WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 12 June 1922, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

SURPLUSES AND DEFICITS,

AN OLD STORY REVIVED

SPECIAL TO GUARDIAN

“ WELLINGTON', June 7. 8 A .statement attributed to Mr Mns- | sey by the Press 'Association's report of the -Minister's post-prandial speech at--8 the dinner given to him by lii.s political j | friends in Christchurch lias provoked a good deal of comment here. “Mr Mas-j | sev pointed out,” so the statement 1 runs, “that the Government had made a point of meeting its treasury hills, I whereas in the years before he canto ■ into office it was a common practice to > allow those bills to stand over for a | considerable period. On these lines it “ .was not at all'a difficult matter to show a a surplus, but it was quite a false posi- | tion. Personally, be preferred to meet bis liabilities and show the true posijj tion to the people.” Talk of this kind I was common enough when Mr liallanee 5 put a stop to a long, succession of deficits and when first Sir Joseph Ward and then Mr Seddon continued the J sound finance of their great predecessor, ■ but long ago a saner and more patriotic J spirit arose among the critics, on both I sides of the flouse and they frankly ac- | knon lodged surpluses could nut he made out of treasury bills. . SIP. JOSEPH WARD'S VIEW. 4 Sir Joseph Ward, who has made exJ traordinary progress towards completely restored health during the last month ; or two, when seen on the subject to-day said lie would rather not talk polities at . Mto present juncture. Mis return to j health had considerably quickened Lis i interest in what was going on in the j world, but be felt it would be scarceI * ly playing the game to engage in skirmishing from his present seclusion, where he had received so much consideration from most of his opponents. ' lie would say. however, that lie thought Mr Massey had been misroported. I Either that, or something lie had said in jest had been taken in earnest. Surpluses could not he made out of treasury hills. A surplus was the amount by which the revenue for the year exceeded the expenditure. A deficit the l amount hy which the expenditure exceeded the revenue. It was conceivable that a Government might obtain a surplus hy neglecting to pay its accounts, if its creditors were sufficiently i accommodating, hut.tliis would lie only j postponing the evil day, as the unpaid i accounts would go towards swelling the ' expenditure of the succeeding year. I “Bnt,”SirJoseph said in dismissing the subject, “Ministers don’t set the ofli- | eials of the Treasury rigging the public accounts.” LIBERAL-LABOUR PARTY. I Mr Wilford’s reticence-in regard lo | tin' progress he is making with the | organisation of the Liberal-Labour j Party has produced the inevitable result. It is rumoured to-day—and the lying jade may not he greatly lo blame - that Mr Stathnm and hist friends, representing the progressive j tail nl the new party, are not too well ; pltVriEftl !»y tiff methods of tlie I.iheral j head. Mr M ilford, it is said, lifts not , consulted them in regard to the solve- ' tion of candidates and has not asked t for their assistance in framing a policy. If all this i-. true, the outlook for an active, vigorous Opposition during the approaching session of Parliament, to say nothing of a united party at the polls, is not bright. If, as one of the “old hands” said to-day, elections are won in .the last session of the | House, the Liberal-Labour combination i is stalling out in somewhat inauspicious [ i irciimslancos. The -old adage that the 1 liisl duty of tin Opposition is to oppose « long ago passed into the liinlio of ex- i plo-h’d traditions. In these days an i Opposition at least must show the ea- : i p.ieitv to construct. I 1 A POSER. ji Meanwhile the “Dominion.” on behalf ■ I of the Reform Party, is making what, t capital it can out of Mr Wilford’s un- t readiness to answer a question as to I the new party’s attitude towards the < proposal of the Post and Telegraph Oliicers’ Association to affiliate with the tllinncc of Labour. The official leader of the Opposition has replied to an inquire on the subject from the Thorndon i c branch of the Amalgamated Society of t Railway Servants, hy saying he cannot state, how the I'iiilcd Parly stands on ( the question till they meet and discuss the matter about tile end ot June.” t The. "nominion” this morning heads t this announcement' “Mr Willord j p dodges,” “Evades Straighlout Ques- j, tion” and pokes fun at his indecision ill t ; its hading columns. But that is only the way of the political partisan. The disquieting feature of the incident to people who have been hoping for Hie ~ appearance of a united and virile Dp- £ position is the confession that the new party has not yet discussed its policy - p and that for all practical purposes it-j still is without guidance and wit limit in- . ~ sp'i'ulion. I N