Mr. FitzGerald continued—Thea they must take £240,000 as the saving, and if it was so they must be very much astonished that the hon. the Colonial Treasurer had omitted any mention whatever of it, and he feared that it showed that that gentleman had not the confidence in it which his hon. friend at the head of the Govern ment had. However, they must take figures for it. In the present estimates, which were not by any means clearly stated, the ex penditure under the loan was mixed up with that under current revenue. In the com parison with the previous year the expenditure of the late Government was '£704.221, and that of the present Government £746,792, to which they must add the unauthorised ex penditure of the past year, £33,485 making a total of £780,177. He was not going lo say that this showed the absolutely fair com parison, because the expenditure under the loan must also be taken. He found that the proposed expenditure under the late Govern ment amounted to £571,222, and he believed that the hon. gentlemen at the head of the Go vernment accepted those estimates. If not, the hon. gentleman could correct him. (Mr. Stafford: The lion, gentleman is as wrong in this as in other matters.) It did not matter; but the charges on that loan must not be taken as a saving, if not expended. There were the sums for light-houses and telegraphs, the Taranaki relief fund, the house for Lowry Bay, the arrears for the Suez line subsidy, aud further expenditure on Government domains, making in all £77,260. There were other items which must not be taken in com parison between the expenditure of the two Governments. This left a balance of £495,972 which would have been expended by the late Government. The expenditure under the loan must be added to that under current revenue given above. This will give the whole proposed expenditure for the past year at £1,198,193, and the present Govern ment had expended £1,191,568, leaving a balance of £6,525; but there was a sum of £41,842, for surplus to be added to the proposed expenditure under Mr. 