REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.

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ministers are jointly and individually responsible to the Legislature for all their official acts.

Revenue and Expenditure.

The total annual gross revenue and the total annual gross expendi- ture of the colony of South Australia for each of the ten years 18G0-G9 were as follows, according to official returns : —

Years

Eevenue •

Expenditure

£

£

1860

504,045

543,025

1861

558,586

482,951

1862

659,870

615,114

1863

631,700

635,205

1864

766,635

612,078

1865

1,089,243

809,159

1866

975,180

1,084,709 .

1867

1,126,326

1,292,600

1868

1,361.803

1,353,189

1869

777.350

802,250

The greater part of the revenue of the colony is derived from the sale of crown lands, and from customs duties, while the main portion of the expenditure is on account of public works. On the average of the three years 1867 to 1869, the customs duties produced rather more than one-fourth, and the sale of Crown lands rather less than one-fourth of the total annual revenue, the rest being derived from a great number of sources, including railways, tele- graphs, post-office, Adelaide water rates, and port and harbour dues. About one-third of the net revenue is expended in administrative charges, comprising a 'civil list' of 16,800/., salaries of officials to the amount of 225,000/., and ' contingencies' averaging 230,000/. a-year. Included in the revenue returns of the foregoing table were receipts from loans, amounting to 65,218/. in 1860; to 16,989/. in 1861 ; to 19,000/. in 1862 ; to 33,044/. in 1863 ; to 33,648/. in 1864; to 113/. in 1865;. to. 25,406/. in 1866; to 410,031/. in 1867 ; to 645,799Z. in 1868 ; and to 21,721/. in 1869.

The public debt of the colony, dating from 1854, amounted to 593,700/. in 1857, to 870,100/. in 1860, to 1,077,750/. in 1867, and to 1,663,100/. at the end of 1868. This debt does not include loans for reproductive public works.

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