For the fiscal year ending 31 Maich 1915, the consolidated fund amounted and the expenditures chargeable to it amounted to $135,523,206, representing a deficit of nearly two and a half millions, to be met from loans or other available resources not constituting part of the consolidated fund. When, how ever, we come to analyze the sources of revenue making up the $133,000,000 of the consolidated fund, and the items of expenditure which are charged upon it, we find that a large portion of the fund represents simply the gross income from various government services, such as the postal and government railway services; while the charges upon it include also the working expenses of these same enterprises, so far at least as they have not been already tleducted before being brought into the budget, as indi cated above in the case of the Post-Office De partment. Thus, for instance, the consolidated fund includes receipts from the postal service of slightly over $13,000,000, but when we turn to the expenditures from the fund, we find that the operating expenses of the postal service amount to almost $16,000,000. This takes no account of the considerable portion of an ex penditure of some two millions on mail sub sidies and steamship subventions. Further the central or administrative staff of this service at Ottawa costs an additional $800,000, being included in the item of "civil government." If one cares to go further and turn to the detailed expenditures of the Public Works Department, it will be found that of the expenditure for the year of $7,750,000, a large section is represented by either new post-office buildings, separately, or combination public buildings, the chief sec tions of which are commonly devoted to the postal service. Thus instead of the Post-Office Department furnishing any real revenue to the government, it represents a very extensive ad ditional charge upon the real revenues of the country. The same is true of the large revenue item of $12,000,000 from the government rail ways,— the Intercolonial, Prince Edward Is land, Transcontinental and one or two small lines. We find on referring to the operating expenses of these lines that not only is this revenue entirely absorbed but there is left in its place some $325,000 of a deficit on operat ing experises. This does not take into account the share of the Railway Department in the ex penditure under civil government of $188,000 for the staff of the Department of Railways and Canals. Neither does it take into account the interest on the enormous capital expenditure on the government lines and which constitutes so large a part of the interest charge on the public debt, amounting to over $15,000,000.
It might appear that the sale of Dominion lands, amounting to over $2,800,000 in 1914, would furnish a very considerable surplus of revenue. But we find that the annual cost of the administration of the Dominion lands amounted to $3,700,000 in the same year. Another important item in the annual receipts included in the consolidated fund is that of 1.2,900,000 of interest on investments. But this, it is found, represents chiefly the interest on the advances to the Grand Trunk Pacific, amounting to over one and a half millions, on Montreal Harbor debentures, the sinking fund, advances to banks, etc. Altogether the inter est on investments represents but a small offset on the interest to be paid by the Dominion on the public debt, which, directly or indirectly, was partly incurred for these pur poses.
Income from One of the tables in the Annual Report on Public Accounts, pre pared by the Finance Department, sets forth separately the income from taxation, which is the real income of the country, .and the income derived from other sources, largely, as indi cated, the gross receipts from certain govern ment services. Up to the outbreak of the European War, there were, as mentioned, only two real sources of revenue: customs and excise duties. The Chinese immigration tax, though listed separately, is really a customs tax on imports with the usual protective ob ject in view. Since 1914, to these two sources of direct revenue the special war taxes, to be referred to, must be added.
Distinguishing taxes proper from the other sources of income, we find that of the total receipts of $133,073,481, constituting the con solidated fund for the year 1914-15, $97,715,440 were derived from taxes proper, while $35, 358,041 were derived from the other sources. Of the charges which are almost entirely paid out of the $97,000,000 of taxation, the chief are the following: Interest and management of the national debt. $16.188,000 Customs and excise collection 4,605,000 Subsidies to the provinces 11,451,000 Sinking funds 1,645,000 Civil government 6,157.000 Administration of justice 1,469,000 Legislation 2,376,000 Arts. agriculture and statistics 3,618,000 Immigration 1,658,000 Militia (apart from the war) 10,000,000 Public works (not charged to capital) 19,343,000 Mail subsidies and steamship subventions 2,162,000 Ocean and river service 1,133,000 Lighthouse and coast service 2,583,000 Trade and commerce 2,943,000 Indians 2,400,000 These items account for somewhat over $89,500,000 of the regular revenue, leaving about $8,000,000 to meet other minor items of unremunerative expenditure and cover the de ficits on the various remunerative government enterprises whose gross revenue furnishes the other $35,000,000 of income. This $35,000,000 of revenue partly meets what we have called the working expenses of the departments; the chief of these items are: Post-office $15,961,000 Public works, collection of revenue 799,000 Railways and canals 13,876,000 Dominion lands 3,701,000 Weights, measures, gas and electric light in spection, etc 288,000 These items alone amount to $34,500,000, leaving about $750,000 for all the other smaller items of this character. As a matter of fact, as already indicated, most of the deficits, repre senting the surplus of costs over revenue in these branches of the service, have to be met out of the additional $8,000,000 remaining from the tax revenue as indicated above.
Special The Dominion government has the use of several trust funds, such as the post-office and savings bank deposits on which a comparatively low interest is paid. It enjoys also the issue of Dominion notes to a specified amount in excess of the speck reserve. The other funds, beyond the consolidated fund, which are available for expenditure within the year are, first, any surplus of revenue from the consolidated fund; second, loans, whether permanent or temporary, raised during the year. Under normal conditions these extra funds are applied to meet any deficit in the consolidated fund, for the redemption of debt, capital ex penditure on public works, or subsidies to rail roads, and other special grants.