PREMIER'S POLICY SPEECH.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 456, 4 May 1909, Page 3

PREMIER'S POLICY SPEECH.

SURPLUS OF £184,321. RAILWAY REVENUE INCREASED. BEER DUTY FALLS. SUCCESS OF NATIONAL ENDOWMENT. Invercargill, May 2. The Prime Minister delivered his second important policy speech in the Municipal Theatre on Saturday night, to an audience of about xooo peopleSir Joseph refuted the Opposition statement that the expenditure for last March quarter was certain to have exceeded that of the corresponding quarter of the previous year. As a matter of fact the expenditure in the quarter just ended was nearly £4OOO less than in the March quarter of 1908.

Notwithstanding the tightness that had existed for sometime, the finances were exceedingly satisfactory. What opponents had dubbed his “optimistic” views had been justified by results. For the financial year ending March 31 he had estimated the revenue at £8,985,000, and the expenditure and after bringing forward the previous year’s balance of £767,849, and transferring £BOO,OOO out of revenue to the Public Works account, he had estimated a surplus of £74,5°3Analysis of the actual figures showed the year’s surplus to be £184,321, £109,118 more than the Budget estimate. The revenue for the year amounted to more than £9,000,000 an increase of £16,183 over the estimate, and it exceeded expenditure by £2x5,672. To revenue the railways contributed £2,918,507, an increase on the previous year of £153,1x2, in spite of reductions in fares and freight to the extent of £950,000. Stamps brought in £1,591,358, an increase of £40,394. Land and income tax returns reached £926,000, an increase of Miscellaneous revenue, £264,2xo, an increase of £45,868. Registration and other fees also showed an increase.

Customs did not come up to the estimate by ,£148,752, owing to an unexpected falling-off in import values for 1909, as compared with the steady increase experienced for some years previously, and owing to the excessive importation in 1908 in anticipation of the extended preferential tariff which took effect on 31st March of that year. There was a falling-off in beer duty of ,£786, and a drop in territorial revenue of ,£13,132. The revenue, as a matter of policy, had been largely reduced during the last few years by : The remission of customs duties, Railway concessions, The abolition of the sheep tax, and The transfer of large areas of Crown lands to National endownments.

Notwithstanding all this, the revenue for the year just closed was ,£600,000 better than for the previous year, a satisfactory feature of the year’s transactions was that £BOO,OOO was transferred f rom the ordinary revenue and paid into the Public Works Fund. Otherwise the balance would have been £984,320. Sir Joseph drew attention to the amount obtained for requirements authorised by law during the past year. This Included : Renewal of Public Works and the Manawatu Railway loans, Boans to local bodies, Bands for settlement, and Advances to settlers.

A total of £7.797.257. a ll of which had been provided for, which showed the financial stability of the country. .The Premier also mentioned incidentally that the Secretary of Customs had that day wired that there was an increase of £9,600 in customs duties received for the month of April, and stated that there was much better feeling among commercial men as to the prospects and conditions of trade,

Regarding Opposition criticism in regard to Post and Telegraph business, the Government did not view with any disquietude the ebb and flow of the. Savings Bank business, which was regaided as the natural sequence of fluctuations in the money market. £250,000 of deposits were last year loaned to public bodies, so that in addition to the whole of the security of the country, there was the rating security oflocai bodies who borrowed the money.

With regard to the agitation as to the mortgage tax, which was alleged to be driving money out of the country, during the financial year investments under mortgage had increased by ,£1,664,393 which did not look as if money was being driven out of New Zealand. This tax prevented people evading the land tax by mortgaging their land to, possibly, a man of straw. It was absolute nonsense to say that the Government was responsible for the tightness of the money market. The fall in wool made a difference of over ,£3,000,000 to men who had drawn money on their wool clips. It was also caused by the fall in flax and by the locking up of money in land. He thought, however, that there was not enough banking convenience in New Zealand to enable people to deal with temporary financial embarrassment. More banks should be allowed to come into the country to cope with the expansion ot business. He thought also that the operations of the Advances to Settlers Department might be extended with advantage. Speaking of paper currency, he said that to adopt a system of paper currency would be fatal un-

less there was behind it an equivalent in gold. There was room possibly for banking retorm, but the matter must be approached without precipitancy on account of theimmense interests involved. With regard to railways there was no other country in the world

where railway travelling was cheaper than in New Zealand. The total amount of reductions in pursuance of the policy to use the railways as an adjunct to settlement, was .£2,709,000. In the next few days there would be introduced an arrangement whereby people travelling from one point of the country to the other would be enabled to obtain their railway tickets at the offices of the Union Steamship Co.

