WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 June 1922, Page 8

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

SURPLUSES AND DEFICITS. AN OLD STORY REVIVED. (Special Correspondent.) Wellington, June 7. A statement attributed to Mr. Massey by the Press Association’s report of the Minister’s post-prandial speech at the dinner given to him by his political friends in Christchurch Das provoked a good deal of comment here. “Mr. Massey pointed out,” so the statement runs, “that the Government had made a point of meeting its treasury bills, whereas in the years before he came into office it was, a common practice to allow those bills to stand over lor a considerable .period. On these lines it was not at all a difficult matter to show a surplus, but it was quite a false position. Personally, he preferred to meet his liabilities and show the true position to the people.” Talk of this kind was common enough when Mr. Ballance put a stop to a long succession of deficits and when first Sir Joseph Ward and then Mr. Sedclon continued the sound finance of their great predecessor; but long ago a saner and more patriotic spirit acrose among the critics, on both sides of the House, and they frankly acknowledged surpluses could not be made out of treasury bills. SIR JOSEPH WARD’S VIEW. Sir Joseph Ward, who has made extraordinary progress towards completely restored health during the last month or two, when seen on the subject to-day said, he would rather not talk politics at the present juncture. His return to health had considerably quickened his'interest in what was going on in the world, but he felt it would be scarcely playing the game to engage in skirmishing from his present seclusion, where he had received so much consideration from most of his opponents. He would say, however, that he thought Mr. Massey had been misreported. Either that, or something he had said in jest had been taken in earnest. Surpluses could not be made out of treasury bills. A surplus was the amount by which the revenue for the year exceeded the expenditure. A deficit was the amount by which the expenditure exceeded the revenue. It was conceivable that a Government might obtain a surplus by neglecting to pay its accounts, if its creditors were sufficiently accommodating, but this would be only postponing the evil day, as the unpaid accounts would go towards swelling the expenditure of the succeeding year. “But,” Sir Joseph said in dismissing-the subject: “Ministers don’t set the officials of the Treasury rigging the public accounts.” LIBERAL-LABOR PARTY.

Mr. Wilford’s reticence in regard to the progress he is making with the organisation of the Liberal-Labor Party has produced the inevitable result. It is rumored to-day—and the lying jade may not be greatly to blame—that Mr. Statham and his'friends, representing the progressive tail of the new party, are not too well pleased by the methods of the Liberal head. Mr. Wilford, it is said, has not consulted them in regard to the selection of candidates and has not asked for their assistance fin framing a. policy. If all this is true, the outlook for an active, vigorous Opposition during tlie approaching session of Parliament, to say nothing of a united party at the polls, is not bright. If, as one of the “old hands” said to-day, elections are won in the last session of the House, the LiberalLabor combination is starting out in somewhat inauspicious circumstances. The old adage that the first duty of an Opposition is to oppose long ago passed into the limbo of exploded traditions. In these days an Opposition at least must show the capacity to construct. A POSER. Meanwhile the Dominion, on behalf of the Reform Party, is making what capital it can out of Mr. Wilford’s unreadiness to answer a question as to the new party’s attitude towards the proposal of the Post and Telegraph Officers’ Association to affiliate with the Alliance of Labor. The official leader of the Opposition has replied to an inquiry on the subject from the Thorndon branch of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, by saying he “cannot state how the United Party stands on the question till they meet and discuss the matter about the end of June.” The Dominion this morning heads this announcement “Mr. Wilford Dodges,” “Evades Straightout Question,” and pokes fun at his indecision in its leading columns. But that is only the way of the political partisan. The disquietine feature of the incident to people who have been hoping for the appearance of a united and virile Opposition is the confession that the new party has not yet discussed its policy i and that for all practical purposes it still is without guidance and without inspiration.

THE IMPENDING PARTY BATTLE. While the Prime Minister has been in the South reciting the achievements of the Government and expounding, more or less definitely, the policy of the Reform Party, Mr. T. M. Wilford has been in the North exploring an important part of the ground over which the party battle, will be raging a few months hence. The leader of the Progressive Liberal and Labor Party appears to be satisfied with what he saw and heard during his tour, but so far he has given little indication of his plan of campaign. He smiles broadly when he is asked if he has anything to say about Mr. Massey’s suggestion that the Liberal-Labor Party is coquetting with extreme Labor and suggests, in turn, that the Prime Minister has i very good reason to be concerned about , the attitude of Mr. Holland and his i friends. Without their assistance at ; the polls, he says. Reform would have a very bad time indeed.

' INDEPENDENCE. Sir Andrew Russell's brand of independence, which gives a tentative pledge of support to the present Government, seems to be growing in popularity with both the intending candidates for Parliament and serious-mind-ed electors. Neither of the older parties, of course, like it. The Reformers with the difficult times before them want a supporter’s voice, or, at any rate, his approval, as well as his vote, while the Liberals object to the intrusion of candidates whose independence is qualified by the pledge of a vote. Extreme Labor rejoices at the prospect of further divisions in the ranks 1 of the Liberal-Labor Party and sneers at the Reformer who makes professions of independence. At the same time there can be no doubt that “inde- -

ing, expresses the frame of mind of a great bodv of electors that just now are inclined to pronounce a plague upon all the parties. THE TAXATION COMMITTEE.

The Taxation Committee set up by the Government, at the instigation of a number of interested parties, to report upon the Dominion’s system of taxation, is concluding the first part of its labors to-day. It has taken a very large amount of evidence and has subjected some of the witnesses to very close cross-examination, but it is doubtful if it has elicited many facts that were really new to any of the members. The members will now turn to the consideration of the evidence and then tackle the preparation of their report. Or it may be reports, for there is an impression abroad that they will not speak with one voice in regard .to the methods of collecting revenue. The readjustment of the application of the income tax to companies is expected to i be the chief cause of contention among them, but there are other questions on which they will not be agreed. FATE OF ITS REPORT. There is a good deal of speculation here as to what will be the fate of the committee’s report. Mr. Massey has announced definitely that with a bio- drop in the amount obtained from j the income tax he can make no concession that would still further lessen his revenue. But witnesses have appeared before the committee who have ' been quite undismayed by this state- ' xnent and shown, at least, to their own satisfaction, that the removal of anomalies and the readjustment of incidence so far from lessening the Minister’s revenue would add materially to its volume. The committee seems to be very nicely balanced between rural and urban interests, an achievement on which Mr. Massey has received many ; congratulations, but as these interests ■are much more conflicting now-a-days i than they appeared to be a few years ; ago, it is hoped there are many points on which the members will be in agreement.