OOO out of. tlu surplus of the year as already explained. Cm thi.s ilo.iting tlcbr bo further reduced ? The Government think- that though by law the released sinking funds, in "connection with loans undergoing conversion, pass into the Public Works" funds, a portion of them should be used to pay a debt which was incurred to aid revenue, and T pr> poee to transfer from the Public AVorks account LIOO,OOO of sinking hind set free, thus in the present year reducing the floating debt by the sum of L 200,000 and leaving outstanding L 350,000 to be Mealt with in future, according to the state of our finance. I have also to add 1j1.28,605, paid oil" mainly by the primage dufcy, to the L 200,000 now proposed to be extinguished, and we shall then have effected a reduction in this species of debt amounting to 1-328,605. The aid to 'revenue''in debentures issued against the sinking fund increases belongs to a different category. From what I have been explaining those debentures have shown about L 179,000, which will be available through the conversion opera lions to redeem debentures In the present year, in addition to the sinking fund re leased from the drawing loan of 1867, amounting to L 146,600. The nature of the complicated and ingenious operations under the Consolidated Slock Ast, 1884, is such that, while we are issuing deben tures in aid of revenue in anticipation of the Sinking Fund falling in, we are at the same time paying off debentures all eady issued. In the present year we issue L 282,300 and shall pay off about L 325,500. THE CIVIL SERVICE. Government recognise that vigorous measures are required to place the Civil Service of the colony on a satisfactory footing. They have discovered that de partments have been over-mannecUancT do their work imperfectly, and they have had to apply the pruning knife of re trenchment, the operation'is always to '•c regretted, for very often hardships reside, The task of reducing the, Serrice at the risk of depriving familie.3 of means of «übaistence is* one from which most men shpnk, but it had to be done. The justification is that the welfare of the whole community demands most rigid eoonomy in the administration of affairs. It is a fact that the Civil Service has-been disorganised, and quite powerless to do anything to help itself, To be economi cally administered the Service must be under an administrative body, and at least in the lower gravies the officers must be interchangeable in different depart ments. Retrenchment td be effective must go on continually ; thus when 'an oiticer dies or rentes the question should always be asked, has an opportunity qc-; cured for promoting greater economy and efficiency I Every promotion should mean both, for true economy does no*- mean cheese-paring in salaries, but getting the right man in the right place. It is possible to have a Civil Ser vice iv which the country shall have con fidence. Tho Government believe the Civil Service Bill, which will shortly be introduced, has in it such elements of sound reform as will enable this question to be answered iv the affirmative. It asks heads of the service to accept the respon sibility of advising the Ministry, and it infuses the principle of unity by placing the service undsr the charge directly cf tho particular Minister whose special duty it vill be to promote its true interest, whi#'l cannot be' considered apart from the Interests of the country. WVbeliev^ great'reductions can be maue in jthp coijt of t'.ie son jo's, but they ought to be made in the way I ha c mentioned, gradually, jjud with system, It is hardly necessary to add that the welfare of tlhe. country demands a highly organised, intelligent and patriotic' Civil Service, To attain this end it is tho duty o\ all parties to combine. . OOVSRNMKNT INSURANCE DEPARTMENT. During the recess I have made enquiry into the management of the Government JusuKvuce Department, and, J hart come,

to tlie conclusion that the institution is conducted with skill and success. Econo mien have been effected during the jew which represent a total of between L4OOO and LSOOO on annual expenditure* and the work of judicious retrenchment is still. proceeding. During the last few months an agreement has been entered into be tween the different Life Insurance Com panies doing business in the colony not to interfere with each other's operations, and I anticipate that in consequence a higher standard will be obae vod in the carrying on of that particular class of in surance worl known as canvassing. The quinquennial accounts "have been com pleted and submitted to the Actuaries in London, and policy holders may expect ro be in possession at no distant date of most graUfying and conv;noing assurance of the vitality of the institution. In order to cover any unsound investments, a re serve of L 2500 has been set aoide. This amount is not included •in the accounts forming the basis of the acturial investi gation, and here I may observe that there seems no reason to conceal the fact that during the period when Government In surance business was under. the manage ment of a Board some bad investments were made, from which losses are likely to accrue. The probable extent of these losses, however, is amply covered by the reserve mentioned, and the institution remains sound. THJS PCBIIC TRUST OKFICE. The Royal Commission appointed to in quire into the working of the Public Trust Department has made a thorough investi gation, and many reforms in its admini stration will no doubtbe suggested. There is no reason why the Public Trust Office should not be an well administered, as, for instance, tiie Post Office. It is purely a matter of organising power and capacity, and without which qualities neither laws, noi regulations, nor checks wijlachiovesolid res'ilr■•;. It is probably