Fiji’S Surplus
p. 71 · Read in the full issue
£92,231 in 1933 Makes Record Accumulated Funds
From Oar Own Correspondent SUVA, July 3.
THERE was little important business transacted by the Fiji Legislative Council at its first business meeting of 1936, held on June 24 and 25.
The opening address of His Excellency the Acting Governor (Hon. Juxon Barton) was briefer than the usual inaugural ad dress, and stressed the fact that there was little new legislation to come before the Council.
Referring to Fiji’s financial position, His Excellency said that ordinary revenue for 1935 was £710,222 (£lOB,BBB more than estimated), being £109,065 more than in 1934. Extraordinary revenue amounted to £23,310, being a transfer of surplus funds from the currency note security fund. The total of ordinary and extraordinary re venue was £733,432. The Customs re venue, which amounted to £394,453, was £70,703 in excess of the estimate.
Total expenditure for the year was £641,181, of which £35,734 was expended from the accumulated surplus balances upon public works. The result of the year’s working was therefore a net sur plus of £92,251 of revenue over expendi ture.
The accumulated surplus funds were thus increased to the record figure of £353,416 at December 31. In addition, the Colony possessed reserves of £246,636
in the Immigration Fund Proceeds account and in the reserve fund. Grants from the Colonial Development fund, totalling £11,394, were received on account of the Rewa bridge and roads on Viti Levu.
The usual procedure with Legislative Council meetings is to adjourn for at least two days after the presentation of the Governor’s address. His Excellency surprised members by going right ahead with the business, with the result that there was only one bill left to deal with when the Council adjourned until the following morning.
Most of the business transacted was of a routine nature, there being one or two amendments of a minor kind made to certain ordinances. An important motion before the Council was that the salary of the Governor shall be £2500 a year in Fijian currency, with a duty allowance of £F7SO a year, payable while on service in the Colony or within the limits of the Western Pacific High Commission. This has the effect of placing the Governor on the same basis as other officers on salar ies in Fijian currency. The present salary of the Fiji Governor, apart from the post of High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, is £3OOO per annum.
A bill was passed controlling boxing and wrestling contests. It gives wide powers to the police in respect of the sport, mak ing it necessary to obtain a permit and police approval before any contest is held.
It is modelled on the N.Z. Act, and the regulation will be drafted so that in future when professional wrestlers appear there will be definite control over them.
The authorities will have power to veto any match. This means that, if con sidered necessary, there will be no diffi culty in stopping inter-racial wrestling, which has given rise to bad feeling in the past.
Captain and Mrs. G. E. Warner, of Eng land, recently paid a visit to Cook Islands.
The former has had a distinguished career as skipper of a number of crack White Star liners. His eldest son, who was also in Rarotonga on business at the time of their visit, has a large circle of acquain tances in those Pacific Groups which he visits periodically as travelling represen tative of Messrs. W. H. Grove and Son.