THE BUDGET

Hokitika Guardian, 1 August 1931, Page 2

THE BUDGET

THE HONEST COURSE. (Christchurch Times). The Finance Minister anticipates that in years to come the Budget of 1931 will be regarded as an historical document. That may well be the case. It is assuredly heroic. Not many controllers of national finance in the world to-day lvould have .the courage to demand' a balanced budget, or if they had the courage to demand, then the optimism to achieve •it, Mr Forbes has amazing courage, and with it he has a tremendous faith in his country and its people. It is true that he has called in all available moneys to lighten the load, of taxation, but it js also true that he is making unprecedented economies in public expenditure and imposing heavy additional taxation on falling incomes, and he puts his demands in such a plain, mntter-of-fact may that one is almost deluded into regarding the Bud. get as a commonplace document. With any other man we should have been inclined to say that he was committing political suicide, but we have here a Budget that 'contains not the slightest suggestion of politics, a business-like recital of fact, an almost colourlessly honest address from a scrupulously honest trustee to people in whose desire to do right at all costs .he has apparently the most- implicit confidence. Fe say«. in effect- that he has made the burden as light as he can, but we must pay our way. Politicians are clever people, and they may find in the Budget something to wrangle about, but they will find in it no encourage’oent for the discussion of side, issues. It is the work of a mau who, having faced the facts squarely, decided that there was only one course for Himself and for the people of New Zealand. We may d’ffftr from him as to the wisdom of that course, but there can be nothing but admiration for the Finance' Minister who, in this most difficult time, determined to follow right in scorn of consequence.