The Hokitika Guardian THEUSDAY, OCT. 27th, 1921. RETRENCILMENT

Hokitika Guardian, 27 October 1921, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian THEUSDAY, OCT. 27th, 1921. RETRENCILMENT

UIiTKKNt II.MUNT is all UJ>I.V Will'll mill ill i(n »|i|ilii'Htio» to tio finances of the I><>minion just now, it ex]iii'ssws an u<r|v necessity, lint New Zcalaml, like the vest of the wovhl, is passino fliruntth tionhlcsonie times in the aftermath of thy war and there would be no profit in mineino forms when the oreat iirolilems of reeonstrnctimn hare to he fcictil. The total national expenditure for the financial year 1920-21 showed mi increase in taxation from to 10s. j.er lurid of population to £l9 9s per head, 'these figures do not include, of course, the war expenditure, apart from the interest and sinking fund on the loans raised ftir the , tralnint;, transport and maintenance of our nrmies in the field, and their signific-

an<e* becomes all the more impressive in view of the fad that the increase in departmental expenditure has been largely accelerated since the armistice. In the but complete financial war of the war. 1917-18, this expenditure showed an increase upon tile amount expended during the previous year-'of £l-18.002. In 1918-19. including right months of war. tin' ini-reuse w: ; £1,00:1,271 in 1919-20 £2.938,1 M. and in 1920-21 £3.1-11. Ml. In December 1920 the Prime Minister made a special appeal to the beads of departments to assist the Government by exercising rigid economy, but apparently the Is'st the Government and the heads of departments together could do was to keep the expenditure within £703.029 of that of the previic-s year. After this heroic effort prndiga'ity again was allowed to run riot. During Clio first quarter of the nrcsen! financial year, from April Ist.. to

Jiiiu 30, the expenditure, compared with that for the corresponding period of last year, increased by 21.090.27:1 It is explained that some £OOII.OOO of this increase was due to the Government laying in a bilge slock of imported coal at a very high cost as a safeguard against a strike aiming tar lo«al miners it lielieved to la’ inne.ie ent. Hot even if we take toe n i ilicr. ase o,f the expenditure for t ■> ipiaiter at £1.000,000. it means that at tile sitim* rate of progress the tot d increase will have reached £1,000,0(2 by Ibe end of March next. Rut whither the increase fm the Julie quart'-:-is continued or whether, under the pressure that is being brought to bear upon t tie (iovt-i nment by tin laxpayers’ Ifederation. the Chambers of (Ymiiiere,, and similar organisations, it is reduced, it is obvious tie-"* can lie a**

mat- iial impi ovcinciij. in th*> sitoatien iKiring the cuneiit linaneal year, iac Postmaster-General, who. it. is only fair to say, appears to be more eun-/t-erned about tin- alarming positi -n t-lian dis-s the Prime Minister, claims to have ‘*rt tired” a thousand --mphiwes during the last few months, but many of these have gone out with gratuities equalling the amount they would b*ve received as salaries for some time to come bad they remained in the service. The actual savings, therefore. are among thi- blessings to come w 1 *>eh in the political world so often fail to materialise.