THE WAR LOAN

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 163, 30 March 1918, Page 9

THE WAR LOAN

STATEMENT BY SIR JOSEPH WARD

TRAVELLERS BOOKING ORDERS .

By Telegraph-Press Association.

Christchuroh, March 29. Referring to tho Wa Loan in an interview ho accorded to a Press representative this' evening, Sir Joseph Ward, Minister of Finance, said it was not possible at present to give any positive- indication as to how tho loan was.boiug subscribed to, as ho was of the opinion that tho people woro waiting until after tho end of this month, which was regarded by them as tho end of their financial year. That applied to financial institutions particularly, and that was tho reason why ho had extended the date from April 8 till April 15. This would give intending applicants after March 31 a clear period away from the Easter holidays to enable them to come in. Sir Joseph Ward said tho Commorcial Travellers and Warehousemen's Association of Wellington had taken up the work of soliciting subscriptions to the loan most actively, and similar organisations in the other three centres had been appeale dto by him to co-operato in a like manner. Upon the-'flotation of the last War Loan tliey had performed splendid work, and the country was much indebted to them for their generous and effective action,; which had been entirely voluntary. They proposed on this occasion to adopt a system of booking loan orders, and for that purpose they had been supplied with what he might term, order books specially Cβ enable them to record the amount people upon whom they called wished to apply for. Tho application would then be taken up by the' Treasury through the various post offices, and so complete the matter. This would be done all over tho country. Operations were coinenced on Wednesday last. "Of course, it is imperatively necessary that the money must be obtained," declared the Minister. "Naturally, 1 would like to see the whole of it provided, by voluntary subscriptions, but all the preliminary step's have been taken, should the response not be fully made, to put the compulsory clauses into operation. Men and money and money and men are the basic essentials for our carrying on our share and obligations of the war. Tho country has done so extraordinarily well—indeed, one is entitled to ~use the word magnificently—right throughout the trying period, that it seenis almost superfluous to urge upon everyone who can, in small or large sums, help to make the loan a success,

If added incentive to that which has taken' place were needed, it is found in the concentration of the enemy on the Western front at the present juncture, in tho linexanipled nature of the battles,.and the massing of the enomy's forces, and sacrificing' .them by a system of wholesale slaughter to try and break through. The- heroic efforts of tho troops of the British Empire and her Allies will assuredly prevent what would bo a world-wide disaster from occurring. ' But this can only unhappily be done by a sacrifice of both men and money. The money expended, though prodigious in its amount,, is a a mere bagatelle compaiv ed withthe loss of life in the war, but the indisputable fact remains that the expenditure of money incurred during the last fortnight alone requires to be made up in all parts of the Empire, and we cannot at this junoture even call approximately what our financiay requirements, due to these unparallel engagements, will be. The ; spirit of the. people throughout Now Zealand, however, is such that they will not allow any ■ slackening for the want of the ways and means. It is hardly necessary for me to say in urging the people to contribute to this loan fujly that lam doing eo from a national point, and quite impersonally. It has to be kept in mind that when the House meets in April that full authority for the raising of large sums for carrying on this war was must be submitted to Parliament There can be no decrease in the aggregate amount of the money required for war expenditure. On the contrary, the longer the war lasts proportionately the expenditure must increase. That will be easily recognised by anyone when' it is remembered that apart altogether from the pay, pensions, most of the transport equipment. of the soldiers, and many other incidentals connected with the war, we must have a heavilyincreasing amount for munitions, all of. which New Zealand is supplying to enable our .citizen soldiers to carry on their duty at the front, i "So we_ must not forget that until this war is over the financial requirements for it, and, it alone, cannot bo decrease by any will or wish of the Government The expenditure is necessary, and will, with the assistance of the people, be provided for, whatever the increase may be, to ensure that tho efforts of the men that we have, and are providing, will not in any case be weakened or.be in vain. I have tho most profound confidence in the final success of arid triumph of the British and Allied troops oyer all tho efforts of the enemy."