THE REFORM BUDGET.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1514, 9 August 1912, Page 7

THE REFORM BUDGET.

— ■■ —♦— - — PRESS AND OTHER OPINIONS. . GENERAL APPROVAL GREAT DEMOCRATIC REFORMS. (BFiT«lMraph.;-HD«<!lal CorreJDMldMrU Auckland, August 7. The Reform Budget was hailed •with a chorus : of delighted approval in Auckland and all classes of.the community .have expressed warm admiration of tho . courage- and 'tho practical common sense of tho new Cabinet. On every side one hears hearty approval expressed. The "Hc?rald" (Government) this morning, says: "The Financial Statement submitted yesterday .to Parliament, is the most satisfactory and the most democratic read for a quarter of a century. We find that tho only uso Mr. Massey and his supporters make of tho.power, which /has been entrusted to them is to com.'mende .thoso great . and . democratic re- : forms which ought to havo been instituted [and inaugurated by those who have posed fas democrats and' have been democratio jin name-, only. Tho first Reform Budget lis a masterly and statesmanlike docu{ment, full of sound' common sense and 'democratic earnestness. It will-deeply gratify those who, by their support, have made a. Reform Government possible, and it 'will'win.-tho applause of all who long to see New Zealnud prosperous and progressive, and-'fair opportunity open to all her people." Tho "Star". (Opposition) says there' is much- in Mr. Allen's Budget that will commend itself to the approval of Liberals as well as Reformers throughout tho Dominion. It is hardly necessary to add that tho chief reason for this is that Mr. Massey and his colleagues have paid their predecessors in office a most gratifying compliment by that' imitation which is said.to be tho sincerest form of flattery. 'They have not precisely adopted the Liberal legislative programme as their own, but they have taken up the Liberal point' fx>! view with spine success, and we agree 'with Sir Joseph Ward that the Massey' , party may, well be congratulated upon its Bomewhat. belated,con version from its original conservative'attitude to the more or less democratic standpoint, which, however, vaguely and inadequately, is indicated in the : financial policy set forth by (the Hon. Jas, Allen.

COMMENDED ON ALL SIDES.. ..-. ■ GROUNDLESS FEAES. (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) ' Wanganui, August 7. Nothing shows more clearly the utter deadness of the Liberal party, so far as this electorate is concerned, than fho reception.given to Mr. Allen's Budget, which has been commended, on. all sides. Very significant is the attitude of the large number of those usually "opposed to the Government, who admit that it outlines a policy that is reasonable, progressive, and sincere. Inquiries by your' correspondent show .that even the Labour party,/while it would like to see some matters dealt with .that are hot included in the Budget, welcome it as something a long way. in advanco of what was served up during the latter part of the Liberal regime at least and regard it as an excellent start towards the realisation of many of Labour's own aims. . The ''Chronicle" which, supports' the Government, praises the Budget; but more significant is the altitude of the "Herald," which has always been an out-and-out supporter of tho Liberals, and equally opposed to the Reform party. It heads its Budget, "A Satisfactory Document," and introduces a somewhat critical revietf of it, with 'thevfollo.wing ..cahdid confession:—"We are pleased' to' bo l able to congratulate the: Government oh issuing a Budget which on the whole is'very satisfactory, and one characterised' by liberal and progressive policy. With strong recollections of' maladministration of previous Conservative Governments, we, in common/ with many others, regarded the return of that party to pow;er with a certain amount' of justifiable dread/ Wo, candidly confess .that if we aro to judge by the.proraiscs contained in the Budget, there is a' strong probability of events proving that our fears were groundless, and in common fairness we are pleased to admit as much." '

