See § 26
The Estimated Expenditure - exclusive of P.W. Extraordinary and interest on loan which two items ought together to be balanced by Land Sales and Water Account) is $2,727,951 during the year but to this must be added $120,000 in respect of works at least out of the items quoted page 2 of Mr. Macalister's memo, less capital (the rest are more or less revenue expenditure, not capital balances). The total, therefore, is about $3,850,000; leaving a small surplus of $50,000.
I would point this out, and that it will be quite impossible to sanction additional expenditure, other than on works of great utility which my four Land Sales Valuations accruing during the last few years or so will enable us to meet, unless additional taxation is imposed. And I think that when next year's Estimates are being prepared, which should be done shortly, the Heads of Departments should be instructed that they must submit their full schemes of expenditure, and must not expect any supplementary vote taken or sanctioned except in the event of an unforeseen emergency, observing that it is highly unsatisfactory that so large a sum should be expended without the sanction of the Finance Committee for the current year.
As to the marked passage in the despatch, it appears that the Governor has misunderstood the instructions which refer to the submission of Estimates, since it is essential that all expenditure during any year which can reasonably be foreseen should be set down in the annual Estimates; and there is no objection to the Governor submitting for the sanction of the Secretary of State, in the Estimates, expenditure in excess of revenue, provided the Colony possesses balances from previous years out of which such excess can be met. This is distinctly implied in § 25 of the enclosure to the circular of 4 July 1890.
I put the question of possible additional taxation of the community, and that we may reasonably hope for such increase in revenue as will meet the cause of revenue deficiency.
Page 382
This CPF
(x)-12136-2000-1-99
16195-2000-4-99