The Daily News. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1918. NEW ZEALAND'S POSITION.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 November 1918, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1918. NEW ZEALAND'S POSITION.

Sir Joseph Ward stated, on returning from England a few weeks ago, that after the war New Zealand would be in the strongest financial position of any part of the Empire. We have no means of testing suoh a statement, but from the Financial Statement brought down on Tuesday evening it would seem that the Dominion has passed through the greatest crisis in its career very satisfactorily, and can face the future with absolute confidence. The war to date has cost us £51,400,000. The Minister of Finance asks for authority to raise a further loan of ten millions, besides which he has now authority for raising thirteen millions, but Sir Joseph Ward expresses the hope that it will not be necessary, in view of the improved war position, to raise all this money. It will be quite a year before all our men return, so that we can reckon upon a further fairly heavy war expenditure. When the war expenses are finally totalled, it will probably be found that New Zealand's expenditure will be about seventy millions sterling. With sinking fund to extinguish the debt, and interest, the annual liability will be three and a half millions. Then there are the war pensions, which Sir Joseph Ward estimates at £1,500,000 for the current year, making the total annual war impost five millions sterling, Against the capital liability, however, must be set the accumulated surpluses of nearly eighteen millions. In England and and America the revenue has had to find a third of the war expenditure. To date our surpluses, as a matter of fact, have equalled about a third cf cur war expenditure. Just in what manner Sir Joseph Ward proposes to utilise the London credits has not yet been disclosed, but the sound course would he to devote them to the payment of our war liabilities at Home. Probably Sir Joseph Ward will hold them in reserve to meet any emergency that might arise in the reconstruction .period. With a surplus fop the current year of, say,, four millions, we would be able to meet a third of our war expenditure, leaving the country with a net load of about fifty millions, which would represent, at five per cent, intei -st and sinking fund, and war pensions of a million and a half, an annual additional charge on the revenue 'of the Dominion of four millions, or less than £4 per head! of population,,which, compared with what other countries, in no way as strong financially and potentially as New Zealand, is exceedingly light. England, for instance, will have to provide something like £8 per head, France £l2, and Germany—well, as far as Germany ' "8 concerned, it would awaar that

half tier income will be required to pay interest on her own war debts, and the money she will have to provide to make reparation and restitution to the countries she has robbed and devastated. Certainly we have been let off lightly, and should have no difficulty in weathering the storm, providing the State is wisely led and governed, and the people pull together and show the same spirit of forbearance and co-operation as they have m connection with winning the war and fighting the present influenza epidemic. The country's financial stability and resources are shown by the imports and exports, a rough, but fairly accurate, barometer. In 1915-16 the value of the imports was nearly £23,000,000, and of exports nearly £34,000,000, leading a balance on the right side of nearly eleven millions. In 191617 the margin between the imports ani exports was only four and a half millions, but las!: year it was over ten millions. This is not all, for there must be from ten to fifteen millions worth of produce in store in New Zealand at the close of the financial year in March. It is a tribute to the industry and patriotism of the people that, notwishstanding the tremendous shortage of labor brought about by calling TP over ten per cent, of the total population for military service, the exports have been kept up in the manner they have. Of coarse, the increased prices have had a lot to do with the substantial increase in value of our exports, but still the volume of exports has been maintained m a way that, m the circumstnaces, is as surprising as it is gratifying. With the return of the men from Europe, production will be given a new stimulus, and should soon show a considerable expansion, whilst prices are not likely to fall. The demand will be greater and greater, for we are in the happy position of producing what the world is short of and must have. Sir Joseph Ward, who knows better than perhaps anyone else in the Dominion the conditions at Home that affect our products, is also of this opinion, and suggests in his Budget that it may be possible later on to reduce in some measure the present heavy taxation. The Minister emphasises the vital importance of-reducing taxation and charges, where it can be done, for, he adds, "It is essential to the welfare of the Dominion that agricultural, industrial, commercial and social life should be promoted and worked under the freest conditions possible." It is difficult to see how it will be possible to reduce taxation very materially for some years to come, in view of the heavywar obligations and the necessity for providing more money for education, etc. We can best meet our additional liabilities by developing the country's resources more, opening up the country by providing good roads and railways, and inducing people of the right stamp from the British Isles to make their home here. New Zealand can easily carry a population of ten millions, and could, as soon as our men return, comfortably absorb 100,000 immigrants yearly, but before sueh a policy is instituted much ground work lias to be done. We must, j first of all, operate on broader than we have been, and not be atraid to launch out. We havs great opportunities— greater than most countries—, and it rests entirely with ourselves whether we avail ourselves of them.