The Daily News. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1911. THE BUDGET.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 68, 11 September 1911, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1911. THE BUDGET.

Mr. Gi'o. Fowlds gave it as his reason for severing his connection with the Cabinet that the Government was not moving fast enough along the road of Liberalism for him. We wonder whether he had any knowledge of the programme as outlined by the Premier on Friday evening. A more progressive policy—along certain lines, at any rate — has probably not been promulgated since the days of Ballance. The policy covers railway and road construction ;.mor.e active land settlement (Maori, €rown and private lands); the creation- of ■co-opera-tive State guaranteed banks for farmers, as well as giving financial assistance to associations of farmers, and the improvement and simplification of the present Land Settlement Finance system; the establishment of a State farm in the South Island, and the promotion of agriculture generally throughout the Dominion. The proposals in connection with social conditions are far-reaching in char acter. A Koyal Commission is to be appointed to enquire into the possibility of successfully establishing an unemployment insurance, scheme associated with the friendly societies in New Zealand and the causes of the increase in the cost of living. The old-age pension is to be. increased 50 per cent, and the pension age dowered in cases of women and men with children under sixteen years: of age, whilst about £55,000 will be spent on pensions to widows, irrespective of age, -with children left in poor circumstances. This humanitarian provision should meet with no opposition. It has been urged in the Press for many years, and it is satisfactory to note that the Government is now to give it effect. The indigent widows and orphans are surely entitled to as much consideration at the State's hands as the .indigent aged. Gift duty on gifts between husbands and wives, parent to child, up to £IOOO, and to a stranger in blood up to £2OO, is to be remitted. It is now seen that the provisions of the Act taxing death and succession duties has operated harshly in certain cases, and the modification proposed is in the right direction. Advances to workers for home building is to be increased from half-n-million to three-quarters of a million. Railiwaymen's wages are to bo increased hy an aggregate of £1)5,000. Certain sections of the Railway Department have not, it must be admitted, been treated as they deserved, or as well, for instance, as similar sections in the Australian railway departments, and the men in other State departments,of this Dominion. The increase, therefore, is not before time. Day wage men in the Post and Telegraph Department are to receive Is i!/,d instead of Is per hour, whilst, the casual workers on the railways are to be paid a minimum of 9s per day. which is but bringing the wage into line with what obtains elsewhere, and for which the increased cost of living is responsible. No increase in rates in either department is to be made to provide the extra money required to pay these increases. On the contrary, long distance railways fares are to be reduced from ]i,;,il to n/,d per mile first-class, and from Id to %d second-class. One of the most important departures! outlined in the Budget is thf.t of making a State monopoly of the issue of bank notes. The Canadian system is to be followed. Just what relation it bears to the Australian system, lately put into operation, we do not know, but as far as one can ascertain the Australian system is proving an unqualified success. The question of creating a State bank could with advantage be considered bv a special commission, just as the question of insurance against unemployment and the increase of the cost of living are to be considered. The banks are waxing fat; they can afford to pay their ten and twelve per cent, dividends, and to build up at the same time immense reserve and other funds. We. would like to see the whole of the pros and cons

in connection with the establishment of a State bank submitted to the people. The time when the latter will demand this knowledge will assuredly come. The creation of agricultural banks on a 1 co-operative basis, as is proposed, cannot, help being of advantage to the farming j community, providing tlie necessary safeguards are forthcoming, as no doubt will be the case if the lines of the German system are followed, but it would be advantageous, from the point of view of the rest of the community, to have a competent commission's conclusions on the question of establishing .a State bank pure and simple. It is true that we have a quasi-State bank now in the Bank of New Zealand, but it seems to us that in the past the country has supplied tiie guarantee and the shareholders of the bank have got the lion's share of the profits. There are other important proposals, which we will examine more in detail later. Among them are the acceleration of the pace of subdivision of large estates by increasing by 25 per cent, the graduated tax on estates valued at over £IOO,OOO, three years' notice being given, owners, In a i country where the lan<f hunger is so acute, where the land is .slow in coming into the market, and where prices are so unreasonably high, the £IOO,OOO limit seems too liberal; it could with advantage to the country be brought down to .■COOyOOO. The end of our public works scheme is now in sight. A commission of members and experts, it is proposed, is to decide once and for all what are necessary railways in each island which should be completed out of borrowed money. Meanwhile, n promise is given that the construction of railways, roads and bridges will bo pushed on apace, and no less a sum than £2,040,000 is earmarked for this purpose. The trouble i in the past, however, lias been not that the Government has failed to provide the money, but it has failed to spend it. For instance, last year £230,720 was placed on the Estimates for roading and bridging the baekbloeks, but only £83,458 was expended. Labor, we know, was not plentiful last year for backblock work, but in a matter of such vital importance steps should have been taken to do the work for which the money was allotted. It cannot be urged too often that the greatest need of this country at present is the opening up of the unproductive land, and this is possible only by giving access, to it. Particulars regarding revenue and expenditure for the last financial year were, given us in April by Mr. Millar. The position disclosed is very- gratifying; in feet, no previous Dominion balance-sheet has been so satisfactory. After transferring £S00„000 to the Public Works Fund there is no less a sum than £580.4183 with which to start the financial year. There is every reason for anticipating an equally good year for 1911.-12,' notwithstanding that the exports for the past five months have been considerably behind what they were last venr.

