NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1572, 16 October 1912, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The Prime Minister's announcement to the House of Representatives yesterday of the business which the Government expect to dispose of before Parliament closes its doors for the current session holds out hope that members may get away to their homes by the end of the present month. There is really not very much in the remaining Bills to provoke debate. Even the Land Bill should not occupy the time of the House for long. No doubt the leasehold section will mnke their protest against the granting of the freehold; but having made that protest, if they are reasonable they will bow to the majority and accept the decision l of the House without any attempt at obstruction. Should they prolong their protest, i..ey will merely prolong their stay and that of their fellow members in Wellington; for the Government is determined that the Bill shall go through this session. It was quite natural that Sir Joseph Ward and Mn. Husselt, should endeavour to make it appear that the programrao for the remainder of the session is a, "huge" one. Tb.at is part of their tactics, and no one can object to this little bit of by-play. If the House settles down to business there need be no rush and no late sittings. Everyone is anxious to get away as soon as possible, and it rests with members themselves whether or not they leave Wellington with the work done at the end of the present month.

A STATEMENT of the public finances for the recently concluded half-year was presented to the House yesterday by the Minister of Finance. Although the Customs duties showed a falling-off of £25,378 (which is not a bad thing, from more than one point of view), the net increase in revenue was over £170,000. This includes a £11G,369 increase from the railways and an increase of £45,261 from stamp duties. Unhappily the arrangements and commitments of the late Government were such that the expenditure shows a net increase of' no less than £371,930. Defence accounted for about £100,000 of this increase, and railways for another £162,095. The railways, it will thus be seen, dre about £50,000 the worse for the six months—a fact which makes more clcarly urgent the reform promised by the Government. When, after three months of the financial year had gone, the present Government took Office, it took over Departmental commitments for a long time ahead; and it will probably bo some considerable time before the Government can overtake, and take ill hand, the course of Departmental finance. Its real financial responsibility cannot be held to begin until the end of the financial year; but it is proper to point out, even now, that the figures he quoted must, or ought, to carry to Mr. Allen a lesson upon the hard work ahead of him in effecting a saner condition of the national finances. The expenditure has been forced up in an astonishing manner by the policy and the operations of the old Government. It is the new Government's duty to cut it down again wherever possible, and to bring down the general revenue to a normal figure as soon as possible. The legacy which the Minister of Finance inherited from his reckless predecessor was a very bad and embarrassing one; but he has, we believe, the courage, as well as tho ability, to restore I to soundness the wasted national I estate.

In his statement of the business which the Government intends to proceed with this session, the PnuiE Ministeii made no mention of any proposal respecting the subsidising of the working of the iron ore deposits in tho Nelson province. A good deal has been heard of late concerning an offer by an English syndicate to work these iron deposits. It is stated that this syndicate is prepared to spend £(550,000 within three years in establishing iron and steel works on a large scale. A Government subsidy is sought as an inducement to those who arc prepared to risk their capital in the venture, but it is proposed that the Govornmcnt shall roqoup itself in cart at least for this annual nay.

inonfc by being granted the privilege of purchasing an the iron and stool it requires at cost price plus 5 per colit. is'o subsidy is to bo paid, appaicntly, under the proposed agreement, unless at least 65,000' tons of iron and steel are produced yearly at the company's works, which may be taken as a gun ran too that the undertaking, should it take practical shape, will be carried on on a large scale. It would be, of course, quite impossible for I\ T cw Zealand to make use of so large a quantity of iron and stool, and the company would have to lind markets elsewiiere for its surplus product. Whether it could produce iron and steel at a pi icc which would enable it to coinpeto in the markets of the world, with the cheap labour products of other countries, may be open to doubt. It is claimed that the natural advantages associated with the iron ore deposits in New Zealand would counterbalance . the cost ol labour: but in any ease that would be the risk of the company, .the matter is one of considerable importance to the Dominion. The expenditure of £(550,000 in the establishment of a large industry of this kind moans a great deal to the country. In recent times there has been a disinclination on the part of outside capitalists to embark ou industual enterprises here, and provided the terms on which the present proposal is based arc reasonable and the public interests properly safeguardeel, the project should be welcomed. Lefore anything definite is done in the matter, however, the offer of the syndicate requires careful scrutiny, and if that is to be given it' before the present session ends, it is quite time that some steps were taken to set up a_ committee to examine the liill,'which it is understood has been drafted, setting forth the conditions of the syndicate's offer.