The Wizard's Arithmetic,

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 54, 27 November 1919, Page 7

The Wizard's Arithmetic,

The Christchurch "Sun" examines Sir Joseph Ward's arithmetic. The examination ie ;i bad showing up of the Wisard." "At the present- moment" • says tlio "Sun," "tho Liberal Leader is tearing about tho country advocating half-baked schemes for spending millions wlulb you wait on hydro-electric development, Nationalising mines, building houses, roads, railways, and bo forth.In hie manifesto to the people on his exit from office in the Coalition Ministry Sir Joseph Ward proposed an expenditure of JM,000,000 on' hydro-electric development in three years in addition to the AOOO.OOO boiim spent in Otago and Southland. In tlio same manifesto ho advocated tho nationalisation o£ the coal mines. Obviously, Sir Joseph Ward nevor stopped to consider tho effect of spending .£6,000,000 on developing electricity, or lie would have said nothing r about coal. Up to March 31 last the sum of .£403,000 has been spent on Lake Coleridge, and according to experts it has given us power equivalent to 150 000 tons of coal. Wβ think it is a fair assumption that any further expenditure should give proportionate results; so that .£0,000,000 spent on electricity would produce tho equivalent of 2,250,000 tons of opal. Seeing that the entire product of tho New Zealand coal mines does not reach this quantity, it is surely rather extraordinary that a politician should suggest dispensing with the whole outtrat of coal, and at the same time want to buy out the proprietors of the mines with a -new to making a largo profit for the community in opemtinj; them as State-owned collieries! Up to tho present the Government has never been abln to make any money out of coal and how it is going to do so in the face .of the competition of thow. vast hydro-elec-trical schemes is a conundrum we put to Dr. Thacker as tho chief apologist for tho greatest statesman.'"