Dominion's War Burden.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 7 December 1918, Page 4

Dominion's War Burden.

FUTURE PROSPECTS. In the ooiu-oo oi liis address at- yesterday's mooting of the shareholders of til© Bank of New Zealand, ila/roldi Beaucliaiiip, cliaimiau of directors, referred in the following terms to the aftermath of the. wax: "I do not anticipate any immediate variation ill the prosperity that this Dominion lias enjoyed dming the four years of war. 'there will probably ■be, for some time a pressing demand for our foodstuffs and raw materials. It is practically assured t)bat the imperial authorities will take the output of wool for a period of twelve months from June following the declaration of peace; and arrangements have now beeai concluded with them to take our output of cheese and butter for this and the following season at satisfactory prices. This places the wool and dairying industries upen an assured footing for a considerable period. As to meat, howover, which bulks so largely in our exports, the present term of the commandeer is for only three months after the termination of the war. If this be not altered, it is conceivable that in March or April next the .refrigerated store® will be full to the doors, and transportation and realisation of the meat in store would probably occupy not less than eighteen months. "It is I consider, highly beneficial to New Zealand that these forward contracts have been made with the Imperial Government in regard to wool and dairy produce and in my opinion it- would be to. the advantage of the I>ominion if the principle were also extended! to meat. "There is now in cold-store of frozen meat alone a quantity equal to about 4i million 601b freight carcases; there iare also considerable quantities of cheese and bi;tter and a large amount of tallow, peltfi, hemp, and other products, which l have not been commandeered by the Imperial Government. The present season is a backward one, so that not much of the current year's yield has yet got into store. It must be bom© in mindl that a3l the Imperi-ally-requisitioned produce will tbave to be' lifted in priority to purchases on private account: and as tho British commandeer of shipping will probably not be relaxed for some considerable time, it is clear that private purchasers would in that case have to take heavv risks. It is easy to understand : that "if the bulk of next season's meat j has to be held in the refrigerated stores pending a market being found for it, a difficult, and in some cases, unsntisi factory situation would arise. I The scarcity of tonnage is likely to continue —indeed is certain to continue —For several moliths, notwithstanding the fact that a fair amount of shipping will be relaesed through there being no longer any necessity to transport munitions and men. 'Jt may not be out of place to remindl farmers and others who have accused the shipowners of exploiting the public, and so profiteering, that all ships on the British Register were requisitioned in the early part of 1917 at Blue Book rates. _these rates being approximately one-third of thosa then obtainable in the open market. The difference between the Blue Book rates and those now carrent benefits, not the . shipowenrs but the Imperial Government. So long as the British authorities control the. shipping _ so long will it be difficult to know just what number of vessels will be available for our produce trade. " One great burden that the war has forced upon us is a huge public debt. The Minister of Finance has repeatedly s feted, since his return from England, thiat the public debt is about £200,000 000. This at 41 per cent means an interest bill of £9,000,000 per annum, or say £750,000 a month; au<i there will be in addition the heavy pension bill to meet. These two items will absorb about eleven millions to.twelve millions a year. This is a very heavy load for the country to earcy, and it necessarily means that taxation must for sonic time be heavy. There is, however, one feature about the debt_that redounds to the credit of the people. A large proportion of the money required for the prosecution of the war was obtained within New Zealand. It was recently stated officially that the amount of the war loans raised in the Dominion was equal to about £40 per head of the population, a truly magnificent achievement. Well as the people of New Zealand have done, the people in the British Isles have done infinitely better. The Chancellor of the Exchequer the other diav obtained a credit vote of £700,000. 000 which does not represent the en 3 of such votes. Witli this vote, the total is brousrht up to the huge sum of £8,742,000,000.