SOUND FINANCE

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2161, 29 May 1914, Page 8

SOUND FINANCE

.SURPLUS £426,905 (■ ■ ' ■ THE HON. JAS. ALLEN GIVES ■V''■ DETAILS COST OF DEFENCE LOWERED LIBERAL PARTY'S METHODS ' --CONDEMNED (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) ■ / • .-■ Lawrence, May 28. _ The Hon. James Allen addressed a meeting of his .constituents to-night, when there was a good attendance notwithstanding that the, weathei» was very cold., Tho Mayor, Mr. Uobertson, presided. After thanking.the meeting for'the cordial Tccoption accorded him, Mr. Allen . went ou to say that at Milton he had stated that tho surplus approximately was i' 400,000.. Now .that the accounts- were completed he might,.say. ,that , it. was £126,005. : All the items of revenue- showed nn' increase except "tho Territorial , revenue, and this 'also would show an in- . crease if ho had continued the evil practico of years gone by. The cash derived from tho sales of land' and from .deferral payment sale 3 was not included in tho revenue, as it had been till he came into office. All tho cash from sales of land had been credited to the,Land,for Settlenjents Account, tho gain; beiii" over' .£135,000. Tlio public would 1 thus > see- how much stronger tho Lands for Settlement Account was than it had ever-been-before.

Liberals' Unsound Finance. Regarding the remarks made by the Leader of the Opposition about the memorandum accompanying the prospectus for tho New Zealand loans, the speaker said that it was not'his purpose when in London to draw the attention of the London financiers to the fact that- New Zealand, up till the time he had como into office, had carried out- tho evil practice of selling land capital and adding the proceeds to . the ordinary revenue.' Whilst • that practice continued the surpluses were unsound. As,a matter of fact ho had little or.no-, thing to do with the memorandum ac-, companying tho prospectus regarding the loan. / It was prepared nt tho High Commissioner's Office ami .the speaker let it.go. Nor wag it, his purpose to draw the attention of the London financiers to the fact that- New ZeilmHl/V'i br-lt ,bi"Mingg out of capital, and when, they were burnt down replaced them out of capital. That added to the surplus of previous years,' 'and that had ;been' now -reformed. "I do-not know," said Mr. Allen, "whytho Leader of the' Opposition should try to comriel mo to advertise his unsound finance." , . ' " '

The surplus of the year if the cash land rales had been included would have been greater. . I have also, to draw, attention to the fact, that we hand out,of revenue a •.mall.loan of '.£11.400.. j.have already. nl-.. ludfid, to .the smallpox,..the strike,, and the -.lecreaso of-railway revenue duo.; to the strike. ~„ The . increased expenditure was. very Jartje.lv due to the increase in interest ..and' sinking fund amounting to £171,D00.. ~There has; been .in. air round increase in pensions of i£32,000, and thoso of the_ public who aro interested-in tho old: military, nonsiriners will bo'pleased to know that the present : Government has made provision. for.them involving a total of .■■■■■■ ■■■ ■'-. As fon those who cry out about the defence expenditure. Tarn siire they will bo ■pleased'to'hoar that-there'has been a dectpsiVp in the', expenditure this year of .£16,698.;. . " / •.•■,-■ • Strengthened Publid .Works Fund. I may with pardonable prido allude to the very much stronger position financially of thCiPublic Works I'und. At the beginning of tho year 1912-13 the balanco of the fund was only ,£82,550; in the year 1913-11 the balance, after the deduction of i£2!9,77G for tho redemption of debentures, was £376,D65. 'At. the beginning of tho year 1914-15-the Public Works Account had a balanco of During the year.'there'.'has-been--an increase in tho expenditure on public works ..over the previous year of £13,268.'. .-This wiis large-: )y owing to the increased telegraph extension, tho increase there being ,£HI,OOO. I noto that the Leader of the Opposition has been criticising the expenditure on-i public buildings. We inherited a large responsibility from his Government for public buildings, but I am pleased to be nble to say that during the year ■ thcro was a doorcase in the expenditure on them of £75,5J2. Pleasing to the Country and Sir J. G. Ward. - ... "I havo another announcement to make 'which will bo pleasing to tho country geutrally and oven to tlio Leader of the Opposition and Mr. Russell. The finances are so strong that I am ablo to announce that tho board has been able to increase the amount'-that may bo lent to settlers for the redemption of mortgages, on freeholds from .£SOO to .£750, and that it has also been ablo to increase the amount that may be lout to counties from £10,000 to .£15,(100 and to towns and smaller boroudis. from .£SOOO to J215,0(H)." Mr. Alien proceeded to put en record the story of the Stato Advances, Advances to Settlors, and workers' loans. y/nat jhe Reform. Party ;Has,Done.- , "I promised at Milton to deal ivith the question of policy, as indicated before Mr. Massey came into office, and tt> tny how far that policy had been carried •out. Now, I may say the public lucks any.-indication from tjie Leader of the. Opposition: as to his'.policy:; ■That is■ not- following , the lead given >to him by Mr. , , Massey. .When in Opposition, Mr. Mnsvey declared his policy straight out tt> tho public. The platform. placed before a great meeting'in the Town Hall in Wellington by 'Mr."'Ma.fsey, on July-. 7/ 1911,' included reform of, tho financial eysr tern of tho Dominion. 1 As I havo- been largely responsible for the finance, I>am able to say that this reform has to a large extent been carried The finances are on a imich" "sounder rtoolfnp' to-day than ever befor.e.% There is no need to go into details which havo been published. ' It is true that Mr. Massey "laid down a policy of reduction in taxation wherever passible, in order to lessen tho cost of living. The responsibility our predecessors left us as regards expenditure has been so hwivy that it has not been possible, materially to reduce the taxation so far, but' w<j have done several thing.s to burden of living easier for' thoso, who find themselves in difficulties. For instance, provision has been made to givo the land' Tax Commissioner power to grant remission from ,tho i land tax to widows. . This is now working excellently,'' and remedying cases of distinct Provision has ulsa been made, in regard to. the.income tux for an additionftl'oxemption" of £2D for each child dependent on the parent. The taxation on flax', laiids'w'fis amended, and roots are now assessed for tho hind taxnn<! for recurring, crops. .. The loans'for depreciation on , , machinery and plant havo beon increased frorii 2-i to 5 per cent., thus removing a legitimate grievance. ... . , I

