The Dominion. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1912. A MERITED REBUKE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1591, 7 November 1912, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1912. A MERITED REBUKE.

The report ofthe Public Accounts ~ Committee, to Parliament yesterday as the result of its inquirj ■ into the working of the Itfew Scalane State Guaranteed Advances Depart ment, and incidentally into the Jet ter from the Superintendent of the Advances Board to the Minister oi Finance, .commenting on statement! ', made in the House of Representatives, covers most of the matters un der review satisfactorily enough. The public, we imagine, will hot be verj ■. much'enlightened by the analysis oi the position of the Mhiances of th< Lending.Dcpartmeni which the Com mittce sets torth in its treport. Th( ./plain facts of the case;are. that tin , loans to. local branch of the ' Department has been/fun at..a-loss '. the general' taxpayerbctng called on, presumably, to beaf.aisha.ra of the 5 cost of the Svhich thosi - 'local bodies which.:,.liavc, bbrrowee 3 from tho Government haVepartici r : pated in. It is alsp made tuiite clear, i as was contended by the Minister ol j Finance, that when the ; Govern i ment came into -office'.it found itscli heavily committed hy its predecessor! to loans to'local ■bodje.g for which thi 1 money was not, available; althongl 4 there : were unexhaUsfocU,loan an thorities .sufficient, to mc'e'fi these obli ' provided the. mpney cpulc be-; satisfactorily, borrowed.... The trouble, ;of course, has bejon that part, if not the whole, qrth'esc p'aitiiculai ;, .commitments to this-}ocai'bodies were : 'promised at a loafer rate ,df- interest than the'money can now be Wrowcc' ' at by tho State. . The. action of the Advances Board, in committing tin \ Department to; adtfanetes so. long ahead,.has'h'o\y..:bee;ii;declared-by the law bfficers of -the Grown to ;be contrary/ to -law, and .tjjri." Public ' Ac; . counts' Committee, itt its. criticism' oi the; conduct-of; the .Board; cm.phasrScg this, pbint/- The' ; <i-eport-of':tlje G'pjiv . mittce must., naturally, shake.confi< ■. ,d.ence v the Advances Board,- Thosei pi flur readers who followed-the eotirseCPf t'ho.'iCom- ■; mittee's T inqiii : ries must haW.bc.eh as- : .toiiishedat.the weakness: of the ex- ; plahat'ion'.pf.the. Superintendent oi thei J Board'; when pressed for the grounds _on which, the;. ';B.oaid had written, its letter'alleging .thatiStatc ments had been. made'. in-; th<e House of Bepresentatiycs on. Beji.tenibc'r 2.8 last'to the effcc.fc;that loanS.had.heeri • granted by the .'Bo.a.rct under p.piiticii] influence. Appa'i%tly,-.. ■ newspaper headlines were; responsible:' gentlemen, wh'6';ha'ndle' such-large in- ' .terests,- jumpiryj. ts' ; a;.sasty';cpnclu< sion and rushing: : '|o ;.;;mafe|- protesl against statern.ents.'which-'the- invests gations of;the'pommittep have shown : there evidence'tp prove had ever been-, made.. ' ' ■~ ' . : .Plainly' the Board; Committed :a serious error of judgment in taking the course it.did,oh this pceasjoh without .first' inaking,itself- sure' oi tho facts;'iand;it- deserved the. rebuke administered tei: it-hy-the 1 Committee; But far graver .consequences was the.policy pursued by.the, Board —a policy which the law officers.) 'as stated, ; now advise was, contrary to law—of committing the Department to advances years 'ahead;'at the rate of interest current at the. time the 'commitment .was rn.ade'-an.d no) that prevailing at the time the money was actually raised.. \'ls is'-easy'though to see the loss the Pepartment'.is' liable to be put to by cpmhiifting itself to future advances at,' per,cent, whereas when' the time -.for ■' issuing the loans comey-rpiind it not bo possible. for : the •Department itself io raise-the money-,..under- :#s''■: p;?- 4 per cent. This is/.actually;'-what' is happening as vthe. iresult of. the'policy pursued, and it>js -flot.--su-rpris.iiig i n view- of the Committee of. Ingiiirv should reepm,mend a 'change'in.';the; personnel of the. Board. Ma. dPiibt j-spriie surprise will belelt at the oniissibii from the ' Committee's,>fepprt p'f. any-, reference to the'Ecmueralo^n" •iii.ciqcnt: This was the matte'r; ; in:'-'cP.tineCti'Qn, with which Siß'J.pirJf SiNbLATfi-iWho con* tested the Pa/rnell seat, .!was asked to interest, hitiself'" t.b the payment of certain loan'money ; to-(the Kemuera Eoad. Board /which, was' in the Parnell electorate. Silt John PiNnLAY,; didinterest, himself. : ana; sent, a tdlografn. to the then Prime Minister, which cionciuded:' as follows: "Kindly; lei me have a reply as early -as' 1 can which; I may li'";." Not unnaturally, perhaps, it was suggested'.--that what was meant by, this sentenoe.'. was 'that ■ Sift John FiknLAY wanted, something which, he could iise, to.' his own political a'dV vantage in the'election then pending, This view, was strengthened by the j subsequent conduct of the Chairman of the Beniuera Eoad Board, a gentlem_an named who provedhimself to/be-a; very zealous'worker for. Sir, JohSQFindlay elecr tion. ■ Sir ' Jojttt. ■..fwMht ■■'. himself, when ; under; 'lixanjinatipn;.''while he - denied' absolutely -. that,. fKq telegrani was .ser ) t-^fprir;p6iitica'lv;; ; p)ifposes, ■frahklyr-adm;i'ttc'd : -;tHat-'''it was not sufficiently' guarded, against. mis'Con-' struction";-and at : thisj the' Committee apparently, hassdecided to leave, the matter; The investigations'ofthe Committee should of good. They have disclosed, weaknesses in the Advances Departtnent, but.they are wflakiiesses which can and should be remedied at once.