SURPLUS £5,085,836

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 189, 30 April 1918, Page 6

SURPLUS £5,085,836

FINAL FIGURES IMPROVE COUNTRY'S POSITION INVESTMENTS IN IMPERIAL LOANS MINISTER EXPLAINS OBJECT LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Sir Joseph Ward, Minister of Finance, stated last night that he had now the filial figures showing tho financial results for tlie year ended March HI. Tin figures ho had given out when the House was sitting represented approximately tho result of the year's working. Since then a considerable amount of revcuue had boon received and paid into the Consolidated Fund. He was very glad to say that the actual surplus for the year amounted to .£5,085,930. The total expenditure for the year showed a net increase of Ji1,001,510. 11l regard to the surplus, which was fortunately a large one, there appeared to bo an impression in tiio minds of some people that ho could make this sum, or large portions of it, available for expenditure locally. This was an erroneous impression, and he would like to explain for tho benefit of those who turned their eyes towards this large surplus what the position in connection with it,

owing to war causes, was. Very large i payments had to be made in England by : way o{ war expenditure, and there were ; two ways only in which this could be ; done. We had either to provide the • j money there or to borrow upon the Eng- : lish market. Tho latter course, in view ; of the heavy discount, ye would have !.;> ■ givo and ths hig'i. rate of interest w» ■ would have to pay, would bo a ruinous ; one to New Zealand from the financial ! 1 standpoint, and to avoid that course, and ; also to prevent anv interference with the ; . British money market, which should be j left as clear as possible for the use o' j the Imperial Government, who required j to obtain enormous sums for their own j war purposes, he had all along followed i the courso of investing the surplus Jn ; Imperial Government stocks, so as 'to j unable tho British Government to have ! us much of our money (is possible to go j towards their paying—which the.y were doing—the disbursements all behalf of New Zealand for war' expenditure. Un March 31 the Dominion had investments in Imperial war stock of .■t5,770,380, and further investments were being made from time to time. Tho pmount wo were providing thero was nothing like equal to tho total amount j that tho British Government were pay- j ing out for us, and those people in the | country who were, critical in declaring 1 that portions of the surplus should b» used for payment of various things in i New Zealand would, he hoped, realise that the- same amount of surplus could not be used for the payment of our requirements in England and also for J-rriuicial requirements here. It was j quite easy for those who did not bear j tho responsibility to declare that tho j Minister of i'inance could devote large j sums out of the surplus for various local purposes, but ho could assure them that this was not possible. Ono had to deal w'th the whole financial requirements

of the country, both at this end and at Ih'e other end of the world, where heavy war expenditure was going on, and surely it was a wise course to make investments to the fullest extent we could out >f our surpluses in Imperial Stock, and thereby reimburse to some extent the Imperial Exchequer wliich was providing or daily demands on our account. The Minister stated that at the preent moment we required to niako proision for a further .£4,000,000' sterling oi* war expenditure In England, and by ho course lie was following the finance >; ti:is Dominion at the end of the rorld was being greatly assisted, and the louutry itself was being kept financially trong. We were getting Imperial Stock or our investment, which was available or lodging as a first-class security if our necessities should at any time require it. Lt the end of the war, when readjustments of finance took place,, the whole of ho investments we wero making would >e a great asset for the Dominion, and ;he interest upon them if paid into a linking fund for the redemption of war loans, wliich he hoped it would be, would give great relief from a taxation point of view. In the meantime the country undoubtedly had the advantage of great financial strength. Sir Joseph "Ward remarked, in conclusion, that in peace times 110 one would dream of having such large surpluses, but the whole policy in dealing with them now was with the object of carrying on the war needs, and of being strong , and sound at tho end of the war, and he flit quite satisfied that time would prove that this was a wise course to follow.