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Hokitika Guardian, 24 June 1926, Page 2

It is not often that a Government announces, in the Governor-General’s Speech at the opening of Parliament that loans totalling £'11,000.900 have been floated, and the silence of the Reform Party organs, which used to roundly denounce the comparatively mild borrowing policy of the Seddon and Ward regimes, remarks the “Lyttelton Times,” is significant. Last year, when the Government- floated a loan for £7,000,000 in London, the Auckland party paper said : “The announcement will no doubt raise misgivings regarding the rate nt which the National Debt is being increased.” It based its statement on the fact that the loan “follows upon a year’s heavy borrowing.” What the northern journal failed to realism was that the borrowing propensities of the Administra-

tioii were not fully developed, and if the operations of last year were sufficient to cause misgivings it would lie interesting to know liow subsequent operations are regarded. Owing to the silence in official quarters regarding these loans, little is known about them, but the following list is im-

pressive : £ Market. 3.000,000 Australia. 150,000 Australia 5,000,000 New Zealand. 0,000,000 London 500,000 Australia. These loan transactions total £13.<350,000 all raised within twelve months. The list given above is a record of loan transactions that have been reported. It is quite time that the Minister of Finance made a comprehensive stats monk regarding the matter. There has been talk of effecting economies, and of the appointment of a committee to hell the Ministry what to do to reduce tho cost of government in tho Dominion, hut action in this respect follows very tardily in the steps of numerous loans. There will he little that is praiseworthy in getting things done at an unprecedented cost. M hat tho country expects is a progressive policy to he made effective hv greater efficiency. That is what has been promised, and the performance is now awaited.