a mistake to have an oiheer at the head who, in some in definite way, is responsible only to Parlia ment, which virtually means no responsi bility at all. Whatever is done, tfc« Public Trust Office must be placed in a position to regain, if it has lost, and to maintain when won the confidence of the people. SETTLEMENT OF THK LAND. My colleague, the Minister of Lands, will »sk legislation to consolidate and amend the law relating to the disposal of Crown lands. The limited quantity of tlu public estate still available for settle ment suggests the necessity of providing that in future the bonaJieUitettlee shall be considered before the speculator and the monopolist. That the country may know the actual state of affairs, I submit an estimate, by the Suiveytß-General of agricultural lands still available in the hands of the Crown. " The remainder," lie says, " of the agricultural laud in New Zealand is so interspersed with coun fry fit only for grazing stock that it seems most fair to class both as one, for the low grazing bush lands of the North Island especially can be most profitably occupied in conjunction with the small ;area3 of purely agricultural land, within them. On this basis, the low-lying pastoral and agricultural land fit for settlement amounts to about 2,850,060 acres. In a table accompanying this Statement will be found the figures rhowing the dis tribution of this land throughout the several provinc'al districts. The Com mittee will probably agree with me that when we consider that upwards of 1fi,000,000 acres of the best land have &lre<wly been alienated in fee simple from the Crcwn, there is some reason why the remaining availahle estate of less than 3,000,000 acres should bo administered in the interests of the whole people of the colony. The time, it is believed, has arrived when suitable areas will have to be purchased l.y the Crown for small fariri. settle ment. In many part? of the colony the Crow;* lands available for this pur pose have already disappeared.. If the population is to be retained the .wants of intending settlers will have toil)* met. A Bill will be introduced with life neces sary safeguards, to establish » satisfactory system of purchase. If borit>win<? in the English market is to Imj discontinued the means will have to be provided for carry ing on the w.nk of settling the wast* lands of the colony. Recognising this fact the late Government proposed to amend the Government Loans to Local Bodies Act to enable money to be advanced on the security of a special rate to be levied on the settlers. While there is merit in the proposal so far as it relate* to the. means of providing the money, the present Government are not inclined to favor a system which? entails the payment of another special Hte, but we think that if money advanced under the Act for opening up lands for sale were made a first charge on the proceeds of the land, there would be ample security without entailiug a liability on the" tax payer. Instead of complications, arising from assessing the rates to be borue by the land, we propone the simple plan of procuring an estimate by the Surveyor- General of the value of a block of land, when surveyed and placed in the market, with an estimate of the^^of joadfl tft open \t up, Mfhuve«pon;the-Minister of Lands would be placed in possession of the funds to the limit of one-half the estimated value of the land when it was re.'.dy for disposal; the funds borrowed for this purpose to be raised out of the proceeds of the land. The Government think an amendment of the Act in this direction will give a fresh impulse to colonisation. ' -VTT T.he necessity of providing fof the ex tension of settlement by the. purchase qf Native lands will be seen fronythehmfted quantity of Crown land still available, and i vote will be submitted in the Public Works Estimates for the purpose ; but while reserving to the Crown the right of purchase, the Government are of opinion thai the time has arrived for an amend ment of the law to enable Natives to lease their lands, either direct to the Crown in perpetuity, or through a board in which they will have confidence, under the land laws of the colony, to the settlers who are to occupy. Whatever is done, the rights of the Natives under treaty in accordance with the principles of justice mu*t be strictly maintained. It will remain to reconcile by law the interests tit "thS J Native ;: rah and of/the colon|, «fq that the beneficial qccupation*'of Native territory may "be hastened and finally secured. Tlic Royal Commission ap= pointed to enquire into this subjjcfc havo drawn a comprehensive report after oonfcrsnce with thej tribes, in which are explained and elucidated the conditions und-jr which in their opinion this end may be attained. My colleague, the Native Minister, has given the subject much attention and;, will introduce a Bill for i;he consideration of the Legislature with tin object of consolidating the numerous and complex Native Land lawg into one concise and intelligible measure, and also of simplifying apd reducing the cost of ascertainment of title and other procedure of the Native Land Court. The effect of this will, it is hoped, eniblc a more rapid and satisfactory *etilement of the surplus lands now lying unproduc tive in the possession of fcjje -Natives, ■ I will now ask tlje CoumuWe.' fcq grant its attention while I briiigbefqre.it thfi question of the incidence-, of; taxation j njorc especially in iU relation tq u^ed land and incomes. What, in » land fc<u Tho popular, and I .believe the correct answer to tho question, is a tax on the value of land, less improvements. This - is'tlie ideal of the laud tax.: The neces sity for stopping short of the ideal was to be found in the imperative requirements of ou.r tinause, the weed for providiqg.

