REPLY TO CRITICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 93, 15 May 1909, Page 6

REPLY TO CRITICS.

SPEECH BY THE PREMIER. FINANCIAL POSITION OF THE DOMINION. •'BUDDING TREASURERS " ANSWERED.

Christchurch, May 12. At 11 complimentary social to -Mr. j. 11. Davey, .U.P., to-night, Sir Joscpi Ward made some remarks regarding recent criticisms of the liuaneial position of the Dominion. It was an extraordinary tiling, he said, that since his speecii at invercurgill three members of the Opposition, the Leader of that partv (Air Alassey), Mr James Allen, aim Mr U. Eraser, had been at the business of misrepresentation—(Shame)—with the object of creating the impression that tile Dominion was not so well oil' as in reality it was. He had noticed that fur nearly twenty years the principal stock-in-trade of the Government's opponents had bern to cast doubt on the liuaneial stability of the country, and create an impression that financially the country was not going well, .\early twenty year's ago their opponents alleged that' the (Government was •• galloping to a deficit, but dining the interval that had elapsed they could look over the history of the Dominion and they would not'find in one single year a vindication of tins prediction. It had never come oil. A DIFFICULT YEAR.

Ed ' V '' m ' mul uei ' ll Ul]K °f 'he, Hiosl cJ difficult years, in a liuaneial sense, foi n private individuals as well as for tin n Government. The financial operation: of the Government had involved the rais ~, ing of about .t'.8,U00,000 sterling in tin m year-£3,000,000 for renewals of loans |ls £1,2.>0,(M10 aulhorised i>v Parliament i'oi >(1 public works, .C 1,000,000 for the puiciias, u of the Manawatu railway, nearly £l.ri . 800,000 for advances to settlers and adu. vances to workers, and about ~€400,00(1 u . for purchase of estates for closer set- • tlemeiit. This was a tremendous opcrv atiou for one year—the largest in his ' m knowledge in the history of the Doinin,o ion. And during the year in which it [ M was accomplished every country outsiue 1(1 New Zealand was passing through a very difficult financial period. Jt was a |( , singular thing that whilst they were iu II the midst of the liuaneial operation, one K ! gontlonW opposed to the tioverinuent ' was preaching through the leading col(1, uinns of the Opposition journal in Wei- „, lingtoii, creating doubts regarding me v Dominion's liuaneial stability, and°sinii- ,„ lar doubts had been created in a liuaneial , v journal in London wmch used the same , ( gentleman's name. Nevertheless, the Government's financial operations had been n successfully carried out without a single v exception. (Applause.) ;. GOOD RESULTS ACHIEVED. ,t When they remembered the circuntt stances, and that it was of vital consee cjuence to the people of the country that these operations should be successful, >- and that the Old Country and other i- counliie_, finished the year'with deficits, e whilst Xew Zealand had shown a surplus g of revenue .CI 18,000 higher than file e estimate, surely it \va» mi occasion when ), bitter political party prejudice, however e much one was steeped in it, should have n been swept to the four winds of heaven, 1 and thai there should have been reii joicing that their little Dominion should have been able to come out on the right c side. (Applause.) In the three years e the Administration had been in 'office I s there hail been paid off .C 4.10.000 of lloat- "' ing debt, and at the same time paid into sinking funds for extinction of Maori ■ war loans the sum of £402.502, iiiakin" < a total of 1732.442 paid off. Then ques- ' tiuu was asked why the accounts for I the last quarter of the financial year had not been published, but (hose 'who • ask the question must be absolute babes i in the liuaneial world, or entirely ignor- • ant of the system followed. The reason I the accounts were not published was ' that they had to go to the Audit Del

parliuent, ami with thu accounts for tin ' previous three quarters, had to lie audit i'd, and they coiim only be gazetted aftei being certilied by the Audit Qll'ice. Tin year before last the accounts were re ceived back from the Audit oll'iee or May Kith, and last year on Mav Wth They were due this year on Mn'v 14tli Tin' Audit Department was only doiim its duty, and the Government was not responsible in any wav for aiiv tlelav in gazetting I lie figures, ' TAXi.MI WIDOWS. Regarding the Leader of I in- Opposition's statement Unit he (Sir .loscph Ward) inlcndcd to tax widows to pav for the Dreadnought, when he read it' he wondered if Mr Mnssc.v expected such a jest to lie taken seriously, lie had saiil at hivercargill tlpit the succession duties in Xew Zealand were not liij.ii enou.M and during the brief hislorv of the Dominion over twelve millions' had paid an average of 5 per cent, death duties-no-thing whatever compared with those paid in England. The amount paid in New Zealand did i|ot include a single penny left directly 'tg widows. j|e had not suggested taxing widows, and the theory propounded was absolutelv contrary to fact. Instead of cstates'ol deceased persons escaping duties, owing to arrangements made prior to decease) in every instance beneficiaries should pay a fair succession duty to the country, and there should not'be one system for the very wealthy and another for those not so wealthy, who did not attempt to escape taxation. As to .Mr. I'rascr's state'ment that next session there would he more financial criticism than previously, th,. (,'overninent did not eare how much. There had never been a session when there was not plenty of criticism by building Colonial Treasurer*, but decile tl|ese criticisms t|ie 'country had had a revenue of nine inl|lk)||s, a surplus of ,Cia4,llO(l, aiid'.'STD&OOd'liiul been paid oil'debts and put into sinking funds.