MARKS AN EPOCH. HONJSST, 'PRANK, AND ABOVE,BOARD. (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) Christchurch, August 7. Dealing with the Financial Statement, the "-Press" (Government) .says that it marks an epoch, in the Parliamentary history of New Zealand. If we were asked to..name 'the. outstanding features of the / Budget we should say first of all its frankness. Never before has the true state ol our finances been stated as clearly and with such utter absence of reserve. Wo may especially refer, -to the statement showing the exact amount-of money available, in, each fund and the liabilities which have to be met in connection with that "fund. Tho statement is not' pleasant reading. It shows,'as.by the sudden illumination of a flash of lightning, the reckless methods pursued by the Ministry preceding and narrowness in some cases of tho space which has separated us from disaster. Very likely the Opposition will sny'that it is most imprudent to make .the disclosures; that the effect'will be to deprecate our credit still further, oven if it does not destroy it altogether. .We dp not agree with this view. The policy of concealment has been.carried on ' too long, and, the result has simply been to excite suspicion and. distrust in the minds of the investing public in England. British financiers are not fools.' They dp - not lend money without making inquiries on their own account, and when they Arid the Government in'their official documents trying to coliccql weaknesses iu the finance and putting the best face on everything' they draw their conclusions and act accordingly;' We believe that they will now say, "Here is a, Government which at any rate is holiest and -frank and above-board' in the manner in wliioh it presents Hit niiajicfs of the Dominion. Jt is safe to ossnrue that it will he equally honest and careful m the administration of these finances, and therefore we can trust it." What is quite clear is that no genuine believer in progress can object to the programme which has been brought down, ihe extremists may say that it does not go far enough, but it ought to appeal to every moderate Liberal in the J louse. I hero arc several members who supported Mr. Mackenzip who now find themselves for.the time being iu an unnatural alliance with mutually contending factions of politicians, with none of which havo thev anything in common. We believe that the J'lnaucial Statement contains a number ol progressive measures which they cannot t),it sec wil be for the good* of the country. Ihey will now have to decide whether they will support a Government pledged to carry out those measures or whether they prefer to incur the odium Ct trying to obstruct tho work of progress AVe believe they will take the present /opportunity of escaping from what, to them, must be a most unpleasant position, and thus pave the way for tho reconstruction of parties on inoro natural lines. '

AN OPPOSITION JOURNAL'S VIEWS. rVERY ENCOURAGING STATEMENT." WITH A "FEW BLOTS." (By Correspondent.) Christchurch, August 7. The "Times" (Opposition), in discussing tho statement, opens with au aslounding remark that ita most striking feature is (ho remarkable resemblance it bears to tho Statements that have been delivered in the same place during the last twenty years. Tho resemblance is so close, indeed, says the "Times," that we ooultl easily imagine that it was written by. the same hand as penned Mr. Seddon's stirring periods, and marshalled Sir- Joseph Ward's stupendous columns of figures, bnt,' of course, this, is a feature with, which no earnest Liberal will find fault. Whether Mr. Allen and his colleagues have adopted Liberalism as a conviction, or merely' as a profession, the loiintry may bo trusted to Keep them up lo tlieii; fo sao that

they are carried into effect with, all convenient . speed. ... The GoverninenPs scheme for _ reforming tho Legislative Council is reasonable enough in most of its features, but it possesses just the defect wo expected. Tho elected councillors are to hold their seats for fix years, and this, rf course, will enable lliem to apply such a -"cheek" to the first Chamber ns it lias never experienced before. We havo only to cairy our memorv back to, 1891, when Mr. Uailance found the Council stuffed with Conservative nominees, to realise what would happen if tho -Liberals returned to ofhco under" conditions similar to those tbiifc existed then. There would be no means of breaking down the opposition in tho Second Chamber, and the dominant party in the country would have to wait at least three years before it could havo its way. The proposal 'to givo the Council definite powers of obstruction for a term of years is an utterly undemocratic suggestion, and would make it a much greater menaco to tho poopln'3 liberties than it is at present. Wo cannot believe that Parliament will allow snch a travesty upon tho name of Liberalism to bo perpetrated in this day of political grace. Tho proposal is one of the fowl.lots on a very encouraging Statement of the Government's policy.