Local bodies m the backblock3 have been able to get lands at a cheaper rate because tho present Government provided for their being , assistod; to; the extent of. ono per cent, per annuni for the first ten years, and a half per tent, for the next ten years. These reforms should tend to reduce the cost of living to somo .people at anyrate.' The, public -must not place too much importance on the reduction of Customs duty,-as a means of reducing tho cost of living. This is Tory largely an electioneering cry. Mr. Jlassey promised to, reform the Jnrnl system of tno Dominion, and during all tlie twenty odd years that tho previous Government was in office it never carried through .such .important reforms in l:\nd legislation as Mr. Massoy hns during his two /ears, nor did the previous Government administer the lands in this country frith the same determination to o c .?i>t (lie settler and increase settlement as did Mr.. llassey. • . , '■' Progress of Land Settlement, We increased tho graduated land tax for tho purpose of assisting in breaking up the estates, and in' the Hawkc's Boy district iilono in the twelve months ending March 31, 1911, 37,500 acrp». <)f free-

hold rural lands were subdivided and dis-posed-of, the number of subdivisions Ming ;13G of 1H acres per subdivision. Regarding lands for settlement since ire have been in oflicu, 1S1,'J!)1 acres liavo been purchased at a cost of £81i,3N), and in order to show how progressive) this policy has been under Mr. Massey's control, I give the figures-relating; to the land finally acquired for the Inst five years. In the year 1909-10 there were acquired 42,805 acres, at a price of J260,lilli. In 1910-11 . there were-, acquired 11,399 acres, at a price of in 1911-12, 1147 nercs. at a price of J3BMS3. Then, when.Mr. Massey came into power in the year 1912-13, t>2.033 acres were acquired, at a prico of JMSS.O-li, and in 1913-U, 141,082 acres, at a.price of XSCO.708. The Native Laud Purchases tell the same story. In I'JOU tho prieo of these were .£39.095, in 1910 £dO,M, in 1911 ■£123,437, in 1912 .£254,892, in 1913 JEG1.029, and in 1914 J6257.711. This i.s a complete answer to the critics both as regards tho carrying out of policy and as to the administration of land for settlement, both Crown and Native.

