The Daily News. THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1919. FINANCIAL RECUPERATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 May 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1919. FINANCIAL RECUPERATION.

Never in the history of the world have the nations been put to such a supreme test as during the currency of the war. It is in such a way that the true spirit of the people is made manifest, not alone in the actual work of the war, but in every department of life. In the intense concentration demanded for winning the war ordinary activities had perforce to give way, and the drain on the physical and material resources mounted ever higher and higher. Now that the war is won and we are on the eve of an effective peace, the cost of the effort looms large. With a daily expenditure counted in millions the wonder is that Britain and the Dominions have survived the ordeal, yet there is no quailing at the gigantic total of the bill. The same courage that enabled victory to be won on the fields of battle sustains the people in facing the task of financial recuperation, but more than mere courage and determination are required. Not even the cheerful assumption of further sacrifice will be of sufficient avail unless exceptional wisdom, forethought, and enlightened statesmanship are exercised by those in authority. It is very appropriate that simultaneously with the completion of j the preliminaries of peace there] should appear a financial state-i ment of the Dominion's liabilities, together with a summary of the i receipts and expenditure for thei past financial year. Unfortunate-: ly figures concerning national! revenue and outgoings do not; form an attractive theme for the majority of the people, yet in a time like the present it behoves them to take an active interest in such matters, not only as evidences of remarkable achievements, but as affecting their future welfare. It is quite possible that the item which will attract most attention is the amount of the surplus (£3,678,773), but that in reality deserves only passing notice, for it is the outcome of a very old system of underestimating revenue and overestimating expenditure. What really matters is that during 1918-19 the revenue of New Zealand reached the astounding total of £22,352,372, an increase of considerably more than two millions over that for. the previous year, or nearly double the revenue of the year 1914-1915. When we look at the expenditure side of the account it is found that the total is greater by over three and a half millions than in -the previous year, but this result was a foregone conclusion in view of the growth of interest and sink- • ing fund charges and pensions.! The satisfactory part of the finan-j cial position is that so large a revenue has been raised without j any undue pressure on the people, j and this is due to the gratifying prosperity, which the Dominwin is' enjoying. In tk>r interesting summary of the financial positionmade recently'by the Acting-Min-ister for Finance, a comparison was drawn between the toll taken on the national wealth, of BrStain and that taken on the national wealth of New Zealand. Thte estimated national wealth of jthe United Kingdom was stated as eighteen thousand million, asagainst- foar hundrei^siilfioa^foi;

the Dominion. Britain is shown to have spent thirty-four per cent, on the war and New Zealand fifteen per cent. As Britain's national income is about two thousand four hundred million a year she may be regarded as having mortgaged between two and three years' income, while the Dominion's mortgage is reckoned at (something over one year's national income (£55,000,000). It has to be remembered, however, there has still to be met large charges for demobilisation, repatriation, gratuities, pensions, etc. Sooner or later, we may recover a substantial amount from Germany, but the claims of France, Belgium, Serbia and other ruined countries have first to be met, so that it would be unwise to anticipate financial relief from that quarter for some time to come. As a producer of foodstuffs for which the greater part of the world is in need, the Dominion is in a most favorable position, but it is obvious that reliance can only be placed on greater production wherewith to meet the heavy outgoings from the Treasury in the future. As a factor in this greater production we may reasonably anticipate that Germany will be made to supply potash and other chemical fertilisers in large quantities. The Dominion Government should leave no effort unmade to secure these supplies as soon as possible so as to stimulate that greater production which has become an absolute, imperative necessity. The Government should also press on the opening up of all the available j Crown land, and at once institute la drastic policy of closer settlement without fear or favor. When men were required for reinforcements it was found necessary to institute conscription. Now that land is required for greater production, compulsion should be ruthlessly employed in order that closer settlement and more intensive cultivation may relieve the financial pressure of the future. This, with sound finance, real economy (especially in Government departments), and a concentration on reproductive works, will not only meet financial requirements, but will raise the status of the country and be productive of even greater prosperity.