A POLICY SPEECH.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3179, 3 May 1909, Page 5

A POLICY SPEECH.

THE PREMIER AT INVERCARGILL. A SURPLUS OF £184,321. PROPOSED LEGISLATION. THE DEFENCE QUESTION. By Telegraph—Press Association. INVERCARIII/L, May 2. The Prime Minister delivered an important policy speech in the Municipal Theatre, on Saturday night, to an audience of about one thousand ■ people. Sir -Joseph spoke for an I hour and three-quarters. He opened his remarks by depreciating the Opposition statement that the expenditure for the March quarters uf the I present year was certain to have exceeded that of the corresponding I quarter of the previous year. As a matter of fact the expenditure in the quarter just ended was nearly £4,000 less than in the March quarter last year. Speaking of finance he declared that notwithstanding the tightness that has existed in

THE MONEY MARKET of New Zealand for some time the finances were exceedingly satisfactory. What had been adversely called his optimistic views had been justified by the results for the financial year just ended. He had estimated the revenue at £8,985,000, and the expenditure at £8,878,346, and after bringing forward the previous year's balance of £767,849, and transferring £BOO,OOO out of the revenue to the Public Works Account he had estimated the surplus at £74,503. He was, therefore, not unnaturally gratified to say now that an analysis of the figures showed the year's surplus to be £184,321. That was £109,118 more than the Budget estimate. Revenue for the year amounted to more than nine millions —an increase of £16,185 over the estimate. The revenue for the year exceded the expenditure by £215,672. To this railways contributed £2,91,8- ' 507 —an increase on the previous year of £153,112, in spite of reduction in fares and freight to the extent »i £950,000. Stamps brought in £1,591,358—an increase of £40,394. Land and Income Tax returns 'reached £926,000—an increase of £83,194; miscellaneous revenue £264,210—an increase of £45.868; and registration and other fees also showed an increase. Customs did not come up to the estimate by £148,752, owing to an unexpected falling off in import values for 1909, as compared with the steady increase for some years previously, and owing to excessive importation in 1908 in anticipation of extended preferential tariff which took effect on March 31st of that year. There was a falling off in beer duty of £786, and a drop in territorial revenue of £13,133. Revenue as a matter of policy has been largely reduced during the last few years by remission of Customs duties, railway concessions, abolition of sheep tax, and transfer of large areas of Crown lands and national endowments. Notwitatanding all this the revenue for the year J just closed was £600,000 better than for the previous year. A SATSIFACTORY FEATURE of the year's transactions was that £BOO,OOO had been transferred from the ordinary revenue, and paid into ' the PuMic Works Fund. Other- j wise the balance would have been £984,32:). He drew attention to the amount obtained for the requirements authorised""by law during the past | year. These included renewals of the Public Works and Manawatu Railway. Loans to Local Bodies, Lands for" Settlement and Advances to Settlers- a total of £7,797,257, all of which had been provided for and showed the financial stability of the > country. The Minister mentioned incidentally that the Secretary of Customs had that day wired that there was an increase of £9,600 in Customs duties for the month of April, and stated that there was a much better feeling among commercial men a<? to the propects and conditions of trade.

SPEAKING OF THE OPPOSITION CRITICISM with regard to Post and Telegraph business, the Premier declared that the Government did not view with any disquietude the ebb and flow of the Savings Bank business, which were regarded as the natural sequence of fluctuations in the money market. Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds of the deposits were last year loaned to public bodies, so that in addition to the whole of the security of the country there was the rating security ot local bodies, who Borrowed the money. Speaking of the tax which was alleged to be driving money out of the country he said that during the year the investments under mortgage had increased by £1,664,393, which did jiot look as if money was being driven out of New Zealand. This tax prevented people

EVADING THE LAND TAX by mortgaging their land to possibly a man of straw. It was absolute nonsense to say that the Government was responsible for the tightness of the money market. The fall in wool made a difference of over £3,000,000 to men who had drawn money on their wool clips. The tightness was also caused by a fall in flax and by the locking up of money in land. He thought, however, that thei-e was not the banking convenience in New Zealand to enable the people to deal with TEMPORARY FINANCIAL BMBARASSMENT. He thought that more banks should be allowed to come into the country to cops with the expansion of business. Ho thought also that the operations of the Advances to Settlers Department might be extended with advantage. Sneaking of paper currency. Sir Joseph said that to adopt a -system of nn.oer currency would be fatal unie:is there was behind it an equivalent in gold. There. was room for banking reform, but the matter must be approached without precipitancy on account of the imme'use interests involved. THE DEFENCE QUESTION. Speaking of defence the Premier said that it was a great mistake to suppose that nothing had been done in_the direction of improving tho internal defence of the country, but the matter was one requiring to be

! gone into very carefully. Many of those who urged compulsory military training did not realise what it would cost to foot the bill. It was necessary first to find oui the maxiidiuih requirements, and ihen make arrangements to pay for them. During last year 'there had been a record number of men in the volunteer system. The proportion was greater than it was in any country in the world. He spoke in detail of what had been done during the past two years to assist the work of the volunteer forces, and maintained that the whole thing was not drifting as had been asserted. During next session of Parliament measures would be introduced tofurther improve the system.

