The Daily News. FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1918. THE DOMINION'S FINANCES.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 April 1918, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1918. THE DOMINION'S FINANCES.

The statement made by the Minister of Finance to the House on Monday afternoon proved to be very much as was expected. The Minister had the satisfaction i ? announcing a surplus of four and a-quarter millions on the year's operations, and this should be deemed gratifying as showing that the new taxation is helping to build up the reserve which the Government is wisely accumulating in London- Had it not been for the decrease in Customs revenue by nearly half a million, the falling off in railway receipts of nearly £'261,000 and other decreases amounting to over £411,000, there would have been a surplus of over five millions. The main increase was, of course, under the head ef income tax. which produced over five and-a-half millions, being an increase of £1,348,593 over the previous year,. With the exception of the return from the railways, the loss on which is due to the short sighted and obstinate policy of the Government, the revenue items may be accepted as coming up to expectations, the total receipts amounting to over twenty millions, but when the expenditure side of the account i s examined it will somewhat startle the public to find that Tinder a. number of the heads very substantial increases appear. For example, it will be seen that besides the loss of about £2fi 1,000 on the railways there was an increased expenditure of £lOl,434. making the total loss over £385,000, while against this—in striking contrast —is the gratifying state of the postal and telegraph department which not only shows an increased revenue of £15,000, but a decreased expenditure of £152,000. The only large increase in ordinary expenditure, other than that on the railways, is in education (£134,454) and had this heen douhled the public would have been far more satisfied than that this highly important activity of the State should be starved like it is at present. The decrease in the expenditure on agriculture ( £132,070) comes as a surprise, and it is to be hoped that this branch of the service is not being subjected to a cheese paring policy. Another item of decreased expenditure that is somewhat surprising is that of the Justice Department, whereon nearly .£■25,000 has 'been saved. Naturally, the largest increase is shown in the item of interest and sinking fund, which last year totalled nearly four and a-half millions, being £388,432 in excess of tile previous year, and will certainly be still highrr this year. For this the war is responsible, and when it is realised that our outgoings on this head now total over th>rty-seven millions it will at oace be recognised that the interest and sinking fund expenditure must oour upwards

until finality is reached. By accumulating the yearly surpluses, the Minister has now, approximately, a nest egg of ton and three-quarter mi'Mims. all of which, except about two millions, u invested in Ijondon in imperial Oovernment securities, whereby not dnly have sound investments been made, but the Mother Country has obtained an appreciable measure of financial relief. The tact (hat the surplus tor the year is larger than the 'Minister estimated is not of the slightest importance, f.«r it is a well recognised practice vi Finance Ministers to overestimate expend'tuie and underestimate revenue At the same time- the fact that so large .1 total of revenue has been raised in die Dominion without appreciably affecting the people is most gratifying. Anothei satisfactory feature is that the Minister lias shown that it is possible to Wing clown the financial statement very soon after the close of the year, for although the figures given on Monday were not actually complete, they are evidently so nearly so that a week or two would suffice to make them absolute. The financial position of the Dominion is as sound and Healthy as anyone could wish, and the outlook is also bright with uromise. In this respect Sew Zealand is in an enviable position, but both in Government departments and in private concerns it will only be prudent to avoid expenditure on non-essentials-