WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 21 January 1929, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS

LOAN MONEY. MINISTERS' OF FINANCE. (Special to “Guardian”.) WELLINGTON, January 17. The Hon. W. Downie Stewart, Minister of Finance in the > late Reform Government, with characteristic tact, attributes some little misunderstanding concerning his loan negotiations to the newspapers. “Sir Joseph Ward’s statement on the loan transactions,” lie says; “ has been interpreted by some newspapers to mean that I had proposed to raise five millions and con-, vert another ten millions of the 1028 maturing debt. This is incorrect, as I had made no proposals.” Of course it Would be understood that in the middle of a general election no Minister of Finance would commit the Dominion to transactions involving fifteen millions. What really happened was that Sir Joseph Ward in explaining his own commitments after his assumption of office mentioned the amounts that had been suggested by his predecessor at the Treasury. There was no attempt by either party to belittle the finance of the other. Nor were the newspapers at fault. But while Mr Stewart treats his successor with courtesy, he is not disposed to look favourably upon Sir Joseph Ward’s borrowing proposals. “It should be. noted,” he says, “that the seven millions raised by Sir Joseph are for public works. If, in addition, he raises for State Advances from six millions to eight millions, according to his election speeches, some idea of the annual borrowing can be estimated. Moreover, apparently, the State Advances loans are to be borrowed locally, and not in London in the meantime.” Of course /the late Minister of Finance is speaking without any definite knowledge of the intentions of his successor and probably will be vouchsaved little further information until the meeting of Parliament; but it is certain.that on the Opposition benches he will be a very capable and usdful critic. Finance in the new Parliament promises, indeed, to have many more ready exponents than it has had for many a long day. RAILWAY EXPENDITURE. While Sir Joseph Ward may have an effective answer to the criticism that is being levelled against his policy of railway construction he so far has pie-

serve* ? a tantalizing silence on tlie subject. It veil the large body of business men u 'Jr o are prepared to give the United Party what they call a “failrun ” lock askance at the prospect 'of three or four millions a year being spent upon the completion Of lines which air pt/uly have been heavy drains upon the .public purse and give little promise of joeing remunerative, or even self-support Hug. when they are linked up with the post of the railway system. Both the Sov.'th Island and the North Island provid't 1 many striking instances of local linoi leaning on the philantropy of better served parts of the Dominion and '.Wellington people laugh at the suggest m ui that the completion of the South I sland trunk line will lessen the loss 1 upon its two isolated ends. A BTJRNLS 0 QUESTION. As a matter of act Sir Joseph V* ai d lias not yet committed him.sell definitely to any extravagant expenditure on railway extension, iml his colleagues are not likely to press him towards any indiscretion of the k ind. He is quite satisfied himself, hov never, that the accumulated loss on the railways is largely due to the lo rip drawn out expenditure upon tin mV' construction. Thirty years and mor.*' ago he demonstrated that the cost o.f some lines had been as much as doubled bv building no more than a mile or to vo a year and leaving their completion' to another generation. This sort of tli 'ng has been (T o ing on for over half a cci itury, largely owing to the perverted instincts o’, parochial people, and if Sir i can stir up the national conscience to a better appreciation of social service he will go a long way toward si removing one of the gravest obstacles ,to the development of the Dominion.