WITH REGARD TO RAILWAYS there was no other country in the world where railway travelling way cheaper than in New Zealand. The total amount of reductions in pursuance of the policy to use railways, as an adjunct to settlement, was £2,709,000. In the next few days there would be introduced an arrangement whereby people travelling from one point of the country to the other would be enabled to obtain their railway tickets at the office of the Union Steam Ship Company. Speaking of LAND SETTLEMENT he said that the total number o£selectors under national endowment to March was 1,583, and the total area was 5,79,641 acres. The total territorial revenue for the year was £696,126, or some £32,000 over the total estimate. The predictions of the opponents of the national endowment as to the revenue had been totally refuted in a most practical way. With regard to- native lands, the Department had since October 21st, 1900, rendered available for settlement 1,690,047 acres of native land. At the present time the Boards had in hand the surveys of over 10,000 acres, a large proportion of which is expected to be put on the market almost immediately. THE RE-ORGANISATION OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE. The Government was anxious to make things easy as possible for those unfortunate enough to cotr.e under the retrenchment proposa's. None of those affected would be turned out during the winter or in cases where retirement was necessary, they would be compensated for a period to cover it. With regard to the

GOVERNMENT POLICY the aim tnis session would be to introduce legislation remarkable more for quality than quantity. In the matter of national annuities a Bill foi self-help must precede chat for State help. The principle of the Lands for Settlement Finance Bill was to allow any five men to come together to acquire a United area of freehold by the State's guarantee. It helped only those who helped themselves, and would encourage those who were disappointed by consta; t failure in the ballot, and those who could not purchase singly. It was not intended to replace the Lands for Settlement Act, but to work in conjunction with it. In the last few years there had been a tendency on the part of the people to di if t to the towns, and it waß the duty of everyone to encourage people to go on the land. As to the National Annuities Bill one of the fears haunting a lowwaged worker was a povertystricken old age. thder the proposed Rill a man could make provision for his old age, and for his wife ai d children by making a small contribution per week to the fund. The chief benefits would be given to parents supporting children. It was not charity but was a combination of individual and State effort that was financially sound. An important amendment of the Succession Duties Act was contemplated by which duties would be imposed on those estates which were in the best position to afford it. Prison reform was advocated on lines already familiarised by the Minister for Justice. There would also be considerable reforms in the bankruptcy laws. A reform under contemplation was that of bringing back to the country all absconding debtors. Probably a bill would be introduced improving the Patents Act in the direction o± dealing with false trade descriptions. Important amendments to the Friendly Societies Act, Hospital and Charitable Aid Institutions, Education, Workers' Compensation for Accidents, and Municipal Corporations and other Acts would a'so be introduced. The action of the Government in offering to the British authorities the

GIFT OF A DREADNOUGHT from the Dominion had aroused wide and intense expressions of approval, though a small section of the public professed disappointment. The English Socialist leader (Mr Blatchford) had declared strongly for increasing the naval strength, showing that the man on the spot recognised a calamity to the workers unless the British Navy was made impregnable. The Minister drew a graphic picture of the consequences of war with trie possible result of New Zealand passing to a foreign country as indemnity. When anyone is talking of the cost of a Dreadnought or two Dreadnoughts, he asked, does he for a moment suppose, looking at it from a mercenary point of view, that it would equal the cost of what ;,the penalty would be to us? Our very existence depended upon the strength, power and mightiness of the British Empire, and the talk of joining hands with Australia in the matter of a local navy was next to futile. The constitutional aspect of the matter would be duly laid before Parliament. To have asked individual members to commit themselves would have boen most unfair. The executive took the responsibility, and would risk subsequent ratification by the people and Parliament in their local and practical support to the Oicl Land by rising above parly and standing at v\\ cost to the Mother that bad given us protection for ti:e last seventy y;\-u\s for thi' infinite small amount of tin: naval s'.ib-;idy„ The Mini-uers oKvuk-ih peroration was received with rvemond:.:is applause, his speech being fzv:;uently punctuated by outbursts of approval. A vote of thanks and confidence in the Government was carried with unanimous enthusiasm.