31
to meet certain liabilities which Her Majesty's Government had some years back decided to be fairly chargeable to it. If without increased taxation or some new source of Revenue Her Majesty's Government supposed that the colony was able to meet an expenditure of $94,000 per annum for the Military Contribution, I think the supposition has been incorrect, and I think so without reference to the Mint Expenditure, because as I saw, within a week after arrival here, my aide and schooner reported to Mr. Bardwell the means of the colony had obtained an exaggerated reputation from mixing up capital derived from the sale of its land with Revenue arising from permanent annual sources.
State No. 3 of 26th March 1867.
264
I question if Her Majesty's Government had any idea originally of compelling the colony to resort to special taxation for the purpose of making a payment in aid of Military expenditure, on the abstract policy of which I do not offer any observations. I am merely to offer dry facts, and I doubt if dealing with dry facts, the real bearing of actual facts had been known, and, if Her Majesty's Government could have foreseen that the establishment of the Mint would have led to further great consumption of the colony's capital, and absorbed a large portion of its annual Revenue, they would have