RISING APACE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 October 1940, Page 7

RISING APACE

BRITISH EXPENDITURE ON WAR RATE ALMOST DOUBLED SINCE MARCH. SIR KINGSLEY WOOD'S SURVEY. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, October 16. In the House of Commons today the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Kingsley Wood, asked for a credit of £1,000,000,000, and, in giving an account of how an equal vote granted on July 1 was spent, contrasted war expenditure for the four weeks preceding the July vote, which amounted to some £55,000,000 weekly, or a daily total of £7,500.000, with a total for the four weeks ended October 12, which was £64,000,000 weekly. Sir Kingsley Wood pointed out that the great increase in expenditure which had taken place since March, when the daily total for the fighting services was £4,000.000, compared with £7.500,000 today. ”1 think the fact that we have nearly doubled the rate of expenditure in the same short time and that the rale has gone up since July is increased evidence of our war effort,” he said. Remarking that such a sentiment was unusual from a Chancellor, he said he hoped the rate of expenditure would be even further expanded. He made it clear that the £1,000,000,000 he was asking for would not be enough for the rest of the financial .year, and pointed out that even at a weekly rate of £64,000.000 such a vote would not last beyond March, and when that date arrived the Government would be able to judge expenditure for the year and discuss how the vast sums would be raised. He pointed out that the credit was not a new estimate of additional expenditure, but simply a vote on account of expenditure foreseen and included in the July Budget. Stating that he had previously emphasised the undesirability of too frequent changes in taxation and reminding the House that the increases imposed amounted to £529.000.000 in 7 months, Sir Kingsley Wood recalled a statement he made on August 15, when he said it was impossible to make a fixed timetable, and he conceded by saying that he would welcome suggestions how to make an effort to reconcile the rapid prosecution of the war with a reasonable supervision of expenditure.