Keform of tho Legislative Council was also' promised, and the Government has done its best to carry out the reform, and is determined this year to sec tho legislation through. Reform of the Civil Service was promised, and has been carried out. The Public Service Commissioners arc iu office to-day, and I ;believe that under their administration we all Ret a better paid and ii more contented service that we had before. The Bill dealing with local Government reform will be brought down this year. In the Seld of Industrial and, social legislation, a reform hus been made by making the qualification for old''ago pensions for' women CO years, instead of 65. Compulsory insurance against sickness and unemployment lias not been, carried out. It is too big a question for this session, and it is wise to see how it works out in liiiglnnd and' elsewhere. .

Concerning Industrial Peace Kefortir of tho economic system of the Dominion was promised in the direction of promoting industrial peace and''restoring public confidence .to encourage local industries. There had been amendments to the law, and as you are aware the Government has had more difficult,? at times with respect to industrial peace and strikes than any Government has had to face. I desire to deal at some length the question- of industrial peace, in order to let the' public know how much Mr, Massey has done, and to draw attention again to tho' shallow pretences of tho'Leader of the Opposition. When we camo into office' the- heritage left us was the strike at Waihi, and the Leader of the Opposition .said that he could settle the strike in two days. Then why did ;ho not before we camo .into office? You know tho story of Waihi. As regards Eeefton Mr. Massey 'made every effort- ho. could to settle ..the strike. -Then we come to'the. question of th'o"inqrine, nngineer.3. ' It eeeiiis to me that the pub- : lie has forgotten the immense service rendered to tho community by the present head of the Government in respect to tho engineers' strike.- It was referred to Mr. Massey as an arbitrator,,and:he settled it to the'satisfaction of the enengineers and of the public generally. Ee r garding l the recent strike, the p.ublie must, not be allowed to. overlook what happened -in the early stages of the waterside workers' strike, but before I deal with that I desire to say something with regard to Mr. Massey's attitude. to," and Sir J. Ward's attempts to settlo tho strike. At the first meeting between the Defence Committee and waterside workers tho committee offered to renew the agreement for three years on a satisfactory ground being provided. The reply of the workers was that the matter had been handed over to the Federation of Labour. Mr. Massoy himself met the representatives of the waterside workers and offered Judge Williams as arbitrator, but that was not accepted. After'a'll these efforts had-been made to settle the strike the Defenco Committee declined to meet in agreement with the unions not working under tho Arbitration Act. . ■ ' . "

Maintaining Law and Order. jYphe.Vj tjve last confwcnce r ,broke i ijip ) i.Jlr.. Mnssey -said to tho-Defence" Committee': "Get to work and open your ports, and I will eeo that law and order aro maintained." What was the attitude-of tho Leader of the. Opposition, Sir J. .WaTd? Ho hampered Mr. ..Massey;in' every way. ho could in the House, misrepresentedthings that had occurred, and, as far as [ can judge, made a purely political matter of the strike, hoping to injure Mr. Massey and his party by so doing. Sir J. Ward s account of what took place in Post Office Square was. biassed and prejudiced. The speaker quoted from the "New Zealand Times" to prove this statement. In the early days of the strike, he continued, the Waterside Workers' Union had takou control of the wharves,'an officer was attacked on his own steamer,' gates were broken down, shots were fired, nnd the whole thing was one scene of wild disorder. For the timo being the'product of the country lay idle,in the trucks waiting for shipment, and liablo to danger. ' . , . ' . Sir J. G. Ward and the Red Feds. It-was this that brought tho xountryman in to ship his own prortnei: I-un-hesitatingly say that Sir J. Ward made jio attempt to assist Mr. ■ Massey • in , tho 'maintenance of law and order. Ho is now running this election as far as I can judge hand in hand with the "Red Feds/' who created the disturbance. ■ . Now, for Sir J. Ward's statement 'at Alexandra that legislation could have been quickly passed to take a secret ballot. Ho has. been 20 years in office, and why did ho not pass legislation in time of peace to provide for a secret ballot as Mr. Massey has done? To talk about passing legislation for a secret ballot at Buch a time is to talk' sheer nonsense. As for. his suggestion at Alexandra.regarding the, reading'of the Riot Act, I don't know whether tho public realise what tho reading of the Riot Act means. In all probability it would have led to their impris--6rim'eiitfor.-12 months, or; what was quite likely;, the 'uso of bullets'. By patience and forbearance Mr. Massey •'has 'hoen able 'to'seo the strike over without any -bloodshed/and I'-hope that now there will be permanent 'industrial peace.

