THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1061, 25 February 1911, Page 6

THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

IS IT SATISFACTORY? V THE COST OF GOVERNMENT : IS IT UNNECESSARILY BURDENSOME? .(Br Democrat.) The Primo Minister, tlio other day, treated tlio electors of Dcvonport, and through them tho country, to a glowing dissertation upon tho'stato of our Dominion finances, enlarging upon the ever-expanding revenue, but preserving a discrcet silence in regard to tho similarly increasing expenditure. If wo are to beliovo Sir Joseph Ward wo arc simply "licking creation" (New Zealand creation, that is), in tho caso with which wo respond to the over-increasing demands made by tho Government upon our pockets, and, bccauso times . aro good and tjioso who "feel tho pinch" aro apparently few and far between, it is assumed that all is well with tho nation. 'For tho twelvemonths ended January 31 last, Sir Joseph AVard tells us, tho revenuo has exceeded that of tho previous twelvemonths by £1,088,000, and for tlio ten months of the financial year tho revenue is £873,561 greater than for the corresponding ten niont/.is of 1909-10. If tho Primo Minister's anticipations aro realised, moreover, the year 'will closo with "over a million to tho, good." That being tho case, tho actual payments into the Consolidated Fund for tho yepr ended March 31, 1911, sliould amount to something liko ten and a quarter millions sterling. Sir Joseph evidently prides himself, and possibly not without reason, upon establishing anotfher record in this direction, and. as. evidently, considers it a splendid thing for tho country. But tho satisfaction with which some people lay regard our ever-expanding revenue is not likely to bo shared by thoso who tako tho trouble to analyse tho figures, ■and to contrast them with.thoso of former years. With, a spendthrift Government'in'office, tpio taxpayer may bo inado to pay altogether tqo dearly for the prosporous state of tho conntry. Thcro are, in tho community, thoso who aro/of tho opinion that wo aro already doing so, and who ,aro seriously questioning tho necessity for the additional taxation placed upon the community in tho shape of increased Customs, Death (Probate and Succession) and Stamp duties, tho Graduated Incomo tax, and t|ao increased railway rates, etc., for all of which wo have to thank the increased railway rates; etc., for all of . wjhicli..- we havo 'to thank the Ward Government. It is characteristic of tho Primo 'Minister that, when ho is most desirous of tickling tho palates of tho people, ho nover by any ehanco speaks of tho increase in t|he expenditure upon tho Stato services. But, whilo tho revenuo expands, tho expenditure is mounting up in tho most, alarming fashion, and this question of tho over-increasing cost, of government. or administration, is:thus becoming a very serious matter." ,

Administration In Striking Contrast. It seems hard to realise, nowadays, that tho fortunes of Sir Harry Atkinson's last Administration wcro wrcckcd, over twenty years ago, by their own supporters, because, after making heroic efforts at retrenchment, and cutting down their own salaries, they were not prepared to further rcduco tho Depart- ■ mental expenditure, feeling tlioy had reached a limit beyond which it was not safo to go. Their predecessors in office—-tho Stout-Vogel Ministry—after increasing tho annual expenditure from £3,924,005 (an avcrago of £7 Gs. Id. per licad on tho then population) to .£4,310,875 (or £7 os. 7d. per head), had cut down their outgoings to £4,212,474 (or to £6 19s. 7d. per head). During tho first year of tho succeeding Atkinson Ministry, certain natural increases in the charges on tho Consolidated Revenuo sent tho expenditure up slightly, but, per head of population, it fell to £0 19s. Id. in 1888, and to £6 18s. 2d. in 1889. In 1890, ■it roso to £0 19s. 8d.,: but fell again to £6 19s. 4d. per head tho'following year! Under Mr. Ballance, and for tho first thrco years of tho Seddonian regime, t]io per capita, cxpeiidituro was still further reduced, as tho following tablo shows:— ' Expendituro Year. Administration. per head. / £ s. d. 1891-92 Ballanco G 12 11 1892-93 Ballance •' (111 0 1893-94 Ballancc-Seddon '644 1894-95 . Scddon 0 0 0 1895-96 Scddon 6 7 0 In 1898-99, tho upward movement bcenmo more pronounced, tho expendituro advancing to £6 lis. Gd;, and then to £6 lGs. 7d. in 1899-1900. During tho last decado it has rapidly mounted up, from £7 3s. 2d. in 1900-1 to £9 3s. lid. in 1909-10, and (on tho actual appropriations of £9,472,278 for tho current year), to £9 os. lOd. for 1910-11. Tho figures aro interesting enough to bo tabulated:— '

. Per , Year. Expenditure'. Capita. £ £ s. d. 1900-01 5,479,70-1 7 3 2 1901-02' 0,895,915 7 10 11 1902-03 6,214,019 7 14 11 1903-01 6,434,281 7 15 7 1904-05 6,635,902 7 15 9 1905-06 7,122,340 8 2 4 1906-07 7,774,926 8 12 5 1907-03 8,213,965 8 17 5 1908-09 ' 8,785,513. 9 4 4 1909-10 8,990,922 9 3 11 *1910-11 +9,316,470 tf9 - 6 10 Tho actual per capita increaso in expenditure lias, therefore, been £2 7s. 6d. during tho twenty years of Liberal administration, tho current year's figures (which aro almost certain to bo augmented), showing an increaso of £3 2s. 6d. per head on tho low water mark of expenditure (£6 4s. 4d.) attained in 1893-4 under tho BallauccSeddon Administration, an increaso of over 50 per cent on tho per capita basis and of nearly 120 per cent in thq gross expenditure. Big Surpluses Dangerous. Tho experience of tho last ten or twelve years prompts tlio inquiry, whether big-surpluses ought not to bo regarded in much tho same light as deficits—things to bo avoided. To liavo an overflowing Treasury, and huge surpluses nt the end of tho financial year, must certainly bo very pleasant to a Minister for Finance, who delights in appropriating huge sums for public works, and who is always glad' of an opportunity of opening up fresh avenues of. expenditure. But there is a very real danger of tho permanent appropriations increasing to such an extent as to necessitate fresh taxation, in order to meet tho ever-growing Idc-' mands of Stato expenditure. . Liberal financiers in the Homeland have never regarded big surpluses as desirable. Nor do they even consider they'indicate financial genius, but rather tho reverse, tho hall-marks of statesmanship and financial capacity, with thorn being found in the balancing of tho public ledger with tho minimum of inconvenience to the taxpayer. It is certainly not wiso to cxtract from tlio pockets of tho people moro than is required to carry on tho services of tho country efficiently. New Zealand Liberal politicians have como to 4 think otherwise, nnd thus, year after year, wo liavo witnessed surpluses ranging from £233,416 up to £850,024, with tho prospect this year of reaching high watermark with a surplus of over a million sterling. Instead of looking around to ceo in what direction the burdens of

tho peoplo may bo lightened tlio Government apparently considers it its duty to devise further methods of expenditure and so tho cost of government steadily mounts upward, on moro or loss extravagant lilies, tho extent of tho increaso being to a very largo extent reflected in tlio increased taxation that becomes necessary. •Estimated on n population basis of 997,136, arrived at by averaging tho increases of tho previous live years, and adding the number thus obtained (25,352) to the previous yenr's total. fAmount actually appropriated. 1A vera go per head of actual tions.