SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1734, 26 April 1913, Page 5

SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER.

FINANCIAL POSITION.

SURPLUS OF £600,000 EXPECTED

THE LAND QUESTION AND DEFENCE. (By Telegraph,— Special Correspondent.) t , , . . ~ Auckland, April 25. Speaking in tl'o King Country last night, tho I'nmo Minister stated , that thoro was not tho slightest difficulty with tho Consolidated Fund. Had it not been for tho lulling off in the gold export Inst year, it would have proved <i record, Ila expected that tho surplus would l>o 2* from which ho would sot apart AjOU.OOO for public works. Tliero was a real difficulty with tho Public Works 111I 11 - !* i, detailed tho purposes lur winch tho loan money was used. When u pincli came, tho money uvuilublo for such purposes hud to bo cut down. Tho jicop o in the King Country wcro devoting tlio best years of their life to development work. There was no cutting down of loan monby to that district uud districts similarly situated, 110 referred to the old Loans to Local Bodies Act, by wlncli money could bo hod for .3| per c ? n i! Th i s ' ' 10 6a ' was unfortunately abolished in favour- of a hugs scliemo by which wealthy local bodies had huge sum's lent to them, and' heavy commitments wcro mado. Provision had been made to lend them JC075.000, and, to meet this, tliero was only .£17,(100. This money had been promised at a lower rate of interest than tho ono at which it could Iw borrowed.' The Government had introduced tho Limitation of Advances Act. Mr. Massey criticised tho short-dated loans of former financiers. These loans . amounted to ton millions, and this mducy had to bo found, in addition to that for ordinary purposes. He hoped that no future Government would raiso money by 6uch means. Continuing, ho claimed that tlio Government had kept its pledgo to give tho settlers the nbsoluto tenure, and referred to the facilities given to tenants for acquiring tho freehold. Ho explained clearly how this was dono without injustice either to tho individual or to the State. He said that ho intended to give tho leaso-in-pcrpetuity tenants tho sumo opportunity of acquiring tho freehold that he had given tho others on the land purchased for settlement. In consequenco of tho graduated land tax, a very satisfactory subdivision of land was going on. Regarding aggregation, he said that tliero were cases where aggregation was desirable—that was where holdings were too small to support tho occupiers, but he would sot Ins faco against aggregation Of an improper kind. Regarding defence, ho said that ho did. not proposo increasing* the expenditure, but enough was not being dono for naval defence. Part of Mr. Allen's business in England was in connection with liaval defence, and it would be for New Zealand to consider in tlio near future what it would do. The present Government had taken tho peopio into its confidence, had restored .the credit of the coilntry, had rendered the iinanees of the country stable, and ho hoped that before long tho present limitation. of advances for various purposes I would be removed. ■'

Mr. Mnsscy received a great ovation on resuming his scat.