The Daily News. MONDAY, MARCH 2, 1914. A POLITICAL SPEECH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 207, 2 March 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, MARCH 2, 1914. A POLITICAL SPEECH.

There was nothing new in the speech delivered by the I ton. -fames Allen at New Plymouth mi Thursday evening. He told precisely the same story as lie has been telling' in oilier parts of the country since his advent to ollice, a story-with which the press reports have made us all familiar, differing in no essential from (he speeches delivered by his leader and confreres, and breaking no new ground, except to foreshadow legislation in connection with the nil industry, preventing the "flooding" of a field. He raised the old bogey regarding short-dated loans, and the mismanagement and lack of foresight and acumen displayed by his predecessors in leaving him to (pay off or renew this year two substantial loans. ft is evidently part of the party game to blacken the political characters of opponents, and in this respect Mr. Allen and his associates are adepts. But the public as a whole are more interested in what is the real position regarding the loans —whether the best has been done 'by the several financial ministers in the interests of the country. That is the main and most important point, Sir Joseph Ward, in limiting the term of the loan ■W<at matures this,year to four years, was actuated by the conviction that money would be cheaper, and that it would bo against the. interests of the country to extend the currency at comparatively high interest for the usual term of thirty to forty years. So, too, was Mr. Myers when lie raised the loan two years ago. The anticipations of both have proved correct. Money now is substantially cheaper and more plentiful, enabling Mr. Allen to raise the money on terms that will result in the saving of a large sum in interest. Mr. Allen, when he went Home, showed his inexperience by committing the country, to the payment of 4>/ 4 per cent, interest—an unprecedented high price—for thirty or forty years. He imagined money was going to remain at a high figure, but more experienced financiers were content to tide over their difficulties for three or four years. Later, Mr. Allen grew wiser, for the last £4.500,000 four per cent, loan was for ten years, "a Iperjod which," to use his own words uttered at the time, long to take it out of the category of shortterm gambles, though, perhaps, neither long enough nor short enough to satisfy the Government's critics." Thus we see Mr. Allen declaiming against short-dat-ed loans; he raises a big loan at an extravagant rate for thirty to forty years; then lie raises a loan for a short period, viz., ten years, and now lie is blaming his predecessors for not making their loans long-dated ones! This shows with what facility a politician of Mr. Allen's stamp can box the political compass! When Mr. Allen has given us particulars of the conversions the country will be better able to form an accurate judgment of the methods of himself and his predecessors in respect of loan raising, but it requires no insight to know that if anyone has blundered it has been neither Sir Josefph Ward nor Mr. Myers. To the former's financial ability the country owes a great deal. No other Colonial Treasurer was able to .secure money on such advantageous terms as lie. During his lengthy period of office he raised 10 millions at 3 per cent., 35 millions at 3'/a per cent., and three millions at 3% per cent. Mr. Allen paid 4>/ 4 per cent for his first loan and 4 per cent, for the second. The fact that the first loan was at a premium of 1% per cent, a few days after it was issued suggests that Mr. Allen did not accurately size up the market. Mr. Allen, in his speech at New Plymouth, complained that Sir Josciph Ward had loaned two millions to settlers during the last'election year, which was half-a-million 7iiore than he was authorised to, and had had to draw upon unexhausted authorities of previous years for the money. .Mr. Allen knows quite well that the year 1911 was a very difficult one for everyone. Sir Joseph Ward, realising this, did his utmost to meet the needs of the settlors and workers, and made every possible use of the unexhausted authorities. What would Mr. Allen have done in like circumsteanees ? If he had the interests of the people of the country at heart, as be so frequently proclaims, he would have done the very same thing, and he would have been praised, and not blamed, for it. Mr. Allen boasted of what the Government was doing for local bodies and settlers. It is very satisfactory to know that there is a plentitiide of money available for development work, as it is to learn that the Government has "gone back to the old principle of assisting the back-blocks [pioneers," providing a quarter of a million for (heir necessities. I3ut we maintain that the country should do even more than this. The opening up of the hackblocks is a work of the first importance, and the expenditure in other directions might with advantage be considerably curtailed, and the money devoted to backblock communications, every penny of which must prove a profitable investment for the country, ft is also pleasing to hear that the Government is strengthening the railway and teachers' superannuation funds, and providing money to replace Government buildings destroyed by tire out of revenue and not out of loans, a proceeding sound and business-like. It would, however, have been more to the .'point to hear from Mr. Allen an explanation regarding the marked increase in the cost of administration that has taken place since the advent of the creased taxation imposed on the people.

than 10s 3d per head of the population. We were told by the Reformers that the Liberal Governments had been spending money unwisely and corruptly, with the result that "taxation was increasing by leaps ami bounds and the cost of living becoming intolerable." We were assured of a decrease in borrowing, a decrease in expenditure and a decrease in the cost of living. All these promises have yet to be redeemed. Since the present Government has olKce, borrowing bus increased at. a greater rate than ever in the history of the country; (public expenditure "aft increased all round, taxation has i«t. creased, and the cost of living has Increased. These are facts that concern everybody in the country, and we have a right to expect Ministers, when they make, speeches, to render an explanation of those extraordinary increases. If Mr. Allen has his way with the local toy navy scheme, goodness knows where we will be landed. We are assured by him that much of the cost of the military scheme will lie non-recurring, and we hope this will prove to be the case, but the Defence Department of every country has a habit not of decreasing its expenditure, but of increasing it at a substantial rate.