§ The Exchequer balances on 1st April 1898 were of a very abnormal amount, £10,918,000, which is about £5,000.000 in excess of the normal amount of Exchequer balances. They were inflated on the one side by including the surpluses of previous 1002 years, amounting to £7,249,000, which had been devoted by Parliament to naval and military works and public buildings; and they were depleted on the other side by my having taken £2,089,000 for purposes of capital expenditure authorised by Parliament, instead of borrowing, so as temporarily to save the interest on the money. That last amount of £2,089,000 has now been borrowed and repaid to the Exchequer balances; £1,710,000 has been issued during the year for our naval and military works; £2,550,000 has been also issued and invested in a separate account bearing interest for public buildings, so that there now only remains in the balances £1,861,000 still to be issued for naval and military works, most of which, I think, will be issued this year. The total Exchequer balances on 1st April 1899, including this last-named sum, amounted to £8,919,000. I may state that the balances have been permanently strengthened during the year by the National Debt Commissioners having applied a sum of £1,128,000, the remainder of the surplus of 1897–98, to the repayment of deficiency advances under the Sinking Fund Act of 1875.