HOW THE MILLIONS GROW

Hokitika Guardian, 28 August 1928, Page 4

HOW THE MILLIONS GROW

INCREASED INDEBTEDNESS

THE DOMINION’S BURDEN

(Taxpayer.)

The Minister of Finance lias been the recipient of so many bouquets in connection with the Budget lie presented to Parliament this year, that it -may seem h little presumptuous on the part of a mere layman to suggest that his figures are scarcely as cheering as sonic of his other friends have represented them to he. There are certain features of tho Dominion’s annual balance sheet, however, which seem to require somewhat closer examination than they yet have received from the professional politicians. They may he stated briefly. In 1922 the expenditure from the Consolidated Fund reached a total of £28.406,838, this sum being made up of permanent appropriations amounting to £12,874,161 and annual appropriations amounting to £15,392,677. This huge expenditure, when its nature came to he understood, aroused a good deal of anxiety throughout the country and finally led to a large deputation representative of the whole Dominion waiting upon Mr M assay, who then was Minister of Finance as well as Prime Minister, with an ur-

gent request that he should take such steps as he might deem necessary to reduce materially the national expenditure, which, the spokesman of die deputation declared, was regarded with grave apprehension by the financial, commercial and industrial communities. MR MASSEY’S ACHIEVEMENTS. Mr Massey frankly admitted the gravity of the situation. It bad occasioned him a great deal of anxiety, he said, and would he subject to a sear.liiug investigation. Tic was as good i s his word. He set up a small advisory committee, consisting of heads of Departments, to examine closely the position, and within a few weeks this itimnittcc reported that savings amounting to three or lour millions could he effected without impairing tho efficiency of any of the public services concerned. Mr Massey gave his close personal at tcntimi to the uncongenial task imposed upon him by the committee, and risked both political and personal pnpularitv in his determination to do what h‘ deemed his duty towards tho State. In 1923 lie effected a reduction of £2.203.078 in the public expenditure and in the following year a further reduction of £115,755, bringing the savings for the two' years up to £2,318,883, a very notable achievement in view oT all the circumstances. The reductions in expenditure, it will he remembered, were followed by very substantial reductions in income tax. In 1925. the year of Air Massey’s illness and death, the public expenditure began to mount up again and by the end of the finan cial year stood at a figure only Cl 1 ,067,638 below the huge total' of £28,466,838 which had impelled th Reform loader to his heroic cllort. ANOTHER OVERHAUL REQUIRED. In 1926 the Railway Department’s account was separated Iroin the Consolidated Fund, as the I’ost and I ele graph Account, it is understood, will he from tho beginning of tho current year; hut for the present purpose the figures may he presnted on the same basis as they were previous to this new arrangement. In 19A> the total expenditure amounted to £29,033,510, an ad vaiice of £571,672 upon the expenditure of the extravagant year 1922; in 192. to £30.845,8-12, an advance of £2,380,004 upon that year, and in 1928 t£31,630,027, an advance of £3.163,180. During the same period, from 1922 t 1928 that is, the gross public debt steadily increased, except during the period between 1922 and 1923, when it was reduced by £101.061. In 1023 it stood at £218,953,324; in 1924 ai £221,616,361; in 1923 at £227,814,647: in 1926 at £238,855,478; in 1927 a' £245,850,889 and in 1928 at £251,396,252. Thus the increase in the volume of the debt during the six years between 1922 and 1928 was £32.341,807. while the increase per head of population rose from £lO5 Is 2d to £li4 15s fd. Of course the Hon. Downio Stewart is a<(iuaiiited with all these I acts, hut an ill-informed public would he interested to learn why what Mr .Massey accomplished in 1923 cannot he at tempted to-day.