peared to be available for Public Works. Thus, a total sum of £1,000,600, melinite of £10,^92 2s, 6a., the amount of unauthorised expenditure from the Slit March, 1863, to the date of your last Appropriation Ordinance appeared to be at your disposal, and by that Ordinanoe you authorised the Executive "Govern ment to disburse on account of Public Works, and otherwise the mm of £929,404 136. 2d. Of this appropriation the mm of £678,000 has been expended. He proceeds to say that having voted£l,ooo,ooo for the year's current expenditure and having "expended the sum of £678,000 only, it fol lows that the sum of £322,000 ought now to be available for Public "Works during the cur rent year." But in the mean time a circum stance had occurred which had not entered in to the calculations of the Superintendent or his Council. When the half million loan out of which the greater part of the sums voted was to be defrayed was introduced on the Stock Exchange the Otago debentures proved to be unsaleable. Only £1000 was offered at {he the minimum price and only £7,] 00 was of fered in all at any price. So that on meeting his Council the Superintendent finds the sum of £304,000 has been expended which has been advanced by the Banks on the credit of this loan and which there are no immediate means of meeting, and unless some plan is de vised to meet the difficulty it seems to threaten very serious consequences. The most feasible course which occurs to the Otago Superinten* dent is that the Provincial Council should join him in strongly urging upon the General Go vernment of the Colony the absolute necessity of their immediately pledging the country fo a guarantee of the Loan, so that it may be placed in the British market on as favourable a footing as the Colonial War Loan, which is now in course of negotiation through an ac credited member of the New Zealand Govern, ment." The Canterbury Press in an article on Pro vincial Loans advocates a similar view of the subject. The writer says — We have no doubt, that the real cause of the depre ciated yalue of Provincial debentures arises from the three million loan. The General Government hat killed our credit. 