WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3541, 31 July 1920, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS

PUBLIC FINANCES.

BIG FIGURES.(Special Correspondent). WELLINGTON, July 30. The new House of Reps, is singularly lacking in financiers, in members, that is, who can grasp the meaning and significance of the public accounts and express a considered opinion upon the direction in which they .-re tending. The rejection of Sir Joseph Ward at the polls, the retirement of Sir James Allen and the temporary absence of the Hon. A. M. Myers have left Parliament poorer in this respect than it has been for many years past. Never, lndeed| since our (politicians were driven to talking in millions instead of in hundreds of thousands have we had so-few men in the House capable of thinking in the larger terms. One present result of all this is a marked reticence on the part of members in the Budget, delivered by Mr Massey on Tuesday evening. Some of them frankly admit they do not understand the figures, others want time to consider them and others again are content to accept the Prime Ministers' assurance that the financial position of the Dominion is satisfactory. STRAINING DOMINION'S RESOURCES.

There is a growing feeling outside the House, however, that Mr Massey's loan proposals and expenditure scheme's, if authorised by Parliament, as they undoubtedly will be, will place a pretty severe strain upon the resources of, the country. Many business men, and even bankers, with whom Mr Massey might have been expected to take council, regard the Minister's proposals with some misgiving. * Assuming that the ten millions of maturing loans will be renewed without calling upon the local market for any contribution, they doubt the ability of the Treasury to obtain the fifteen millions of new money required without putting the compulsory clauses of the Loan Act into operation and so interfering with many industrial and commercial undertakings and actually embarrassing some of the rejuctant subscribers. Compulsion,."they admit, was justifiable when the money was required foriwax purposes, when, so to speaky thei very existence of the nation was at stake., but its wisdom is very questionable, they contend, when the funds are demanded for an orgy of internal expenditure. INCREASED PAY. In the House of Reps, yesterday Mr Massey, as Minister of Finance, brought down an Imprest Supply Bill whieh provides, among other, things, for the increases of £1,651,685 to be made .to the salaries' of the employees of the Railway Department and other branche s of the Public Service. Mr. Massey, having read the report and the recommendations of -the Uniformity Committee set up to determine the amount of the additional payments, said he did not like to be called upon to find this large sum of money, but he recognised there was no other way out. Salaries had risen in every industry, in every form of in every part of the Dominion and the Government could not maintain a lower rate of pay than was obtainable for similar services in other employment. The increases in railway and postal rates were expected to produce considerably over a million and provision was made for the review of the increased' pay in the event of the cost of living declining, but for the present there was no escape from the position to which the Go- nment and the c oun trv were c o-mmit i. ■. 1.