OUR WAR OBLIGATIONS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 21, 19 October 1917, Page 4

OUR WAR OBLIGATIONS

The Minister of _ Finance performed a useful service on. Wednesday evening when he laid before Parliament and the country particulars of the debt which the Dominion is accumulating as the result of the war. The figures are most impressive, find should sorve to cool the ardour and temper the judgment of those who are so ready to blaino the Government for declining to incur obligations which in the. opinion of Ministers would be liable to land the Dominion in difficulties. The outstanding foot disclosed .by Sm Joseph' Ward is that since the outbreak of the war the Government has been compelled to ask Parliament for authority to borrow for war purposes no less a sum than £57,000,000, in addition to which during the same period authority has been to borrow £10,355,000 for other purposes, making £G7,355,000 in all. At the end of the financial year,, March", 1014, the net public debt o'f the Dominion was £91,689,835; and in March, 1917, it had increased .to £125,572,000. Since then at least £12,000,000 additional has been borrowed, making the public debt to-day £137,000,--000, and it oan bo regarded as certain that for some time to come this rate of increase will.be accelerated. The progressive increase in war loan expenditure can bo gathered from the loans authorised for war purposes since the war commenced. .The amounts of the different war loans authorised in each of the years from 1914-15 to date arc- as follow: & 1914-15 2,000,000 1915-16 10,000,000 1316-17 16,500,000 1917-18 ..:..'. 28,500,000 Total 57,000,000 It should be understood that these authorities are expected to carry us up to the end of next July, and possibly longer. Up to. the present time something like £40,000,000 of the £57,000,000 authorised has been raised. - i

In the 1917 Budget Sir Joseph Ward intimated that in the earlier stages of tho war the Imperial Government provided all the funds required by tho Dominion for war purposes, the amount bo provided totalling £14,410,000. This would seem to imply that tho whole of the balance of over £25,000,000 has been raised locally, in addition to ( tho money borrowed in New Zealand for publio works and other purposes, Further, it has to be borne in nlincl that tho Dominion has £7,000,000 of its surplus funds invested in England, £5,000,000 in the, big British War ,Loan. It is a remarkable- testimony to the wealth and prosperity of the Dominion that these, to_ us, huge sums should have been raised and, temporarily at least, diverted from their normal channel. o without in any material way affecting the ordinary welfare of the community. This circumstance, however, should not be allowed to. blind us to the necessity for looking ahead and exercising a proper caution. The load we arc incurring is.a rapidlyincreasing one,' and tho future has to be considered from two points of view'. The first of these is our ability to continue to subscribe locally these large capital, sums. Tho second is tho drain on our_ casual revenues occasioned by the interest charges on the money borrowed. In 1913-14 the annual expenditure on interest and sinking fund on oiu public debt was £2,687,981, whereas for the year ended 1916-17 ( the amount had grown to £4,014,791. This is a continuing charge and, with the higher rate of borrowing now necessitated by the war, it will increase still moro rapidly than in the past thrco years. As the Finance Minister pointed out, there is no occasion for alarm in tlieso huge increases in our national obligations, but they point to tho necessity for the exercise of caution and tho practice of economy wherever possible.

It is reported that special cars for ladies aro to bo provided by_ the Railwaj Department on the long-distance mail trains, it basing been decided to utilise 6omo of tho old dining-cars for this-pur-pose. In the ense of tho North Island Main Trunk lino tho cars will carry a female jit'tiindiiiit. They will also bo provided with special fittings, including a gas-ring, which mothers will find useful in providing hot drinks for young children. Ono end of each car is to bo devoted to first-class passengers, and tho other to second-class, and no extra cliargo is to be made for travelling in these cars. Somo of tho old dining-car.i are to be converted into two-berth sleepel's for the North Island Main Trunk expresses, and tho converted cars will avoid n. fault, 'of the- ordinary two-berth cars, which provided too little space