The Daily News. MONDAY, MAY 15, 1922. “LATER ON.”

Taranaki Daily News, 15 May 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, MAY 15, 1922. “LATER ON.”

The Premier’s speech at Feilding , on Wednesday was cast in the , mould that has become thoroughly familiar to the people of the ‘ Dominion. The usual array of figures destined to impress the country with the wisdom of the present administration was much in evidence, all leading up to the final pronouncement that the prospects of the Dominion and its people were good, though it depended on the citizens’ assistance to get back to the prosperity c” pre-war days. It was only natural that Mr. Massey should adopt an optimistic note, and that he should place the main responsibility for the restoration of prosperity on the shoulders of the people, thus relieving the Government from any blame in retarding this greatly desired return to bet- i ter times. Under existing condi-! tions, however, it is patent to all | observers that, before the countryj ean again enjoy even normal prosperity, there must be an appreciable relief from the burdens and excessive imposts that now make existence not only difficult, but act and react with deplorable results. The fact is, the whole fabric of national requires a thorough overhaul and putting in order. systematically and effectively, The need for this has been recognised ever since the war put the finances and general activities of the country into a state of tension that destroyed all sense of real values. When the flow of what has been termed “war money” ceased, the inevitable de- ' pression set in, but the Government, which should have been in the position of knowing what would happen, made no provision for meeting the aftermath, but has preferred to adopt the method of living on hopes and deferred action. Mr. Massey’s Feilding speech is a case in point. He anticipates better prices for produce ‘ ‘ during the next few months ; he hopes the banks will reduce mortgage and overdraft rates, and he also hopes to be able to reduce postal and railway charges “later on.” : Without doubt the financial position has improved, and cheaper money will certainly be most welcome, but this boon is due to the marvellous recovery of Britain. The more healthy that trade and finance become in the Old Country, the better the prices the producers in the Dominions will obtain. The chief factor, however, in the restoration of New Zealand’s prosperity must necessarily be the reduction of taxation, and that can only result from a thorough system of drastic economy. According to the Premier, the ordinary revenue for ! the year was over £127,000 more I than estimated, but was more than six millions less than for the previous vear. while the expenditure was about £340,000 in excess of the revenue collected. It is not possible to deduce from these figI ores any evidence of the opera- ■ tion of retrenchment, so we must I expect this evidence “later on.” ; Mention was made of the proposed i “board of experts” to assist in j the management of the railways. I The need for some alteration in “ railway management has only been too plain, but whether success will he achieved by this means will depend entirely on the personnel and powers of the oard. One thing is certain. ■ namely, that unless the board is composed of leading business men, and they, or the general i manager, have authority to reori ganise the whole railway system without regard to political exigencies or militant labor demards, little or any good will result. Mr. ; Massey certainly did his best to engender a feeling of hopefulness in the public for the approach of better times. It rests very largely with him and his colleagues in the Cabinet whether those hopes will be realised. The public want tangible evidence of real economy in administration, and relief from the crushing burden of taxation. | They are keenly awaiting a vigor- | ons development policy, a. square | deal to the children who are sufi fering from overcrowding in I schools, and adequate facilities | for the settlers in the baekbloeks. » They are full up with programmes. I policies and promises, and impaI tient at the delay in performance, I while the substitution of “forfh- | with” for “later on” will be hail- | ed with acclamation.