The Daily News. TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 1903. THE COLONY'S FINANCES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 65, 17 March 1903, Page 2

The Daily News. TUESDA Y, MARCH 17, 1903. THE COLONY'S FINANCES.

Sisce the issue of the late loan nearly every p>per in the colony bas had something to gay regarding tha colony's finances. A leading southern paper, the /. untdin Star, and a strong Opposition paper, is very favourably impressed wi'h the present etate cf affairs. Discussing the financial, position, it says: —The statements of the Premier at Hanmer as to the existing conditions and future prospects of the colony cannot be regarded otherwise thtn as satisfactory. Taking the returns for the first e'.tven months of ihe current financial year, and calculating March on the »ame basis, tha total revenue will be £6,292,000 - an excess of £26(5,000 en the IV eaauret's estimate, and there will be the " usual surplus " of over a quarter of a million. There had bean, it was especially to be noted, a decrease ef expenditure. Wherever Ministers saw a chance of cutting down expanses it was done, and thin year there would be an underspending of £40,000 of the full amount authorised by Pirliament in the ordinary account. There can, we conceive, be little qu stion as 'o the general prosperity of the colony and the soundness of its finances. Despite tho much-to-be-regretted low birth rite, the population is increasing appreciably, and during the past three or four month* the excess of arrivals over departures was over 2000 a month, mainly adults. In the Mother Conntry, Mr Seddon said, the investing public judged the ability to pay interest on money borrowed by the population, and did not take into consideration the purposss for which any loan was required. The increase of population, consaquently, was a matter of moment in respect to the maintenance of our credit at a high standaad. We are disposed to think that it is a matter for CDEsideration whether immigration of the right sort might not with advantage be resumed by the State instee! of being practically discouraged. Hosts of undesirab'es are pouring iu, swelling the ranks of unskilled labour, being presumably attracted by the extensive public works, colonial and municipal, which are ia hand or immediately pio' jected. No effort is being made to \ induce the classes of people who are : really wanted to come to the colony. " The country must have population," rightly s»ys the Premier, and to this effect be has de:lared bimself on many occasions recently, but he makes no [direct move in that direction, and as yet has given no indication of any in-' intention to do so. The active promo tion of settlement, which may be t <ken as as3ured, will be an important factor in remedying the evil as to the birth rate which the vital statistics disclose. Tho Premier and his colleagues are unquestionably in earnest as to op niDg np all pirts of the country to close occupation, and in carrying out this beotficant policy may depeod on the i cordial approval and support of all sec- | tions cf the community. Referring to the subject of public works, the Prcmior stated th .t although it was true that over two millions were appropriated for that purpose hat session, it would be : found on March 31st that o"! more ( than SO per cent, had been actually expended during the twelve months—-

the expenditure having been purposely kept down to a considerably lower figure than during tbe preceding year. He proceeded to deckre that the country could not afford to borrow and two millions a year on public work?. It was better, as he had often said before, to go slowly, and do what was fair and imparti.il to each part of the country. It is an open secret that if the Premier could have had his way !a3b year our borrowing proposa's would have been restrictad to one millioo. Mr Seddon affirms that public works are making satisfactory progress, " No one folfc the nou-expeaditurc, and it w.uld loave him, as Colonial Treasurer, with a credit in tha Public Works Fund of over £1, 000,000 on March 31s h ." We can hardly avoid, in the light of experience, the apprehension that tha fact of the expenditure on public works hiving been so short of the appropriations has been in some measure owing to the dilatory processes in the administration of the department.' Mr Seddon figures now us a strict economist —somewhat a new role. " Sound government," he declared in the Hanmer speech, " meant k-aping down expenditure te the lowest possible point"—an- admirable sentiment, which many New Zealand Ministers have expressed, but have honoi'eJ more in the breach tbao. the observance. We hops that there is no | intention of economising in the wrong direction—starving main line 9of railwiy under construction, aid hus not only retarding settlement and the development of natu/al resourc s, but leaving unproductive tbe large sunn of money already expense! 0:1 lines which have not reached remunerative points of completion. Iu regard to latd for settlements, th» Pr. nver spoke specially from a Canterbury viaw of the question, but his remark l ! are of general application. Lanl must be provided in every district for tho youug people.to occupy. With increasing population, and under tha changed condition of thing* generally, it; was absolutely necessary thrt the land should b« parcelled out, and the few must suffer for the good of many. There was land ia Canterbury owned by absentees, and it would be the obj ct of the Government to keep an eye on these localities, with a view to chse settlement where auiable for the purpose. Land for close settlement is more important than ths taking of| land for i ail ways. Great progress, he stated, had been mada r- cently. The area opened in 1901-2 was 28,870 acres ordinary Crown lands; pastoral rune, 19,592 acres; ordinary pastor il country, 647,140 acres, of which 8,076 acr.-s «r« re suitable for close sottleuie.it. Soma of the large in the Waikato and Hawke's Bay, as well as in Canterbury; mus*; bo cut up. The Grade outlook, the Premier sti'ed, was most satisfactory, siocj the products of the colony were now meeting r<mdy markets and realising paying values. The imports for the year showed an ippreckble decrease, dernocstratiug that the colony was becoming more while tho exports amounted in value to .£13,633,577, against £12,881,424 in 1901, an increase of 5.84 per cent. "He hoped to see a further decrease ia imparts and a greater increase in exports."