Speaking of laud settlement, the Premier said that the total number of selectors under the National Endowment Act to March was 1583, and the total area was 5,709,641 acres. The total territorial revenue for the year was £696,126 or some £32,00 over the total estimate. 'I be predictions of opponents of the National Endowment as to the revenue had been totally refuted in the most practical way. With regard to native lauds, the Department had, since 2ist October, 1900, rendered available for settlement, 1,690,047 acres of native laud. At the present time the Native Land Boards had in hand snrve3's of over two million acres, a large proportion of which was expected to be put on the market almost immediately. The enormous difficulty of acquiring native lands for settlement by white men was referred to at length. In the reorganisation of the public service Government was anxious to maket hiugs as easy as possible for those unfortunate enough to come under the retrenchment proposals. None of those affected would be hurried out during the winter, or in cases where retirement was necessary they would be compensated for a period to cover it.

The Government’s aim this session would be to introduce legislation remarkable more for quality than quantity. In the matter of the National Annuities Bill, self-help must precede State help. The principles of the Lands for Settlement Finance Bill was to allow any five men to come together to acquire a limited area of freehold by the State’s guarantee. It helped only those who helped themselves, and would encourage those who were disappointed by constant failure in the ballot, and those who could not purchase singly. It was not intended to repeal the Lands for Settlement Act, but to work in conjunction with it. In the last few years there had been a tendency to drift to the towns, and it was the duty of every one to encourage people to go on the land.

As to the National Annuities Bill, one of the iears haunting a low-waged worker was a poverty stricken old age. Under the proposed bill a man could make provision for his old age and for his wife and children, by making a small contribution per week to the fund. The chief benefits would be given to parents supporting children. It was not charity, but was a combination of individual and State effort that was financially sound.

An important amendment of the Succession Duties Act is contemplated by which duties would be imposed on those estates which were in the best position to afford it.

Prison reform was advocated on lines already familiarised by the Minister for Justice.

There would also be considerable reforms in the Bankruptcy laws. It was under contemplation to bring back to the country all absconding debtors.

Probably a bill would be introduced improving the Patents Act, with a view to the repression of false trade descriptions. Important amendments of the Friendly Societies Act, Charitable Aid Institutions, Education, Workers’ Compensation for Accidents, and Municipal Corporations and other Acts would also be introduced. The action of the Government in offering to the British authorities the gift of a Dreadnought from the Dominion had aroused wide and intense expressions of approval, though a small section professed disappointment. The English Socialists’ leader, Mr Blatchford, had declared strongly for increasing the naval strength, showing that the man on the spot recognised that it would be a calamity to the workers unless the British navy was made impregnable. The Premier drew a graphic picture of the consequences of a war, with the possible result of New Zealand passing to a foreign country as an indemnity. “ When anyone is talking of the cost of a Dreadnought, or of two Dreadnoughts, Sir Joseph Ward continued, “ does he for a moment suppose, looking at it from a mercenery point of view, that it would equal the cost of what that penalty would be to us ? Our very existence depended upon the strength, power, and mightiness of the British Empire, and to talk of joining hands with Australia in the matter of a local navy, was next to futile. The constitutional aspect of the matter would be duly laid before Parliament. To have asked individual members to commit themselves, would have been most unfair. The Executive took the responsibility and would risk subsequent ratification. He had confidence in the people and Parliament in their loyal and practical support to the Old Band, by rising above party, and standing at all cost to the mother that has given us protection for the last 70 years.

for the infinitely small amount of naval subsidy.” The Premier’s eloquent peroration was received with tremendous applause, after the concluding remark of an address that was frequently interrupted by outbursts of applause.

A vote of thanks and confidence in the Government was carried with unanimous enthusiasm.