THE DOMINION. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 1912. THE REFORM BUDQET.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1512, 7 August 1912, Page 6

THE DOMINION. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 1912. THE REFORM BUDQET.

-o The Budget presented to Parliament last evening by the Hon. Jaiies Allen, Minister of Finance, is remarkable'in several respects.. It is for one thing the first that has bren brought clown during the p&,st twenty-one years by'a Government which has nothing to conceal, and can therefore be relied on as a plain and unvarnished stateniont of the financial position of the. country. It is remarkable also for the absence of that high-flown language which has boon so noticeable-for many years past, and which was so out of place in such a document. And it is fur-' ther noteworthy for the clear and explicit declaration of policy it contains, and for the progressive und democratic spirit underlying that policy. It is not an easy matter to pick holes in the Budget, particularly when it is borne in mind that tho Government has not yet been a month in office. The shortcomings, such as they, are, may be classed as sins ul omission, and seeing the short time the Government has had at its disposal and tho amount of work it has had to do in that time, it would he unreasonable to ■ expect that all the important questions calling for al-' tention would have been fully dealt with on the present occasion. Indeed, the Government is to lie heart--'ily congratulated on its achievement in facing the House so soon after its accession to the Treasury benches with a policy covering so large a variety of subjects' and so clearly setting forth the views and intentions of the Reform party. The outstanding feature of Mk. Allkn's first Budget is the clear and dispassionate manner in which the facts relating to the finances of the Dominion are presented, and the plain and businesslike way in which tho proposals of the Government'arc placed before the country. Very wisely tho Minister of Finance has set forth the position of

tho public accounts when ho assumed the charge of the Treasury, and the information ho has afforded in this respect should prove a valuable find illuminating record for future reference. In another article we deal with the financial side of the Budget, and it, is not necessary to do more liwe than to direct attention to Mn. Allen's remarks on borrowing. The system which had been pursued in the past, the Minister remarked, was not a. safe method of finance, and he urged the practice of self-restraint iilid. self-reliance. It is, of course, impossible to stop borrowing at once. The Continuous Ministry has provented any chance of that by the reckless system of finance to which it has committed the country. But it is satisfactory to note from Mn. Allen a firmer expression of opinion than the Reform party has been accustomed to give, as to the necessity for cutting down borrowing, an'd we trust that, like Ballance, who held somewhat similar views to those now put forward, the new Minister will find himself able to give effect to his ideas in this respect. Turning to the general questions of policy outlined, it will be scon that the reform of the Legislative Council decided on is to make that .body purely elective. This will not bo accomplished at once,. as the existing seven life members and the thirty-two' members appointed for fixed terms are to be allowed to continue to hold their seats until their terms expire. But this will not prevent the elective scheme being brought into effect so soon as the measure providing the machinery passes into law. The Government's proposal bo divide the whole of New Zealand into two large constituencies—the North Island and the South Island—each of which will be entitlotl to elect twenty members, will probably meet with objection on various grounds. The constituencies are too large for one thing, and on a population basis the representation is unfair, and may grow still more so if the growth proceeds at the existing relative rates in the North and South Islands. But these are matters of detail. The fact that the franchise is to be the same as that which governs elections to the House of Representatives should appeal to those professing Liberal views; and the terra ■for which Councillors are to bo elected—that is two terms of the Lower House—has advantages which do not call for enumeration at the moment, but which are plain enough to those who have given any thought to the matter. Apparently Mr. Massey hppes to get his Bill through without the necessity for adding to the existing strength of the Legislative Council. Probably he is somewhat optimistic in this respect, although he has to some extent disarmed the antagonism of existing Councillors by permitting them to remain where they arc until their term of appointment expires. As in the case of the Government's proposal to place the Civil Service beyond the contaminatinfluence of political patronage, so in the case of Legislative Council appointments, the new Government has shown itself ready to sacrifice the political advantage it would possess in the way of bestowing'favours, where that advantage is inconsistent with its views as to what is best in the public interest. The Government plainly is determined to live up' to its professions. \ It is quite impossible to touch on any but the more important of the numerous proposals placed before the country last evening, and those only briefly.. Land settlement is for the moment tho most important of the planks in the Government's policy, and it is made abundantly clear in the Budget, that every reasonable means'will be utilised to open up the waste lands of the country and to bring about closer settlement in other directions. Those who have branded the Reform party as the friend of the large landholder will look very' foolish when they read this morning the proposal to increase the graduated land tax and squeeze still further taxation out of the owners of large estates. And while this pressure is being brought to bear on tho large landowner, the small man and the widow with children to support are to receive remissions of taxation. A now system of acquiring land is to be introduced, under which it will be possible to secure land for settlement on deferred payment, and it is made quite plain that the process of (totting up the large estates is to proceed more rapidly than .heretofore. ,So also in other directionsill all directions it might be said— the_ Budget discloses evidence of an active and practical programme of land lands, gumfield lands, mining lands, Native lands, and, as already mentioned, large private estates. Nor are industrial matters neglected. The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act is to be amended on lines recently suggested in these columns, and the system of workers' homes is to be extended into the country districts. The fledge of the party to provide pensions for women at 60, instead of 65 years, is to be carried out at once • provision is to.be made to assist those permanently incapacitated for work who are not in receipt of tho old ago pension; the Widows' Pensions Act is to bo extended to cover cases where the_husband of any woman is confined in a mental hospital, and in various other directions the humanitarian side of the Reform programme is to be given effect to. The magistracy is to bo ijlaccd on a more satisfactory footing; electoral reform is promised , ; new methods in railway construction are hinted at; further preference to British manufacturers is outlined; special attention is to ho given to the needs of the mentally afflictorl; a schoinc for dealing with juvenile delinquents is sketched: medical inspection of school children provided for, and so on. And this is the policy and programme of the u"n l 'n- nnrl " rcil ctionary" party, will those peor.le in and out of Parliament who for years have been declaiming about the "Conservatism" of the Reform party bo good enough to point out which of the policy proposals in the Budget presented to parliament last evening arc "reactionary"? No more democratic and progressive policy has ever been put forward in this country. It must impress tho public, however, not merely on account of its broad and progressive spirit, but also because of the business-like manor in which the various matters are dealt with It- will appeal to everyone as the plain, straightforward pronouncement of practical men, who, having made up their minds as to what is best to be done, do not hesitate to make known their intentions regardless of whom they may offend,