AN ANGRY PREMIER.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 506, 13 May 1909, Page 8

AN ANGRY PREMIER.

SIR JOSEPH WARD ASSAILS HIS CRITICS. " FINANCIAL OPERATIONS OF,THE YEAR. CBI TZLEGRAPH—PHESfI ASSOCIATION.! Christchurch, May 12. At a complimentary social to Mr. Davey, M.P., to-night, Sir Joseph Ward mado some remarks regarding recent criticisms- of tie. financial position of' the Dominion.. It was an extraordinary thing, ho said, that since his speech at Invercargill throe - members of tho Opposition—tho Leader of the Opposition and Messrs. James Allen and Fraser—nhad been at tho business of misrepresentation—(Shame I)—with tho object of creating tho impression that tho Dominion is not so well off as in reality it is. Ho had noticed that for nearly twenty years the principal stock-in-trado of the Government's opponents had been to cast doubt on tho financial stability of the cbiwtry, and to create an impression that financially tho conntry was not going well. Nearly twenty years ago their opponents alleged that the Government was "galloping to a deficit," but, during the interval that had elapsed, tliey oould look over the history of tho Dominion and they would not find in one single year a vindication of this prediction. It had never come off..

Last year had been one of tho most: difficult years m a financial siaiso for private individuals as well as for the Government. Ihe financial operations of the Government Dad involved the raising of about £8,000,000 sterling in tlio year—£3,ooo,ooo for renewals of loans £1,250,000 authorised by Parliament for public works, £1,000,000 for the purchase ot tho Manawatu railway, nearly £1,800 000 for advances to settlors and advances to workers, and about £400,000 for tho purchase of estates for closer settlement. This was a. tremendous operation for ono year—the largast in his knowledge in tho history of > 8 Donmion—and in the year in which it was accomplished every country outside New Zealand was passing through a very difficult financial period. ..... It was a singular thing that whilst thev wore in tho midst of this financial operation ono gentleman opposed to' the Government W c aS iL through the leading columns of the Opposition journal in Wellington, fin? n^ g , ll u t ,-J egard , in S «"» Dominion's hnancial stability, and similar doubts had been created in a financial journal in London Nol C iitk S i it. 6« ntl eman's name. Nevertheless, the Government's' financial operations had been successfully carried .out " ng \ (Applause.) remem ' )6 red the circumstances, and that it was of vital consequenco to the people of the conntry that these operations should be successful, and that tho Old Country and other countries finished the year.with deficits whilst New Zealand had shown a surplus of revenue £118,000 higher than the estimate, surely it was an occasion wJien bitter ■ political party prejudice, howovor much one was. steeped in it, should have been swept away to the four winds of / " tl !P ro £,l ould. have beon rojoicing that their little Dominion should sidr .Xhto.) 0 Wm ° ° Ut ° n tho In the three,years.his administration.had cS F ero hi tf been .paid off £450,000 ? ,j l ~'> at the same time thero had been paid into the sinking funds for the *n l £ c o i , 2 n Maori War loans a sum of £119,815; and for extinction of lands for settlement loans the ,sum of '£162,592 making a total of £732,442 paid off.' ,'The ques.tion was asked why. the accounts for the last quarter of the financial year had not . been published, but those who asked the question must be. absolute babes in the'financial world, or .entirely lgnopint of the system' followed, ihe reason the accounts had not', been published was that' tho ? had to go to the Audit Department, and with tho accounts for the previous .three quarters, had..to.,bo audited, only bo-gazetted after "being ccrtiljed by the Audit' Office.' 'The' year before last jhe_ accounts- wera;received; batik from * Audit Oißce on May 16. ' Last year it was May 14, and they were due this'year on May 14. The Audit, Department, was'only doing its duty, and tho Government was not responsible m. >Ny way, for any delay in gazetting. | . • Regarding the. Leader, of. the Opposition's statement that he' (Sir Joseph Ward) intended to tax widows to pay for tho Dreadnought, ho said when he read it ho wondered if the Leader ,of the Opposition expected such a Jest to bo taken seriously. He had said at InvorcargiU that tho succession duties in Now Zealand wore not high enough;' and during tho brief history of tie Domini ion over twelve millions had paid an average of 5 per cent, in death duties. This was nothing whatever compared with thoso in England, but tlio amount paid in Now Zealand did not include a single penny left direct to widows. Ho had' not suggested taxing widows, and, tho theory propounded was absolutely contriry to'fact. Instead of estates of deceased persons escaping duties 'owing to arrangements made prior to decease, in ovory instance beneficiaries should pay a fair succession duty to the country, and tliere should not bo one system 1 for tho very wealthy and another for those not so wealthy who did not attempt to'escape taxation. ~ As to Mr. Fraser's statement that the next session there would bo more financial criticism tllan previously,; Sir Josepli Ward said the liovornment did not care how much they had. There had never been a session that tliere was not plenty of criticism by budding Ulonial Treasurers, but-despite those criticisms, tho country had had a.revenuo of nirio millions, a surplus of £184,000, and £792,000 had been', paid off debts anil put into sinking funds. ■ ... ' • . ; .. b