B. —1 [PT, IV].

NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT RAlLWAYS—continued. General Balance-sheet as at 31st March, 1926. Liabilities. £ s. d. j Assets. Sundrv creditors (including unpaid 288,695 27 ; Sawmills— £ s. d. £ s. d. wages) ' | Stocks of timber, &c. .. .. 293,121 11 5 Collections for refund to Harbour 20,583 4 7 j Less reserve .. .. .. 20,427 0 9 Boards, shipping companies, and 272,094 4. 8 other carriers Stores and material on hand— General Reserve Fund .. .. 1,375,662 6 1 Stores Branch .. .. .. 704,628 9 0 General Renewals Fund .. .. 280,835 19 0 Advertising Branch .. .. 1,615 18 9 Betterments Fund.. .. .. 60,000 0 0 Refreshment Branch .. .. 10,426 15 11 Insurance Funds .. .. .. 34,304 16 0 716,671 3 8 Net Revenue Account—Unappropriated 21,022 16 9 Sundry assets— surplus Advertising Branch .. .. 44,096 16 2 Refreshment Branch .. .. 26,396 12 6 70,493 8 8 1 Sundry debtors — Advances to capital .. .. 3,585 16 8 Government Departments .. .. 13,585 12 4 Advances under Hutt Valley Lands 4,240 8 1 Settlement Act, 1925 Work in progress .. .. .. 2,971 6 1 24,383 3 2 Less amounts paid in advance .. 14,245 6 6 10,137 16 8 Accrued interest on investments .. 1,039 11 7 Accrued subsidies on branch lines and 14,710 9 11 isolated, sections 15,750 1 6 Outstandings at stations — ' Cash in hand .. .. .. 30,314 0 5 Freight, &c., owing by Government 26,867 19 11 Departments Freight owing by sundry debtors . . 140,025 2 3 197,207 2 7 Investments .. .. .. .. 175,000 0 0 Cash in Working Railways Account .. 623,150 7 3 £2,081,104 5 0 j £2,081,104 5 0 H. Valentine, A.1.A.N.Z., Chief Accountant, N.Z. Railways. I hereby certify that the balance-sheet and accompanying accounts have been duly examined and compared with the relative books and documents submitted for audit, and correctly set out the position as disclosed thereby. The following comments are appended : — (1) These accounts do not contain any provision for the redemption of loan-moneys applied to the construction and improvement of the railways, as there is no statutory authority for making such provision in the accounts. (2) In the case of railways constructed from the Public Works Fund, the interest paid from Consolidated Fund during construction is not included in the Working Railways Accounts. This has since been validated by legislation. G. F. C. Campbell, Controller and Auditor-General. Note. With reference to the first comment above, it should be noted that, with the exception of developmental lines, the user of the railways is required to pay the full cost of the service provided, including interest on the capital cost of construction. The annual instalments for the redemption of the equivalent part of the public debt under the Repayment of the Public Debt Act, 1925, are provided out of taxation. The taxpayer as such and not the user will benefit from the repayment of the debt. R. E. Hayes, Secretary to the Treasury.

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