SLOW RECOVERY.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 May 1922, Page 5

SLOW RECOVERY.

FINANCES OF THE DOMINION. PREMIER OUTLINES POSITION. BIG SAVINGS MADE. BETTER RAILWAY CONTROL. By Telegraph. —Press Association. Feilding, Last Night. The Prime Minister (Mr. W. 1-. - »s aey) delivered a speech here to-night. He received an enthusiastic reception. The Premier said it was his duly to reduce the cost of government and lower taxation. He had reduced part of the bonusea of the public service and he believed that when they took half of the second .bonus they would not touch the remainder. He anticipated better prices for products during next few months and hoped to reduce texatkm. He hoped the banks won d reduce the mortgage and overdraft He gave departmental figures ahowine the financial position of the country. He hoped to be able to reduce postal and railway charges later on. or dinary revenue for the year wae £28,127,007, being £127,007 m excess of the estimate, hut compared with the previous year it showed a decrease of £«,- 133 954. The expenditure was £2»,4f10, B»s’ being £339,831 in excess of the revenue collected, but £886,516 less than the amount appropriated by Parliament. The readjustment of the financial situation had proceeded slowly, but the result of the year’s operations indicated the trend of events. Of accumulated surpluses totalling £23,071.209 the discharged soldiers settlement account absorbed £l3 500,000 and the reserve fund securities £1,200,000. Economies and savings in the public service totalled £5,046,835.

EXPERTS ON RAILWAYS. Speaking on railways, Mr. Massey quoted a letter from Mr. Guthrie stating that Mr. McVilly had submitted for approval a memo outlining a proposal for a board of experts to assist in the management, and it had also been decided to appoint a railway business agent in each island. Mr. Massey added that all the railways in the Australian States had shown a loss for 1920-21, so New Zealand was not aloneReferring to coal supplies, the Premier said that after the last shortage they had given Mr. McVilley a free hand and he had bought Welsh coal at £4 a ton. That contract was completed and he looped never again would they have to go outside New Zealand for" coal. The Welsh purchase was an insurance against the railways being held up, and he believed the Government acted wisely. The expenditure on Public Works had been heavy during the past year, iptalling £5350,700, being £2,000,000 more tnan in the previous year. The Dominion had £2.000,000 in reserve in • London ready in case of emergency. The | total economies inade by the Government so far totalled £5.600,000. He expected another drop in income tax and other revenues were decreasing, so economy must continue.

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. He quoted figures to show that the taxation per head was not as high in the Dominion as in Australia. In New Zealand last year it was £l2 15s and in Australia £l3 6s. Last year the Advances Department lent nearly £2,000,000 to settlers, workers and local bodies. The. department was anything but. a dead letter. Last year the imports totalled £35,792,000 and the exports £43,812,000, showing a good position. Regarding the money invested in soldiers’ settlements, Mr. Massey thought there would be very little loss out of the advances made to soldiers. Over £2,000,000 had already been repaid. The country, he said, must go in for development—roads, railways, bridges, hydro-electri-city, school -buildings—and encourage land settlement and the general industries of the country. Immigration had been stopped for the winter.

The prospects were good and he asked all citizens to assist to get back to the prosperity of pre-war days. The Premier was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his address.