RUSSIAN FINANCES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 70, 19 April 1909, Page 4

RUSSIAN FINANCES.

AI'I'KOACHIXG tliiSIS. ■XKJCi) OF IJIiASTIC KEFOIOi. 'Tin- unpromising llnnueial condition of l!iH-i;i.. nuil I lie disastrous coilse-tjinMii-i's which may How from that, constitute topics chimin;: mure widespread ami more intense interest than fhe most disquieting aspect of the Balkan outlook (wrote the St. lVtcrshurg correspomli'iit of the London Telegraph lust month k The subject hns be'en thrust upon the public by tile Parliamentary debates on the Estimates, which were opened by the spokesman of (lie h'inancial Coinuiit.tec in an iuipuiwioiwd but telling speech. F.schmving politics, operating exclusively with inures, ami withholding censures from men and institutions, he impressed all group* of the Duma, mid every section of the trading coimnunity, with the urgent necessity for endeavoring to avert a catastrophe. It is utterly impossible, he contended, that the (iovernment ■can continue to transact the nation's business on the present thriftless Hues. Uussia. is continually spending more than she can all'ord; yet she is not .spending enough on urgent cultured needs. Higher taxes will not set things right, because the two principal sources of taxation, namely, the railways and tlie alcohol monopoly, have already produced the maximum yield, and uto now dwindling. The State property, woods, forests, mines, and oil wells, owing to bad management, supply much less than might reasonably be expected. .Moreover, the economic groundwork of llnances is likewise precarious. The corn export trade, which had hitherto furnished the wherewithal to pay the service of the foreign debt, in falling «.\vuy to a. disquieting extent, and exported corn has to be brought back ,it higher prices from foreign countries later on. J'arallel with the shrinking of exports' goes an increase in the imports. The normal increase of deposits in the savings banks is also vanishing, ttu-sian credit abroad is distinctly dcicriornling. and the task of the nation and the Covcimnent is to restore it to the level of six years ago. Ketrenchmeut on I lie Jailmates for tin; national defences forms the essence of the remedy proposed by the Financial Committee, and this delicate question will be examined at a secret sitting in tlie presence of the principal members of the Cabinet.

The Finance Minister, who inherited a dubious legacy from his predecessor, delivered an eloquent reply, founded on a sound basis of fact, but e\ he could hut give an account of his stewardship. He is unable to work miracles. t/n----biasscil onlookers are convinced that, despite the stringency of his economy and ingenuity of devices. Russia cannot be saved from disaster unless the who!,, system is changed, readjusted, and the wealth-creating powers of the nation largely increased. Hitherto finance, in Russia have played the pari of a commissariat for war fund*, helping a few rich to become richer, and preventing the poor from becoming less poor. The disastrous results with which the nation is now confronted require creative efforts t„ neutralise them. K V ,. N s „ch thrift of public money „< would permauemly increase the revenue will not achieve the feat: indeed, no single cause can ollccluaUv paralvaf the complex | ( „cs who... workings appear to .threat,.,, the very foundations 0 f the empire.