AUSTRALIAN FINANCES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 46, 21 February 1903, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN FINANCES.

ru FBKSS ASSOCIATION, Lojtdos, February 19. Financial circles, while deprecating the exaggerated attacks of the London press, are stroogly of opinion that Australia does not realise tha? she has bean borrowing too freely. Recent loan 3 are still umbsorbed, and the weakness in stocks is due to newsptpsr attacks, cjupled with the bid impression created by the Itnm'gra-' tion Restriction laws. Mr ChpeUnd's repty ta Mr Wilson's attack is of a vigorous aad caustic character. He said that the scandalous suggestions of repudiation were a more villainous slander th <n anything printed by the pro-Boer press. He emphasised the land Vddueaand reproductive works, especially the railways. ' Eximining the articles, he showed bumerons misstatements and grosj exaggerations. The Daily Mall, in a leader, admits that Australia's debts are largely represented by solid assets, but said that rinue Australian stocks had become trust investments, they must expect ecru'iay. Toey real danger lay in Australian expenditure baing controlled by a class without an iateceet in «ecur-,j ing economy in outl iy and administration, and not understanding the difficulties of finaoce. It was an evidence of care and economy that no complaints or criticisms had bean heard. The Mail points out that the first suggestion of Australian bankruptcy appsared in a Sydney weekly newspaper-