FINANCIAL POSITION OF NEW ZEALAND.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 29 November 1880, Page 2

FINANCIAL POSITION OF NEW ZEALAND.

WesfgnrtV.a Circular of September 24<:Ii has the following :— Of late ih«re had beeu a persistent sef- against this colon?, inexpoa'ng aM ilie dirk sidi of i r ,s present case, with liimlly if afc.all :\ny allusion to what may be sad on lbs other side. A=ty one who has watche-i irilell : geii»ly.the I.ir2[e and continuoui outlay of bori'ow*»d money upoa pab'i^ work^, chiefly, railways, for sotna years past, must have foreseen a crisis wlie.i all this drew to its* close,. That crisis" opened upon the colony last year, and it was sdi-iously preeipitared both by •i oncurri-iib very b;vi hirrest Pt-d by ; he c.s J!iV|)i«e to the Oifcv of Giipgo-r \jAnk wyh i»g i.irge New Znhu\ !au,d connections. The m^st prom-neut conj>>q'ience vraa find unprecedented revenuewfieienr^', amounting to no less than £6?0 000, caused mainly tv tbe fallius; oiF in land sales". This deficiency, covered for the time t»y the issup, of two and a-hnlf years' Treasury bil's, mast admittedly fji* the present be added to the public d^bt, thus raising its amount to £27.00J, 000. All this i? of course bad enough for a p"pul.i!ion still sbort- of half o million, tncUiding aborigiaes, and it is stili ajgr<tvuted by the u!isetU«?d and trang:l tonal s*ate of the labor market. Jlen who have been getting freely for years past 10j and 12s a day do not: readily ace'de to a reduction to s», atid thai 100 aecoinpuined in many cases 'by a'chang? in the nature of their employment;. The practical outcome of >hus cmdilion U th;vt foe thi*? trinsit ion ioterval there \a an unusually Itrge balance of hands uaemp'oved, and n;»tttiMily very eraat dissatisf.ietion amongst them throughout the colcdv» But let us turn now to the o'her sideofrhe picture. The present Gov rnment, which ia eutirely opposed, to the colony's excessive borrowing, and has now brought it to a closa, lias at once faced ihe fiuanci d em rgency, and by a reduced expenditure and increased taxation has already balanced the estimate* of the current year, with a surplus of £ti, ooo. The Government is about check also tha la*e extensive municipal -borrowing. Th j colony's reviving efforts have been materially helped by the very abundant harvest of ths preseat year. Agaia, the high pr:e3 and cempara* tiyelv scant supply of labor for the colonj 'a general pii'-pi^es for years p'ist.with ail this raflvay m.ikin.g lnvin? held in abeyauee many improvements nnrl much progress th-it jonld not offjrd ihe heavy cost, 'i hese will aooa have their f.»ir dune?, an 1 co icur • rently tkre colony's pnduftive outcome wiil pc prpportioaat.ely m«jr.ie«ad. Tha reduced money wages t*re already nearly as effdcsive as before, with the increased supply. arid cheaper price of necessaries. The rate* of money, 'too, which, with ex-ics^'ve land speculation, have been for some time at 10 to 12 per cent., are n.w by latest accounts* down f o 8 per cent , thus affording a further clrtDce for rtai proges?. With its network of railways its genial climate and fertile soii, New Z a'and now presents to us an apparatus of wealth production which, for a like territorial area, is confessedly not equalled iv any patt of the Empire- The colony is in full credit with ilia many strong bviks wiihio its area .for any temporary deficiency; and its fiaancial interests oa this side have !oDg been, nnd still contisue to be, able and efficiently conducted by the Crown agents. Tha prompt recli* Station of the flcnnces, even in the S:St i;i^en?ity of fhe crisis, sho.vs tha. there is power and resource as H*eil as uocdv:iU. Tiiiifc fuch a colony, whether through want of will or want of re* source, aa timid investors may bave feared, should make any financial de^ fault even for once in the mere matter of exact pu"c'uaiity, v about as unlikely, tho colony may well claim to i»ay, a3 that the liciti-h Government itself should m;i!ce such default.