PART VII. JAMAICA FINANCES. REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. THE revenue collected during the year 1897-98 amounted to £540,509, while the expenditure amounted to £627,422 leaving at the close of the year a deficit of £86,913. Compared with the previous year general revenue shews a net decrease of £51,355 and general expenditure a net decrease of £36,800. The details of Revenue and Expenditure are contained in the tables on the following pages. The large net decrease in the general revenue of £51,355 is almost entirely due to the falling off in Imports and Rum duties, caused by the general depression in business and to the reduction of Stamp Duties under Law 29 of 1896. The only items shewing increases of any importance are Reimbursements, which respectively showed £165,997 and £13,915 more than in 1896-97. Parochial Revenues, which are devoted to Parochial Roads, Poor relief, Sanitary and other local services and are administered by the several Parochial Boards, produced £113,527, a decrease of £3,247, this does not however include the advances from General Revenue in aid of these funds, which amounted to £18,440. These latter receipts which generally vary according to the rates imposed shew very little change there being slight increases under General Purposes Rate and Miscellaneous and slight decreases under the other items. Immigration Revenues during the year amounted to £4,529, an increase of £2,848 over the previous year. The net decrease in general expenditure was £2,342. The more important increases are to be found under the following heads, viz. :-Charges of Debt, £30,233, due to the inclusion of the amount required for Sinking Fund, for interest on temporary advances, and interest on Law 27 of 1890, with increased interest by Laws 20 of 1892, 6 of 1893, and 13 of 1895, that cause an excess of £37,500, which is however reduced by paying off of the debt due under Law 39 of 1869, etc.; Pensions, £4,607, due to grant to Constabulary Pension Fund being charged to this account (Law 21 of 1895); Constabulary, £5,289, due to clothing, arms, etc., provided for increased number of men and to the transport of men and prisoners consequent on the closing of certain prisons; Medical, £1,785,; Education, £1,848; Railway track, £1,505, due to settlement of more claims for land acquired than in the previous year; and £2,556, the cost of the Queen's Jubilee Celebrations Parochial Expenditure amounted to £126,712, or £9,130 less than in the previous year, the re-payment of advances from General Revenue, which amounted to £11,814, not being taken into account. Immigration Expenditure amounted to £403, a decrease of £576. DEBT. No new loans were raised during the year under review. The Public Debt directly secured on General Revenue stood as follows at the close of each of the last ten years after making allowance in each year for the Sinking Funds actually invested for the eventual redemption of debt. The above amount was raised at varying rates of interest and the balance at present outstanding is held— £118,168 7,500 1,553,056 30,860 283,700 1,993,284 at six per cent. at four and a half per cent. at four per cent. at three and a half per cent. at three per cent. A considerable portion of the amounts originally raised by debentures have since been converted into inscribed stock under the provisions of Law 13 of 1885, but the present liability is divided as follows: The debenture debt is mainly redeemable by a one per cent. sinking fund which is applied to the redemption of debentures chosen by lot at annual drawings, and the inscribed stock, both English and Jamaica, is to be redeemed by a cumulative sinking fund of one per cent. on the total amount issued, which is calculated to produce sufficient to redeem the stock at its maturity in the year 1930. Of the total of debt on the 31st March, 1898, £742,920 was on account of the purchase, reconstruction and extension of the Jamaica Railway to Ewarton and Porus, £126,500 on account of the Rio Cobre Canal, £217,000 for the erection of new bridges, and £48,700 for debentures issued on account of the Myrtle Bank and Constant Spring Hotels which have now been take possession of by the Government. A COMPARATIVE TABLE OF REVENUE. 1889-90. 1884-85. 1885-86. 1886-37. 1887-88. 1888-89. Half- 1890-91. A COMPARATIVE TABLE OF REVENUE, continued. 1891-92. 1892-93. 1893-94. 1894-95. 1895-96. 1896-97. 1897-98. GENERAL REVENUE. £ £ £ £ £ £ 324,479 303,657 320,976 346,529 360,886 321,780 282,751 654* 123,418 120,003 127,479 138,923 138,725 122,735 104,961 Licenses Stamps 19,317 20,814 Post Office 627 17,999 23,594 24,072 22,520 Telegraph 5,687 5,734 5,858 5,364 4,700 Tax on Stock 4,754 134 11 Court Fees 8,442 8,547 8,665 9,048 Tax in lieu of Education Fees Fines, &c. Jamaica Railway Reimbursements 24,468 30,508 32,078 32,442 33,594 35,969 52,561 Market Dues (Law 9 of 1874) Pounds (Order of Govt.) Main Road Revenue, Law 17 A COMPARATIVE TABLE OF EXPENDITURE. 1889-90 1884-85. 1885-86. 1886-87. 1887-88. 1888-89. Half- 1890-91. Total Sinking Funds, &c. Total Payments from Less Debt Payments as Add Expenditure from Total Expenditure Immigration 470,353 486,648 493,872 505,518 524,600 261,308 542,732 24,607 14,003 20,956 26,946 27,462 12,636 29,019 92,349 96,087 120,088 107,481 112,633 58,627 126,289 587,309 596,738 634,916 639,945 664,695 332,571 698,040 24,607 14,003 20,956 26,946 27,462 12,636 29,019 562,702 582,735 613,960 612,999 637,233 319,935 669,021 204,241 29,315 23,634 15,672 37,745 23,671 34,141 766,943 612,050 637,594 628,671 674,978 343,606 703,162 14,715 10,563 8,567 4,553 8,973 1,383 8,411 Now for salary of Government Director only. * For details, see the head "Miscellaneous." |