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Hokitika Guardian, 11 October 1917, Page 2

The Government surrounded the financial situation which has recently developed with a good deal of mystery, which was more or less alarming, and quite unnecessarily so. Fi <>m the statement inode to tho Hous*. on Tuesday night, as reported in yesterday’s tele grams, the position oil the fate of t has been overstrained and an art Ji - cial aspect given to the matter. Just why there should bo first separate J caucus meetings of the two inaiu parties, followed by a joint caucus ol supporters of the National Government, is not clear on the face of it. The explanation might be that other matters were ventilated and the points in dispute thrashed out to some degree; or, alternatively, -it was perhaps unshed u> make perfectly clear to members that tho country could not stand the additional war payments as iced lor by tne Second Division, except by additional taxation, the outlines of which might have been enumerated in private. If this latter, then it was rather unfair to tho country as v a whole that the Cull position has not been laid bare publicly. From ,Sir Joseph Ward’s statements there is apparently a matter of an additional eight million required to make good New Zealand s payments to the Imperial Government uii account of war expenditure for tli. New Zealand Expeditionary Force for a further twelve mouths. For. half that sum covering half the period, Sir Joseph appears to have made provision l,v the present new taxation, so no special provision is to be made next year through the Customs. This being th situation disclosed by the Minister, one still wonders why it was necessary to hold a secret caucus.

As to tho provision of the sum, eight million or larger, there will not be any difficulty for New Zealand to foot the Bill. The country is so prosperous that tho Minister can find ways and means to raise the large sum, and still not trench upon the last shilling or seriously dislocate trade aud industry. Tho country has .so much to export in the way of prinvnry products, and the Imperial Government are such good cash customers, that providing the shipping the matter could he financed on this trade alone. Wool, cheese, and meat for which such advanced prices are now being paid, might suffer an export customs duty and supply millions without serious hardships to the exporters. The country has dropped its profit tax, and by tho means indicated a profit rate could be fixed which would return very large sums, simply collected from those who are deriving a great volume of trado promoted very materially by the fact that a war is on, and providing the very best cash customer solely because, of the exigencies of war. Then, the country need not go on throwing its revenue away recklessly. It is losing large returns through tho curtailment of the railways, und putting communities to much additional cost for travelling. There is a dual waste to he checked there. Them is going to he financial loss by tho curtailment of racing and tho early closing of licensed houses. A great body of people aro going to be less able to contribute taxation because of these social restrictions, restrictions which in themselves aro not going to hasten the end of tho war. It is to he hoped that Government will he more rational and ■ not fall a ready, prey to those who in seeking for social reform by a set and pet means, yet create other and more serious difficulties when the reforms are put into practice.