WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 12 January 1921, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

THE BURDEN OF EMPIRE

THE NEW ZEALAND NAVY

(Our Special Correspondent)

WELLINGTON, Jan 10

The announcement of the Prime Minister’s impending visit to Auckland to welcome the officers and men of the warshp Chatham has set tongues wagging again over the question of naval defence. This light armoured cruiser, presented to the Dominion by the Imperial Governent .is the first instalment of the New Zealand Naval Division. What the Government intends to do in re,mid to the rest of the scheme laid down by Lord Jellicoe in his report of last, year remains to he revealed. Mr j Massey and his colleagues have ad- j milled frankly that New Zealand ought j to hear a fair share of the burden of naval defence in the Pacific. They scarcely could contend, indeed, that this country is entitled to rely for protection on the British Fleet without making an adequate payment for the service,. But Ministers evidently 'are hesitating over committing the country to an expendture of something like a million a year for" the maintenance of the cruisers, destroyers and submarines spot* died by Lord Jellieoe. IMPERIALISM AND FINANCE. The Chatham alone is going to tax the resources of the Minister of Finance

t ( , the extent of about £250,000 a year. The people of the Dominion are still paying off the cost of the battleship Now Zealand by annual instalments, and will not be clear of the liability for some years to come yet; but Hie ship itself is practically obsolete. Modem warships arc so costly and so short lived that to build them with borrowed money is no longer sound policy. I bey do not serve the purposes of a ejeeade, much less of a generation, and it is not just to pass on to posterity, with burdens of of its own to bear, obligations which long survive the services for which they were assumed. This, no doubt, is the aspect of the question that is particularly exercising Mr Massey and his colleagues at the piesent time. The have to determine how much of the burden of Empire Dominion of to-day should be committed to bear.

NEED FOR ECONOMY. How great his difficulties in this direction are may be judged from the letter the Prime Minister has addressed to his colleagues urging the need for economy in the administration of all departments of the Public Service and

from its appearance in the newspapers. The publication of such documents is a most unusual proceeding, and in this instance obviously is intended to emphasise Mr Massey’s reiterated appeal for the discontinuance of all unnecessary expenditure. Mr Massey does not say in so many words that some ol the departments have been ‘■over-running the constamlo,” hut it is notorious that (lining the war, when abnormal expenditure was absolutely necessary', many of them acquired habits ol extravagance that have not been altogether abandoned since the flow ol borrowed money into the Treasury ceased. Plainly the Minister has awakened to the fact that drastic action is necessary. APPLYING THE PRUNING KNIFE.

Of tour.se this is not the lirst occasion on which Mr Massey has spoken quite plainly on the subject. When he was declinihp; a substantial increase in his own salary during the last session of Parliament he said tlie time might not be very far distant when he would have to propose an till round reduction in the pay of members of the Legislature and of other servants of the State. During the recess he has hinted at an even wider application ot the pruning knife. There is a feeling among the members of the Civil Service that their positions and pay are being very closely scrutinised and that reorganisation of a very sweeping nature, perhaps involving a reduction of salaries is in store for them. Successive Governments and a defective system are responsible for gross extravagance in many departfents and now the pinch of finance has come, methods and snlararies will have to be reviewed. That this will be done with every consideration for the employees may he taken for granted, hut the lessening of expenditure is imperative.