WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 13 May 1927, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

FINANCES OF DOMINION,

MINISTER AT FEU.DIN CL |

(Special to “ Guardian •' WELLINGTON, May 30 Though the Hon. W. Dowrih- Stew art, in financial and commercial circle-, at any rate, is easily the most popular member of' the Cabinet to-day, Ids speech at Feilding last night i. not being received with much enthusiasm by his friends. While satisfied with the' tone of the speech, and, indeed, with its matter, so far as if goes, they complain that the Minister has shrpprl no policy and drawn m -mi ty ~g conclusions from his own fi.-.tres Tiny are inclined rather to ira; ina of his suggestion that in the non. ;• Hire the Dominion will he abn in along wtihout over-sea Ix.itou mg, i.- to discuss it seriously. Many o! ri- -in hold that there will hr m. ees.-a-io., 1 over-sea borrowing till a Gi.-.-vi-'ilnenf strong enough to put it.- foot down on 1 the wasteful expenditure, they iy, ingoing on in every department of the Public- Service, comes it.it. >t. t ln-e pessimists for the mo- pint. art- sup-j porters of the present Mii.L-.y, and almost without exception re : ■-r ■ «l I the Minister of Finance. boi : hey >rc disappointed that the promise. >i eiouomv, business methods and greater ciency by which the Reformers t.-r ce • their way into office never have he i. put into practice. Their criticism i ; ol the kind that always assails a party that has been in office for a long scries of years. A DIFFICULT POSITION. j On behalf of the Minister of Finn it must be said that he was speaking under very difficult circumstances ! Nearly a year bail elapsed since a Minister of the Crown had delivered a political address from a public platform. The succession of Sir Harry Atkinson, Mr John Rallancc. Mr Seddon, S'r j Joseph Ward and Mr Massey, to say nothing of the temporary appointments of Sir 'William Hall-Jonos, Sir Thomas McKenzie and Sir Francis Bell, to the ollice of Minister of Finance, had wellnigh made this portfolio a recognised perquisite of the Prime Minister for the time being. Except during the J term of ihe National Government, when Sir Joseph 'Ward had charge of the Treasury, it had been held by mem-' hers of Hie Cabinet other than the j head of the Government for only seven years out of forty. Both Mr Seddon and Mr Massey in their time had declared from the floor M the House that the Prime Minister should he the Min-j ister of Finance and both lived to realise that, the Minister of Finance in effect was the Prime ’Minister. Mr Downie Stewart, a little more diffident than his great predecessors had been, 1 set himself, the task of indicating a pal- j icy without gving it shape or substance.

THE PRIME MINISTER'S PART. Putting aside the criticism arising out of these- circumstances, however, it; must be conceded that the Minister, was delightfully frank in his acinus-; sinus, lie did not pretend that all was well with the country financially. He' did not attempt to disguise the difficu!-; ties besetting the producers. lie did not even predict an early return to j normal conditions, llis speech, indeed, was a blunt recital of the facts as he know them and as far away as could he from an electioneering appeal. But there was a ring of understanding and sympathy about his words, which in it-' self was inspiring. This secured him a. very hearty reception from his tricndl.v audience and an appreciative hearing. 1 He avoided party politics as far as pos- ! sible, touching only lightly on subjects tending in that direction ; but as an accomplished phrase-maker he kept even the buck rows of his audience in constant good humour. " The rich preach to tlie poor on the virtue of thrift. ; and the idle to the workers on the dignity of labour,” was one of bis happy inventions, and his speech throughout was punctuated with such fragments of entertaining philosophy. It now remains for the Prime Minister to plant a policy of hold progress and prudent administration upon the fallow his Minister of Finance has so admirably prepared. Meanwhile Mr Stewart may he warmly congratulated upon the performance of his share in the undertaking. i RURAL CREDITS. I There has been for some time past a difference id' opinion between Mr Steiv-J art, the Minister of Finance, and Mr Poison, the President of the Farmers’' Union, concerning rural credits and other features of farmers’ finance, and the Minister in the course of His speech at Feilding last night took the opportunity to reply to some recent assertions made, by Mr Poison. The President of the Farmers’ Union, it seems, 1 had declared that between 1920 and 1927 the Dominion’s imports had amounted to 1M05,000.000, while its exports had reached only £327,000,000, so that the country had failed to pay its way during tins period by £80,000,000. Mr Stewart met this assertion with the explanation that Mr Poison had omitted to distinguish between imports of capital and imports of commodities and so had circulated a statement for which there was no foundation in fac-t. “So far as the Government is concerned,” lie added emphatically. “it is living within its income.” This, no doubt, is true, hut there still is something to say from,.Mr Poison’s point of view. The fact that the Government is pav-

ing its way does not necessarily discredit the assertion of the President of the Farmers’ Union that “we are living nt the rate of £10,000,000 a year more than our income and borrowing £5,000,000 to help to keep up appearances.” The statement is not demolished by proof of the Minister's own frugality.