OIL AND IRON.

The Government, we are glad to notice, i has at last awakened to a sense of its : obligations in regard' to the oil and iron i industries, and proposes doing something i for them in the near future. Both industries may transform the industrial life i and future of the Dominion and be a I source of considerable wealth. In the i case of oil, everyone in Taranaki knows what an uphill fight it has been-to place the industry in the position it occupies : to-day, and everyone also knows thai hail not the assistance of British capital been successfully sought the outlook for the immediate future of the oil industry would not have been, particularly bright. Government assistance has been limited to .granting a bonus of £2500 to the Taranaki Petroleum Company on oil won, with an offer of £7500 more on further supplies being secured. The Government now proposes to admit all machinery required for oil development free of duty, or, where such machinery can be made locally, to give a bonus to local manufacturers equal to the amount of freight. The Government could do more for this very promising industry. If could. in> order to assist in having the different parts of the Dominion tested for oil, grant a pound-for-pomid bonus on the cost of all bores over 3000 ft. in depth. This request is, we arc glad to notice, being made by the member for Taranaki, ami wo hope the Government will accede to what is but a reasonable, request. The Government goes further in assisting the establishing of the iron industry. Tt appears, from what the Premier stated in 1 the Budget, that the Government has an i offer to establish the iron industry in the Dominion upon giving an annual contribution for a period of forty years. This period, however, the Covermment considers too Jong, and also thinks the State should have the right' to acquire the works at any time on terms equitable to the owners, the alternative beiiiT to continue a subsidy for a longer period! If private enterprise is not attracted by these, inducements, the Government, it is stated, will consider immediately the expediency of developing the iron resources of the Dominion'"as'a State enterprise. This is gratifying news. The development of the ironsand deposits would prove of immense value to Taranaki. and the Dominion as a . whole Evidently Sir Joseph Ward is seised of the potentialities of the industry. Nothing could be more optimistic than "his words:—

"T am of opinion that it is nf "rent importance to the countrv th'it" we should encourage the production ot . iron from our ores and ironsaiul. and liai-o it supplied at a rate to our manufacturers that would enable them to successful compete in the work of manufacturing articles against the competition from beyond Kcw Zealand. Tf such a. work is put in hand T should expect in n few years to find at lca.ot ten thousand men emploved in a .great industry of the kind, nnd we need for our public mirposes. as well as for nrivatn rcouiremen.ts. to ha.re iron and steel available at much lower values than tliey can now be imported. And this would encourage a great local industry, with the advantage of keeping the money in the country, giving cni]iloyment to a largo number of men. and giving an impetus to our iron industry, which at present is recognised to be most necessary." We only trust no further time will he lost in putting to profitable use the material with which nature has richly end'owed this and other parts of the nominion. There is reason to believe tint at least one private syndicate will begin operations in Taranaki before many months are past, and this assurance (if Oovernment assistance should have the effect of giving the capitalists interestedmore ccnfidteiice than ever as to the success of the enterprise. The public will

also be gratified to learn that even if the private capitalists fail to proceed with the industry the Government will step irt and make a State business of it, thus enabling the developing of one of the most promising industries in New Zealand.