Workers' Dwellings—Two ; Parties Com- .;■ .; ( . pared. . : At one tinio it 'was , said that when we came into-'office we ■ would not administer satisfactorily, the legislation passed by our predecessors. I have already alluded under . tho heading of finance during the co'urse of :"my remarks this evening to the way in which we have widened and broadcued the Advances to Settlers Act. As for workers' homes, though tho previous Government passed legislation for this tho credit for tho legislation is largely,' if not entirely, duo to Mr. Masscy's advocacy. Ho first brought the matter up in the House,-and it is natural that his administration of that Department should bo sympathetic. AVe came into office on July 10, 1912, and from July 1, 1912, till March 31, 19H, 108 dwellings were erected at a total expenditure of ,C70,60G. The work put in hand since March 31 last includes 87 dwellings at an estimated cost of. &il,t-19,. and 100 others havo been authorised by Cabinet at an estimated cost, of £V),¥ib, the total being 305 dwelling of β-totnl-cost of .£1C1,230. Of these, 3G have been and are to bo building-sin country districts/on areas of aLoi.it five acres. Compare tlmt with the workers' dwellings erected ,by previous Administrations frpni the beginning of 190 C, when the Act of ISHIf) came into operation, till January 30, 1912. During that time they had only built 210 dwellings, at a cost of ■£1M.e22. '.-v. Naval Policy Plainly Slated. . A good deal of criticism was being levelled ugsinst the Government in regard to naval matters. He had dealt .with this question at Milton, but he wanted to,.say something about the criticism. Tlie (lovernment's critics, said Mr. Allen, do-not-give the people the Government's policy on this question. Who has proposed to build ships and set up a t'iy Navy? Our policy is to train men for the 'Royal Navy and nothing clso at the present nromenl. Mr. Massey has said that during the current year lie proposes, if the War Office wili not carrv out a portion.of tha liargain it entered into in 190!) and supply us with two Bristol cruiser:!, to ask New Zealand to simply one cruiser at its own cost, of iVom JMOO.OOO to .6500,000, and to run it at something under ,£IOO,OOO a year. . I havo no doubt Mr. Mntsoy will not nre'ss lliat question this .fcs-sion, for tlifs ■ reason, that w<\ now, know that a Naval Conferonce will be called iiext year in London, and it is not right to enter into any policy of building ships until that Naval Conference has taken place. (Applause.) The policy now on tho Statute Book, and jvKich Parliament haa agreed to ty. n_

large majority, is a policy to train Neiv Zealand men for the lioyal Navy, svnd also to train officers, and lor that purpose the Admiralty has ugreed to lend us tho Philomel. She will be handed over to us in July, and Captain Hall Thompson is- coming out hero to take charge, of tho Philomel, and to act as aiviser to the New Zealand (.iovernineiit on nayal questions, and to look after the training of New, Zealand men.

Mr. Allen went on to say that tho pre-sent-day Admiralty and tho First Lord did not seo with the same eyes that wo had the responsibilities of tho nations that lived in this Pacific Ocean. The time .might come when we would have to light lor our policy. The Australian and New Zealand policy was a white New Zealand and a, white Australia. (Applause.) Tho Australian and New Zealand policy was that white men in New Zealand should not bo subjected to competition which was not fair competition for them to meet and it was possible—he did not say it ivas probable— that nations might come down to New Zealand whose methods of living were not the methods under which our people lived and who could compete, and compete unfavourably, with our workmen. Our policy was to keep theso men outside of our shores. It was our duty and the responsibility of our statesmen to advise the people that it was our duty to look to the future and make provision to protect ourselves in carrying out the policy we had deliberately adopted and which we were not' going to- abandon. , (Applause.) If British statesmen would not look with tho same eyes on this responsibility as wo did it was our duty to force British statesmen so to look. Tho only way to force them was to take certain. responsibility into our own hands. Those duties were not duties that would lead us to anything else than an Empire fleet. It was said tho Government was trying to set.up a toy navy with the object of breaking away from Great Britain. That was a statement that had no foundation whatever, Every member of the Government arid every member who supported the Bill was as strongly in favour of one Imperial Navy as Sir Joseph Ward, and stronger. (Applause.) It was absolutely necessary that there should be only one control, Arid he was fighting and working for it. A vote of thanks and continued confidence in Mr; Allen and the Government was carried unanimously. •■ .