The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times.) MONDAY, JUNE 2nd, 1924. PUBLIC ECONOMY.

Hokitika Guardian, 2 June 1924, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times.) MONDAY, JUNE 2nd, 1924. PUBLIC ECONOMY.

Orjt occasional correspondent at Wellington. supplied the readers on Satur, day with a very informative news letter us to the need for public economy. Mr ,>fassev, who is Minister- of Finance, talks economy in season, and out. Other fjf his cq]|gflgues are ftp less in* fijstent tin the snnje subject jn thfir

public remarks, but it is all too plain that as Ministers in charge of responsible departments, they do not practice what they preach. Mr Massey has just been very successful on the loan market, ami the fact that a in:4. ter of live millions of money is to come this v, ay seems to lie the inducement for all and sundry to make requests for additional money to .spend. But apart from this clamour for more money there Ins been far 100 large a growth in nidinaiy ox) cnditifre, with the result that the tomlusion is limed that the Government is not devoting that el.-ee attention to the linaiicial position u llieh the ei.i iinistanees demand. Taxation uliiatly is unduly high, but. still expenditure mounts u, . and it is apparent that while that is so, then: can be no real relief, but oil the contrary thu burden must grow. 'I be l to 1,1.- given l>v our correspondent a-- in tile i:M reuses ruder specific beads, is vciv arresting. During the past decade postal expenditure lias grown by nearly 11 million: railways by over two millions, and education, by upwards of a million and a half. Anti the remarkable position in regard to these three classes of expenditure is that the demands for still greater oxI’ciiditiiiO cmitially is most insistent. We have seen how a section of the railway service demanded an increase by striking. Tltc.ve are rumours that the postal folk will be equally hellicn.se if their demands are not met In edu-

cation tlier- is hardly a week passes in '-Inch tla-re is not some indication that demands are being made for more expenditure. Mr Massey knows the position. His colleagues realise it also. But the complaint is that they are passive, and while preaching economy to the public and sounding all sorts of doleful warnings to the people, they permitted the public expenditure Bet year to increase by £107,583. It remains to .0 seen with an election now looming ahead whether Ministers will be heroic enough to tackle tlteii job. as

statesmen should put country before self. Perhaps they will remember what happened to Sir Joseph Ward when he pursued that course, and on the ''Vc of a general election carried out economies which cost him office at tile polls. Tint the position was not as serious then as now, which makes the call for heroic action till the more necessary, liven if there is not any retrenchment policy disclosed as such, what do Ministers propose to attempt ill the wav of drastic overhaul of the departmental expenditure? It is to

lie feared that the departmental heads rather than the Ministers rule the position, each vying with the other to maintain the importance of their department by magnifying it every way. But as there is so much urgent mfor public economy Ministers should assort themselves and secure relief which will afford the only genuine means to a reduction of taxation. It is listless for a Itoyal Commission to discitlie latter question, if on the other side of the ledger the flovernment > adding enormously to the public liabilities. That is the crux of the position.