THE WAR LOAN.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1807, 28 March 1918, Page 2

THE WAR LOAN.

IF the £9,500,000 how called for is not fully and voluntarily provided by the people, then the powers conferred by the Finance Act of 1017 will be invoked, says the Post. The machinery is all ready to compel those who can but will not to subscribe to the loan. Those who are in a position to know aver that, even now, after £2(5,000,000 has been furnished by others for war purposes, there are ‘'financial shirkers,” both priyate individuals and corporate bodie's, who have not fallen into line with those who have readily and cheerfully lent to the Government; even to incurring obligations to their bankers to do so. The inclusion in the prospectus of a reference to a levy on thb.se who are so 1 backward in coming forward in this matter, should it he necessary to do so, Ave understand, is no meaningless threat. Ample provision has been made in the Act, however, for

dealing with cases where the collection of such a levy would 6 cause hardship or embarrassment. No one will be expected to produce what he has not got. While it is perfectly true that many subscribers have been afforded facilities by the banks to take up War Loan, there has been no suggestion of compulsion in such cases. What they did they did knowingly, freely,' patriotically. It is sincerely to be hoped that the loan now before the public will be fully subscribed without recourse to the operation of Section 40 of the Finance Act of 1917—the compulsory levy section. It would be much better so; better for the Dominion as a whole and for the class of individuals the Minister had in mind when Hie section was drafted.