WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 4 August 1925, Page 4

WELLINGTON NEWS

REFORM'S HIGH FINANCE. (Special to “Guardian'’.) WELLINGTON, July 31. One of the claims, if not the chief claim, of the Reform Government for the confidence of the electors is based on finance. “Strong Finance.” "Economy with sound finance” are some of the slogans that have been used in

support of these claims and it is as well to examine them. This sound finance is purely a post-war slogan. The party came into power about 1012, and there was nothing very remarkable in its administration. Two years Inter the Great War began, and very soon afterwards the National Government was formed and the Reformers had the advice and co-operation ol Sir Joseph Ward, the foremost financier as tar ns public finance is concerned in the Dominion. After the dissolution of the National Government, the Reform Party was left to its own resources, and it at once indulged in high finance of the approved agrarian type. We all know that type. It is borrow! borrow! borrow! The record of Government borrowing dumig the past live wars has never been equalled in New Zealand and it is doubtful whether the extravagant Labour Governments of the Australian Slates have equalled the Reform Government in the matter of borrowing. After the war the National Government left a nest-egg of accumulated surpluses. This was promptly squandered on Soldier Settlements, and that it was squandered lias l.emi proved by Luo fact that about two millions and a quarter sterling has to be written off its absolutely lost, and that does not tell the whole tale. Taxation was piled on the shoulders or the people, ami when Taxpayers’ Associations. Chain hors of Commerce and other hollies began to complain about the heavy taxation, reductions were made in income-tax and more than the amount of the reductions added to the Customs duties. In the estimates for the current liuaucial year customs duties are expected to Held UT.NfKI.dIIO. while income-tax. land-tax and stamp and death duties together

are to yield 17.!; III.IKK), hut there tire to he further remissions of income-tax. There has been no reduction in taxation as claimed, hut a readjustment in which the mass of the people has sufferetl. Then the Reform Government ventured upon a settlement of the Housing problem—money was borrowed wherever obtainable at -> per cent, and in the ease of the loan from the Rank of New Zealand at -7; per cent, the borrowed money was re-lent io bouse builders at IV per cent. Ami this is said to he statesmanship of the Reform brand, If a private individual indulged ill this class of high linanco he would not he regarded as a statesman but as a scoundrel. To-day it is said that tC housing problem will not be solved until private capital takes a baud in the game. The Government endeavoured to force private capital to lend on mortgage instead of investing in debentures, and the debenture tax was raised to Is lid in llv C. Private capital immediately crossed the Tasman Sen and sought investment in Australia. With respect to the accumulated surpluses which total L'I'i.ODO.OOO. the Minister of Finance stated in the budget that these accumulated revenue surpluses a- at March 31st. HIM, were worth £1.175.000 to the consolidated surpluses. Those surpluses were obtained by overtaxing the peonle. A surplus is easily manufactured. It is merely necessary to underestimate revenue and overestimate the expenditure, and the golden

egg comes to light. Had that money keen left in the pockets of the taxpayers they would have invested it. imieli more profitably than the Reform Government, has doin'. They icrtiniilv would not have had to write oil over 2 million.-, sterling for loolisli investments. Instances in the Relorrn. brand of high linnncr. which is aboni i lie uor.-i in Hie history ol New Zealand, could be easily multiplied. One could refer to the nbimrm.nl increase in the Public Sen ice expenditure and when there was a howl about this the civil servants had to submit to a sharp ami unjust eat. On their iinniice alone the Reformers deserve to lie relegated to the ni l shades of Opposition for ever* more, lor. as far as linam-e is concerned, I hey have proved IhemseLeS to l> | i.iciiinpeieut and im-apa ble. E.MPIRE PREFERENCE, In the report of the .Meat Control Hoard there is a patriotic Nourish which, if delivered in a speech at a public meeting, would call forth loud applause. The following is a short: exc erp! from that patriotic paragraph:--“Although wo may ship meat to oilier countries, we must always recognise that (treat Britain is our icnln market. We must 11■ >t forget that it was on Smilhlield we laid the foundation of our frozen meat trade. . . Great I Tint ii i to-day, more than ever, requires our primary products, and in return w:> must purchase more of her primary goods.” Some time ago the .Meat Hoard ordered that stockinette should he used a.s wrappers instead of calico. , The “Times” (London) in its Trade j and Engineering Supplement of May !), sa.\s: '‘ln last week's issue wo published a statement on the authority of a m-reliant that hi' had handled a .Japanese c loth used for wrapping carcases of mutton exported from New Zealand, which, he stated, was fully equal to a similar Lancashire cloth but etfereci 2d per II) cheaper. We are informed by a Manchester firm flint the Japan-

ese doth used in this trade is not fully equal to the British article, for although the price may lie cheaper, the same number of meat wraps is not obtainable from the Japanese material as trom the British. Our correspondent iilso draws attention to a letter of protest sent to the New Zealand High Commissioner by British stockinet ts manufacturers who complain that Japanese material is being imported into the Dominion under some other item in the tariff list and is admitted on the same basis as British-made mat-j erial. They also state that their difficulties have been greatly increased by j the fact that the New Zealand Go- j vernnient io September last, granted a | ! rebate of .10 per cent on re-export of j the material.” There is a good deal of j patriotic froth blown about by officials j and organisations, but when wo come] I down to tin tacks ir is found that . I there is not the least sincerity in our patriotic whoops. i I