Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, SEPT. 4, 1906. STILL BORROWING.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3708, 4 September 1906, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, SEPT. 4, 1906. STILL BORROWING.

One of the most astounding suggestions in Sir Joseph Ward’s Budget speech was the one in which the Governor almost promised to make an effort to pay off some of the colony’s huge public debt. It is the only time in the history of the colony for two decades that such an awful proposal has been made. The colony has got . into the way of believing that borrowed money is the colony’s very own cash and has more or less cheerfully become habituated to the taxation necessary to keep John Bull and others from foreclosing by paying the interest, compound interest and other reproductive sums. On the top ot this brilliant suggestion to form sinking funds for the entirely novel purpose of paying a little of the capital of our loans back within the next three decades, there appears in the Budget two items showing that the ‘ ‘ sound finance” which Sir Joseph Ward claims has been a feature of the past may also be a feature of the future.

The Government will borrow another million pounds, in order to show the people that the usual astounding surplus is a real hard cash surplus, but in nowise to be placed to any sinking fund, used for the means for which the new million loan will be used, or any other reasonable purpose. It has been mentioned that the general public greedily invest their hard earned savings in Government Debentures. It is an excellent investment, this gambling with one’s own money in order to permit one’s self to pay a small amount of interest on the cash one has borrowed. There never has been any effort made to reduce the public debt of this colony and any effort in this direction is to be highly commended. With a business man at the head of the Government it may be hoped that the powers that be will not, as in the past, mistake sinking funds formed for the repayment of capital debt, for money earned and to be used for the increase of fat salaries, increase of unremunerative State departments or any other purpose than the only legitimate one of relieving the colony of the great burden it is now called upon to stagger under.

Thu colony’s wild career of dissipation, has of course made it necessary for much money to be raised for the payment of interest on loans, and this fact has induced the Government, in order to raise funds, to enormously increase the valuations of land until the private person is forced to regard his private property as worth so much a bucketful and not so much per acre. The Government of the past too, feeling the absolute necessity of keeping the mortgagee and the pawnbroker at bay has burdened the necessities of life as heavily as is possible. This has been done in the past with the ostensible purpose of helping local manufacturers, but it has never in any case helped the people as a community. The Reciprocal Treaty between Australia and New Zealand—which will never pass either House by the way—has stirred up the business people of the colony and the big manufacturers and others who have practically a monopoly in many branches of trade forsee destruction to their businesses.

Anything that deleteriously affects the fat class in this country is very bad indeed. We know it is bad because the fat person screams the moment his least privilege is threatened. Ignoring the probable wiping out ot the person who is now screaming for the moment what possible harm can the removing of tariff from the common necessities of life do the community ? There is absolutely nothing—except the sinful price of land induced by a Government greed for revenue to pay interest on borrowed money—to prevent New Zealand growing almost anything Australia now produces at a price as reasonable as the price Australians pay and Australia could snpply us at. Barring tropical products N.Z. has some advantage. The cry that Australia has immense areas and that N.Z. has not, is likely to lead the N.Z. public to believe that Australia might have sinister intentions of ‘ dumping. ’ The fact that N.Z. manufacturers and commercial big-wigs are frequently blackpots is one of the reasons why they should suspect that Australians may be black kettles. 4c 4; 4<

XhflßS is no place in. the world

where the small ring, trust combine or any other name you like to call it flourishes as it does in New Zealand. The Government of the past has carefully fostered and helped these rings, trusts and combines, while expressing deep horror of the methods of American and other foreign combines. That Government with the utmost cheerfulness kept iniposing extreme taxation burdens on the people in order to keep cheap articles out of the country and to play into the hand of Isaacstein and Co., senior partners in the business of this colony. Chambers of Commerce and other commercial organisations of this country have a remafbable influence on politics and it is untrue that the democracy rules when the Government is always ready to listen to the pessimism of these people who forsee in the lifting of a small portion of the people’s load a slight disadvantage to themselves. * * *

If the tariff wall between the Australian Commonwealth and N.Z. was entirely removed, Isaacstein who is rapidly becoming a millionaire would be compelled to walk more circumspectly and bleed the people of this country less freely. He would have himself to blame if Australia undersold him. He has only to be content with Australian profits in order to keep the trade between New Zealand and Australia precisely where it is. Free flour from Australia, would, it is alleged by the New Zealand flour people, shut up every mill in New Zealand. It would only be because of the greed of New Zealand millers if such a thing happened, Australia grows better and more payable milling wheat than New Zealand, it is wellknown, but it has to use four times the area of land to produce the same crop. Also Australia has a great local market, a great European market and cannot as yet use the vast dry interior for cereal growing. The fright of the New Zealand millers is quite uncalled for. * * * The fact that much of the best available land in New Zealand is used for dairying is a reason why wheat should be available from Australia. If the alleged surpluses and the big revenues in New Zealand are kept up by exploiting the the people, who are forced to pay through the nose for every necessity of life, it is high time that even though Isaacstein and Co., suffer slightly the suffering of the people whom the Government help Isaacstein to fleece should be made less sore. It will be noticed that the people who scream most about the evils of reciprocity are not the people who produce, but the people who get fat through the producers and the public. If a few of these gentry get hurt in the scuffle the country as a whole won’t suffer, and the Government alleges that it is going to try and live up to the noble ideal of doing the greatest good to the greatest number and not * doing ’ the greater number for the good of the fewer.