POLITICAL ADDRESS

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 886, 4 August 1910, Page 6

POLITICAL ADDRESS

MR. FISHER AT WELLINGTON CENTRAL. RETRENCHMENT AND BORROWING. GOVERNMENT POLICY CRITICISED. Mr. P. M. B. Fisher delivered a political address at the Druids' Hall, Taranaki Street, last' evening. Mr. J. G. .W. Aitken presided over a gathering that comfortably filled the hall. The -speaker was accorded an attentive hearing, interruptions being few. At the outset Mr. Fisher explained that he had'delayed delivering his address in order that he might utilise the figures embodied in this year's Financial Statement. s Lopsided Retrenchment. Dealing with the question of public indebtedness, Mr. Fisher instanced the fact that during the term of the Ward Administration the National Debt had-increased from .£59,1)70,000 to ,£74,415,000. During tho same period there had-been an average increase per year of ,£440,000 of revenue, so that it could not be said on behalf of the Administration that' tho borrowing indulged in had been necessi-. tated by a decrease in revenue. ■ To discover what had become of the increased revenue one need only review the public expenditure during the years in which the Ward Government had been in office. In 1907 this amounted, in round figures, to .£7,700,000, in 1908 to ,£5,200,000,' in 1909 to .£8,700,000, and in 1910 it had increased to ,£8,900,000. And then, notwithstanding ' the alleged retrenchment, the estimated expenditure for the current year was .£9,316,000. It was a singular thing that although the number of Government officers hud been reduced, and although it was perfectly true that there had been retrenchment, they were faced by an expenditure of ,£216,000 more in salaries than had been incurred last year. The policy followed had been .that of reducing the office boy. and increasing the salary of the chief of staff two or three hundred pounds. Real retrenchment could never be effected in this way, but only by reducing the whole vote. The Government claimed to have effected a saving of .£88,099 in tho Department of Finance, but last year's figures included the cost of the general election (JE60.000) and other items, making a total of .£77,5-19, not one penny of which was recurring. Instead of a saving of .E88.099 there' was a net saving of less than .£II,OOO. In the Native Department a saving of was claimed, but last year was expended on the Native Land Commission, so that -the net saving -was ,£7OOO. Inst' year's returns for, the Lands Department showed an alleged saving of .£27,000, but the Estimates for that year included .£29,782 expended, in' recouping losses caused by bush fires, so that instead of a saving being effected JI2OOO more had been expended under ordinary heads than m the previous year. Dealing further with the question of retrenchment, Mr. Fisher quoted lengthy returns in support of. his contention that the highlysalaried officers t had been granted increase of salary, while the remuneration of lowe-r-paid officials had remained stationary. No one objected to the payment of higli salaries, but whatever surplus the country, had available for this purpose should be fairly distributed, and given to those who most deserved it,' and not to those only whose . salaries wero already high.

Borrowing and Sinking Funds, In regard to borrowing, Mr. Fisher declared that the more imports and exports increased tho more the country borrowed. It would be argued by some that the borrowing was reproductive, but this was true only in part. A comparison of New Zealand with Victoria was'instructive. In, 1900 the public debt of New Zealand was ,£16,000.000, and of Victoria ,£48,000,000. In 100S Victoria had increased its debt by four millions and New Zealand by sixteen, millions. Despite this great difference, exports and imports were increasing in Victoria at a greater rate than in New Zealand. Last year New Zealand borrowed more than Victoria in, the last eight years. A country could be developed internally much better than by the aid of borrowed money. If they had a proper administration of the land in this country, and met the demand of people searching for laud who could not get it, the country would have infinitely less need for borrowing in the future than there had been in the past. In Victoria they had no Advances to Settlers Department, they lacked the great State Departments that existed in New Zealand,. and yet the development of the country had gone ahead Just ,the same. : Mr. Fisher was frankly sceptical as to the sinking, fund proposals advanced by the Premier. To set aside ,£150,000 a year for this purpose would merely serve, he said, to amuse people. The Premier had himself some years previously quoted and endorsed the opinion of high, financial authorities that until a country -had ceased borrowing there should be no sinking funds. The scheme for extinguishing the :debt by sinking funds maturing in seventy-five years simply could not be carried out. ■ ;■ \ Defence. It was unfortunate, said Mr. Fisher, that the fine defence scheme submitted by Lord Kitchener should be spoiled by tho ■ Administration. They had already appointed Territorial adjutants and instructors, and the responsibility of seeing that these officers carried .out their duties would be thrown on the shoulders of the new commandant when he arrived. As regarded exemptions, the hest thing •the Government could do'was to bring down' a Bill providing for a scheme of exemptions, on the lines of the German or Swiss schemes. A . ballot would not bo satisfactory. . . .%

, A Spineless Government. Mr. Fisher declared his cordial aßreeniont with Mi\ James, Allen, M.P., who had said that in regard to the land question, the Government was "as spineless as ' a whitebait." Personally, if there were a leasehold party in the House he would join it. He did not-want to seo a single acre of Crown land or national endowment alienated. He denied that'land .reform , -was progressing in this country, aud quoted figures showing that large estates of certain areas had increased in number, instead- of diminishing. Tho graduated land tai, in his opinion, should he made effective below the ,£40,000 limit. ■ The Opposition Party. Afber repeating the explanation ho has already made in the Houso as to his attitude on the gaming proposals, aud dealing briefly with other questions'of the day, Mr. Fisher claimed consideration both for the. Conservatives of the past and for the Opposition party of to-day, declaring at the same time that they were absolutely independent entities. The Conservatives of the old days had-given this country of their very best. It was they who started the nationalisation of the railways in New Zealand. It was ten or fifteen years before the Liberal party came into power that Government Life Insurance was started, and the same applied to Post and Telegraphs. What were called tho Socialistic institutions of this country had been handed down by people who were scorned to-day as old Conservatives. As to the ;Opposition of to-day, it was a distinct party, which should, be judged on its merits, it was most unfair that, it should be saddled with all the iniquities that could ■' be dragged out of' the past. If the Opposition made mention of anything done by the Liberal party during the last eighteon or twenty years they were, informed: "That was done in Seddon's time." They demanded an equal consideration on thoir own acconnt. . . Confidence and Thanks, • ~ At the conclusion of his address, Mr. Fisher was accorded by the electors' who had listened to his address a unanimous voto of confidence and thanks.