MONEY AND THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 113, 30 January 1918, Page 7

MONEY AND THE WAR

POWERFUL "SILVER BULLET"

■EMPIRE'S SOUND POLICY

The views of the Hon. Arthur 11. Myers, Minister of Munitions and Supplies, regarding the financial and economic aspects of the war wore express- , ed by the Minister in an interview i reported in tho Auckland "Herald." In referring to the present evidences vy>f dissatisfaction and unrest in Austria, i-Mr. Myers said that until authentio • information -was received ■it was not ;, w>ssible to exprees an opinion, but ovidently, as was anticipated, the economic position of the Central Powers wasnow oeing felt- In addition to the strin.gent conditions being brought about in Germany and Austria by the rigorous blockade, there was.' another factor, and irresistible, working on/our side, steadily bringing nearer! the day . on which tho Allies would settle such "terms t)f peace as would ensure freedom and- safety for the democracy of •future ages. ■ .. '■'.'. Many references, said the Minister, ihadbeen made during the war to the ■ jibwer of -the "silver bullet." As timo rwent on, events only served to confirm Vine's optimism :'n respect of the_ability of Britain to sustain the gigantic burden entailed by the provision of the ■■funds necessary to prosecute the struggle to a decisive finish. Up to the •end of September, 1917, the gross national debt of Britain had risen to some .3000' millions, of- which sum, however, ,1300 millions would be recoverable from :the Dominions, t-ur Allies, and India, Britain's net national debt at (*he date mentioned at some 3000 mil'' .' lions, after deducting the amount or "debt already inourred: before the outbreak of war. At the end of March fnext Britain would hare raised bylaxfation a sum approaching the unprefeedented total of 2000 millions, so that, ftothat extent, posterity would be saved ffche additional burden of debt entailed ' \bj the forces of destruction now at iwork. ■ ■•■.••'■■■ . ~ Germany, Mr. ■ Myers continued, fttood iu a much less.satisfactory posikion than .Britain; her net w.ar debt hpas very much heavier. Leaving out, jtof account all separation allowances— whioh, of course, were included in the VBritish total, but which in Germany (were paid by the individual States— I'the knowE. expenditure on the war fV Germany to October last was 4700 .'millions. The interest alone on mia'ny's war debt was 240 millions perjannum, to meet which, it .was stated, jtho Government was raising 185 millions per annum. When, in addition 1o this great annual deficit, it was reSmombered that the .German war costs .'were increasing more rapidly—to the joxtent of 33 per cent.—then were .Brit-' rain's; that the Home Country was able' ■to continue to meet a larger proportion of the cost of the war by taxation each year; also,'that no addition [had been made to.the British war debt (without full provision having first been tmade for meeting the charges so incurred, it did not'take a vory discerning mind to decide as to which country waa the nearer to collapse, both from the financial and the economic point ( of view. ':_ bin respect to the position in New ealand, Mr. Myerß ,said that whilst [Britain had actually reduced her war (debt each year by the amount of taxtation imposed and collected, New Zealand had adopted a- different method. j!At the present time tho Dominion had Ireservo funds, consisting of surplus revjemie over expenditure, amounting to !-Ji6,600,000, in round figures. Instead :--of reducing our war debt each- year by [•the - amount of surplus shown in the [tßudget, we were., accumulating tho isame, and investing-it-; so-that,- mean--Iwhile, it was bearing interest, and su increasing in bulk. In the future, as ■Sir Joseph Ward has stated, this ac'cumnlated surplus would be available ffor the reduction of the liabilities wo iwere incurring in playing a full part SJM tho fight for all that made life worth ■Jiving. In regard to Australia, the (Minister remarked that, as recently (announced, the estimated-war expenditure to June, 1918, was i£214,880,673, ;of which £25,834,916 would bo paid out ,of revenue and ' £189,045,757 out of •loan.. ■-.-.■