Financially, New Zealand was in a very satisfactory position. When Mr. Seddon met Parliament as Premier, he was able to announce that the public accounts showed a gross surplus of revenue over expenditure which was then unparalleled in the colony’s history. The actual revenue for the year had amounted to £4,499,836, and the expenditure to £4,153,125, and the Government had an excess of revenue over expenditure of £346,771. With the surplus from the previous year, there was a total surplus of £572,282, and, after taking £200,000 for public works, and smaller sums for other purposes, there was a net surplus of £228,780, which, when announced by Sir Joseph Ward in the first Financial Statement he delivered, was loudly applauded by Liberal members.
It was evident now that New Zealand would remain entirely unaffected by the extraordinary financial panic that prevailed in Australia. It was an escape which, as Mr. Seddon claimed, was emphatic testimony to the far-sighted prudence of the New Zealand public and private finance in the years that had just passed. It was a high tribute to the manner in which the people had learnt the severe lesson they had been taught since they marched at a mad pace, scattering their thousands without regard to the future. It showed that there was still confidence in the colony and its people. Above all, it was a splendid testimony to the self-reliant, non-borrowing policy with which Mr. Seddon and his colleagues went into office.
Under the guidance of Sir John McKenzie, land settlement made great strides. Genuine settlers, many of whom are now well-to-do and even very prosperous men, had been induced by liberal laws and regulations to take up sections, and they had begun at once, by their industry and frugality, to return to the colony a fair share of the proceeds.
Throughout his first session as Premier, Mr. Seddon insisted that the course the colony had adopted so unmistakably ought to be continued. There was no turning back for him. “We must go on and advance with the age,” he said repeatedly. “There is still room for improvement. We must not let this young country get into the degrading condition and position of older countries. While we protect labour, we must give