THE ASHBURTON GUTARDIAS WEDNESDAY, JIM) 17, 1891



WANTED Known.—Just opened, several cases of the Celebrated Standard Boots, livery pair guaranteed and stamped.—A. Orr, Agent. "NJ'EW GAMES - Tiddlotly Winks, _LN Reversi, Snicketn, and others, Fresh Supplies of The Minors' Right. The Squatter's Dream, Robbery Under Arms A Colonial Reformer, ToM after Supper, Three Men in a Boat, and hundreds of others. NEW MUSIC— Vocal and Instrumental-— L. F. Andkbwes avd Co. fIiENDERb wanted for 100 acres of JL land at Winslow for a cro;> of wheat. Teudei'B closo 20th inst. Apply to 6 136 D, THOMAS. "TvfoNEY jx7lend7"" "VTONEY to Lend at LOW RATES OF INTEREST, on Mortgage of FREE. HOLD PROPERTY, in sums of £100 TO_£sooo ?or further particulars apply to the Postmaster, Ashburton, or to J. C. PR¥DHOE, District Agent. Government Insurance Office. Christchurch.



Wanted > \ CASH Advertisements under this heading: not exceeding SIXTEEN WORDS 1/-. Addresses may be Mt at his Office. _pi ENERAL meeting Cycling Club on XJT Thursday next, in Club Room at 8 o'clock. -Clem. G. Moss 6 135 WANTED Known, — Blankets and Flannels great bargains at Andrew Orrs. TTUNEST Cod Liver Oih Chest and JD Lung Protectors. Chilblain lini ments. Brooke, Chemist, Ashburton. t WANTED Known.—Just opened up, a big lot of Kaiapoi Dress Tweeds, 44 inches wide, finished like silk. Beauti ful goods made to my own patterns. — Anurew Orr. WANTED, every man in the district to order a Kaiapoi or Rosiyri Tweed Suit. Also, Boys" Suit* and Gents' Overcoats in jjreat variety.—Andrew Ori\ WANTED Known.—That if you want real good wea ing boots, to keep your feet dry, you can get them in great variety at John Moison's, the expert Bootmaker, Town Hall shop, East Street ■; 6 73 WANTED KNOWN,—Sealette Jackets 355, reduced to 25s ; and :40s, re duced to 27s 6d, at S. W. Alcorn & Co,'s Clearing Sale. 6 40 TCE Cream ofF. Conc?h drops on. Un 1 doubtedly the best. H, G. Flower, Confectioner, East Street. ANTED Known—The "Strong VV wear" Boot is the best for Mens ladies and Children. —W. H. Colliek. WANTED Known —Some special lines in choice Dress Goods at very low prices showing at " The Corner." WANTED Known-Old Spoons and Forks Electro-plated and made equal to new at 15s per dozen all round. A. Black, Jeweller, East Street, 4 150 WANTED Known.—That for quality, assortment, and price see Andrew Orr's large stock of Millinery, Clothing, •nd Boots. No presents, no bribes, but good value.— Andrew Orr WANTED every man m the County to have a suit of the Ashburton Tweeds. —Robert Alcorn, Ashburton Clothing Mart, Saunder's Buildings. /"^ LASS, Earthenware, and China, \JT direct from the Manufacturers.— Robert Alcorn, Tea Warehouse and Ashburtoh Clothing Mart, Samiders Buildings. PRESENTS— Now being given away to"every purchaser of 5s and up wards in Drapery, Boots, Clothing, &c. —H, C. Seoers, Melford House FIRST Class Drapery, Millinery, Clothing, Boots, &c. Presents to every purchases of 5s and upwards now being given away. —H. C. Secjers, Mel ford House. 111/ ANTED Known—H. Dudley will VV sink Deep Wells and supply Cylinder Pumps and Piping, and guaran tee water to surface at 3s 6d per font. H." Dupley, Moore Street. 6§54 'IjUBLIC Notice. - We are now giving _' the presents to all holders of tickets and purchasers of 5s and upwards. —H. C Segkks, Melford House. WANTED KNOWN,- If you have the Onshy you «<nv ujHin nlicufc fis in ©very Pound, by buying your Jackets, Ulsters, Dress Goods, Millinery, &c, at S. W. Alcorn & Co.'s Clearing Sale.J 6 36