8.—6

16

ment, however, to be carried out, the Guaranteed Debentures now in the hands of the Agent-General will have to be deposited at the Bank. The balance of the Public Works Fund is invested in these debentures, and, to enable the agreement with the Bank of England to be given effect to, I shall ask for an extension of the limit of Treasury bills by nearly the same amount as the debentures, which will then be free and available to be used in this or any other manner found desirable. The amount of the Guaranteed Debentures at present in the hands of the Agent-General is ,£476,000. Another colony, South Australia, has thought it necessary to deal with unclaimed deposits which have lain for a number of years in the banks. I shall introduce a somewhat similar measure on the same subject, the object of which will be to transfer to the Public Trustee deposits and other moneys which, by lapse of time, appear not to be in the least likely to be claimed by their owners. I have given careful consideration to the relation in which insurance com- ' panics whose shareholders reside mainly in other countries stand to those which have their headquarters and shareholders in the colony; and I propose that, as a guarantee of good faith, all the companies that are in the former category should make a deposit of a certain sum of money in the Public Trust Office, upon which they will receive interest at 4 per cent. In the case of life offices, the amount I propose for each is £25,000, and fire offices £10,000. Considering the advantages enjoyed by these offices, I cannot think any reasonable or valid objection will be offered to what is only a measure of precaution in the case of some of the smaller ones, and of fairness to all. THE WOEK OP COLONISATION. If I bring together the various amounts of money, under different heads, paid last year for the opening-up of the country by means of roads and bridges, apart from railways, the Committee will understand the heavy obligations resting upon the colony, and the great necessity for seeing that the expenditure is made only on the most reproductive works. The expenditure under the several heads was as follows— £ s. a. On various roads ... ... ... ... 30,698 1 9 On roads to open up lands for sale ... ... ... 27,992 15 11 Lent to local bodies under Act ... ... ... 89,408 0 0 Subsidies ... ... ... ... ... 47,760 15 3 "Thirds" and "fourths" from deferred-payment and perpetuallease sales paid over to local bodies... ... ... 34,180 4 4 Eoads to give access to lands adjacent to the North Island Main Trunk Eailway ... ... ... ... 30,220 0 1 Total ... ... ... ... £260,259 17 4 Here is a total outlay of £260,259 17s. 4d. provided by the Government for roads and bridges which seems to have become necessary to carry on the colonisation or settlement of the country. It is probable that so large an expenditure will be found to exceed our means, and that it will have to be curtailed. But the work of placing people on the Crown lands cannot stop; and money will have to be provided to open up new country. I have shown how we propose to achieve the object in the present year; and I have only to repeat, what has already been urged, that some self-denial on the part of districts will have to be exercised, while the duty will be cast on the settlers of assisting themselves to the utmost of their ability. The Government will do their part, but their power is necessarily limited, and all must combine to bring about those results on which the common prosperity depends. CAPITAL AND ITS MOVEMENTS. I may be allowed, before concluding, to say a few words on a subject which has occupied the attention of a good many people during the recess. I refer to the alleged departure of capital from the colony in consequence of the taxation proposed by the Government and accepted by Parliament last session. It is difficult always to obtain accurate data respecting" the movements of private

Unclaimed moneys in banks.

Insurance companies to deposit cash in the Public Trust Office.

Expenditure of £260,259 17s. ii. on roads.

Money must be provided to open j up new country. ( i

] i Alleged departure of capital j from the colony.