8.—6

1895. NEW ZEALAND.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT (In Committee of Ways and Means, Tuesday, the 30th July, 1895) BY THE COLONIAL TREASURER, THE HONOURABLE MR. WARD.

Me. Guinness, — It gives me pleasure to be again able to congratulate the House and the country upon the satisfactory results of the year's finance. When we bear in mind the great reduction in the spending power of the people, owing to the low prices obtained for our staple products, it is cheering to find that financially the colony occupies a strong position. I have thought it prudent to make some changes in the form of the public accounts. I may say that the alterations are made with the object of placing our position still more clearly before the public, and to assist in removing any excuse for the causeless adverse criticism which has unfortunately been so common in this country for many years, and which has undoubtedly tended to injure and discredit our colony. I shall now proceed to place before you the position of the Eevenue Account. REVENUE ACCOUNT, 1894-95. It is extremely gratifying for me to be able to announce to honourable members that, notwithstanding the restriction of trade, owing to the abnormally low prices already referred to, the actual receipts for the year just closed have exceeded the estimate I had the honour to place before the House in my last Budget. The estimate of revenue for the year I placed at .£4,235,000, exclusive of £117,800 to be received to provide for the accretions of Sinking Funds payable during the year. The actual receipts came to £4,281,995, or £46,995 in excess of my estimate. It is almost unnecessary to remind honourable members that I was careful to warn them that, in preparing my estimates, we had to reckon with a falling revenue, owing to causes which were not only affecting New Zealand but were being felt over the larger portion of the commercial world. For this reason I reduced my estimate by £133,538 below the actual receipts of the preceding year, and it is therefore very pleasing to be able to inform you that the revenue as a whole exceeded my forecast to the extent of £86,563. Honourable members will, I feel sure, not be offended at the estimate being on the safe side. I have, however, noticed with amazement that I am actually blamed in some quarters for the falling-off of revenue not being so large as I had estimated. As previously stated, the actual receipts were nearly £47,000 more than my estimate, seven heads of revenue yielding an excess of £94,561, while three items were less than the estimate by £47,565. Two out of three items of decrease are —Customs duties, £30,215; and railways, £17,251. i—B. 6.