CEASE BORROWING!

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 880, 28 July 1910, Page 4

CEASE BORROWING!

• "IMPOSSIBLE" SATS THE PRIME MINISTER. Replying to a proposal made to him yesterday on behaii 01 the 'iTades Council Conierence that the amount of borrowing should cease except for. redemption of loans and the completion of works already authorised by Parliament, the Prime Minister stated that the Government could not accede to the suggestion, and What was more did not intend to try. If the suggestion were adopted it would mean tliac thousands of. workers would be thrown out of employment. As a matter of fact, there was no country in the world which had been able to gqt on without borrowing in its deveiopmentalstages. Mr. Carey:.The Commonwealth does not borrow.

' Sir Joseph: But the individual States have to do so, and if the Commonwealth had over-riding borrowing powers it would be madness.

Sir Joseph stated that he knew that it was owing to the position, of the Commonwealth that this proposal was often urged. In New Zealand if there was a Labour party and a Labour, Government, and it attempted to carry out such a proposal it would wreck itself beiore the} knew where they were. What did New Zealand borrow for? To advance money to local bodies, settlers, and workers, and for the construction of railways, roads, telephones, and other public utilities, and in each instance the Government got an asset in return for its outlay. Although the proposal was sincerely and earnestly made, it was one that he was sure could not be given effect to. Mr. Hanan: It would mean increased taxation also.

Sir Joseph remarked that it would certainly -involve increased taxation. What was more, howevoi, the first ulass which would suffer under such a policy was the workers themselves. Later ip the session ho was bound to be dealing with the question of finance, when he would have something to say on the question of borrowing when he' was dealing with tho sinking funds scheme.