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: FINANCIAL.
The Floating op Oub Loan.
The air of the Assembly was thick with
eratulations and congratulations on Wednes
day^ October 3, concerning tne successful
floating of our loan ; and' the ? Kood news
respecting it seemed' to have' a soften
ing influence upon gome of the most
obdurate members. The Treasurer men
tioned that the Agent-General had wired
that the loan had been very srcccessf iil :
£3,000.000 in roundnumbers had been tendered
for, whereas the amount required was leas
than a million and a half, and the average
realized was. £9S 19s. 9d. The Government
had already taken steps to secure to the
colony the earliest advantages fromthe floating
of the loan. They had communicated with the
Chairman of the Associated Banks offering
to make similar arrangements to those made
last year, by which three-quartera of a million
of the balance of the loan could be placed in
London to their credit for a number of
months extending over the greater part of
next year, at a rate of interest of about
1J per cent. A satisfactory arrangement
would probably be made during the week,
30 that they could send particulars to
England by the1 outgoing Orient mail.
After the Treasurer had given in some
detail particulars about the rates of interest
chargeable, the House entered with some zest
into the discussion of the subject. Nearly all
the speeches were congratulatory, and some
were even amusing. The congratulations
were equally divided between the Treasurer
and the Agent-General, who advised him
when to put the loan upon the market, and
whose advice ihe followed. We under
stand (and the Treasurer confirmed the
information in tho Assembly on Tuesday
afternoon) that no decision has been arrived
at between the Government and the
Associated Banks with reference to the loan
of three-quarters of a million which the
Treasurer proposed to negotiate with them.
The cause of the difference was a dif
ficulty about the rate of interest, the
Treasurer asking 4$ per cent., and the Banks
suggesting a lower figure. The bankers
point out that when they allowed the Govern
ment 4£ per cent, on a former occasion the
Bank rate in London was much higher than
it is now, the present rate in London being
less than they are asked to pay the Govern
ment. It was hoped that some arrangement
would be-concluded before the Orient steamer
left for England, but that was not done, and
neither party is in a position at present to
t&y when the business will be concluded.
The Quarter's Eeventte.
The first quarter of the financial year
ended on' September 30, and the Treasurer
has furnished us with a statement of the
estimated revenue during that period, and
the figures are given below. It can hardly he
said that those figures^ are disappointing,
because it has been evident for some little
time past that the receipts would fall short
of the estimate. They are in reality about
£50,000 less than one;fourth of the expected
income for the entire financial year, and
about £30.500 less than the income for the
corresponding quarterlast year. The details
are as' follows ;—~
Head of Keckipt.— l||^ |l-l§ |f §' '??
' ' ? I ||f II £.f - I gt
PS t**S'-s -K ai K °w
: ? L: ? ...;dE.rrj_ j£ £
Customs .. ._. .. 676,000 153,614 174,469
Probate and 'succession .
—duties .. : .. .. 16,000 6,454 4,032
Marine .. ' ..' .. 13,650 3,095 8,023
Education-..-— -v-. — rr 25,250 ' 4,960 4,016
Bents, licences, - &c, j . . .
Crown lands .. .. 103,715 42,468 43,601
Rents (ordinary) ? 960 239 256
Licences (business) . .. 29,855 1,734 1,709
Postal and. telegraphs..... 174,000 __14,309 .40,055
Fines, fees, and forfei
tures .. ... .. 57,075 13,417 14,251
Sales of Government pro
perty ? 1,340 631 403
Eeimbursements-in-aid.. 43,498 12,825 10,105
Miscellaneous ? .38,085 .1,229 11,867
Interest and exchange .. 40,000 8,093 6,765
Railways and tramways. 533,000 .121,137 109,685
Waterworks .. .. 60,887 11,832 10,426
Immigration ... .. 13,000 3,182 1,383
_ ? ... ? 1,823,815 428,223 436,752
Land Sale3 .. .. 346,500 66,672 88,628
Totals .. .. 2,170,3151494,890 525.SS0
$