B.—4a,

Item —Diamond, and other Drills and Appliances, £600. 485. The Department owns a number of drills which it hires out, but there is an annual loss thereon. The charge made is only sufficient to cover the cost of drills while on hire, but there are lengthy periods when drills are idle and are not earning interest and depreciation. The charges should be sufficient to cover the total overhead cost, and we recommend that they be increased accordingly. A saving of approximately £200 should result. Saving, £200. Item —Schools of Mines, £3,744. 486. Schools of mines are maintained at Thames, Waihi, Huntly, Reefton, and Westport and at the Otago University. The full cost of establishing and maintaining the schools does not fall on the State, as contributions are made by mining companies operating in the districts, and there is a certain amount of revenue from students' fees. The schools are, however, subsidized to the extent of this item. 487. We recommend that two schools of mines be closed, and suggest either Thames or Waihi, and Reefton. It should be possible by reorganization in the remaining schools to provide tuition for all who require it. Saving, £1,000. Subdivision llL—Miscellaneous Services. Item—Examinations, Mining and Coal-mines Acts, £100. 488. The Department conducts examinations for mine-managers' certificates, &c., for which fees are charged. The fees should cover the full cost of the service, including a proportion of the overhead expenses in connection therewith. 489. We accordingly recommend that the charges be reviewed. Item—lnstrument and Outfit Allowances for Chief Inspector of Mines, £23. 490. We are informed that the present Chief Inspector of Mines does not receive a special outfit allowance. The principle of granting special instrument or outfit allowances is wrong, and we recommend that it 'be not again established. Saving, £23. Item —Postage, Telegrams, Rent of Boxes, £350. 491. This item can be reduced to £275. Saving, £75. Item —Rents, £593. 492. This item can be reduced by at least £120. Saving, £120. Item—Travelling Allowances and Expenses, £1,550. 493. Some reduction in this item should be possible. We suggest the sum of £1,400 should be sufficient for 1932-33. Saving, £150. General. 494. There are several matters not connected with any particular item of expenditure to which reference should be made. They are — (1) Goldfields Revenue. 495. The sum of approximately £18,000 is paid by the Department each year to local authorities in respect of goldfields revenue, but no charge is made for the collection and disbursement of this revenue. The necessity for continuing the policy of paying the whole of the goldfields revenue to local authorities should be further reviewed. In any case, there is no justification for the collection of the revenue without any charge being made for administration expenses. We recommend that a charge of 10 per centum be imposed. This would represent a direct saving of £1,800. Saving, £1,800. (2) Gold-dealers' License Fees. 496. At present a fee of £1 is charged for the issue of gold-dealers' licenses applicable only to dealers in virgin gold. In view of the increase in the market price of gold and. the fact that a considerable volume of business is transacted by dealers in wrought gold, we -are of opinion that these dealers should be licensed and a heavier fee should be charged for the issue of licenses of this type. We recommend that legislation be introduced to provide for a fee of not less than £5 ss. per annum. Under present conditions this should produce at least £200 per annum, virtually a saving. (3) Mining Advances Account. 497. This account was originally established out of loan-moneys for the purpose of providing loans for gold-mining companies, and the provisions were extended to coal and other classes of mining when the Mining Act was consolidated in 1926. 498. The loan capital of the account as at the 31st March, 1931, was £44,990, and the accumulated loss at the end of the same year totalled £25,557. It appears that further substantial losses must be expected, and it is probable that the bulk of the loan capital will be lost. The special account has now been abolished, but we refer to the matter, as in our opinion the provision of

54