The Sun TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1914. NEW ZEALAND FINANCES AND THE WAR.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 195, 22 September 1914, Page 6

The Sun TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1914. NEW ZEALAND FINANCES AND THE WAR.

As soon as the Expeditionary Force is.away, a Ministerial statement should be .made regarding the financial position of the Dominion. The country is entitled to know how it stands, and ? what measures, the Government is taking not only to meet existing liabilities I and commitments, but also how' far the Dominion will have to adopt a selfreliant policy in the matter of obtaining capital for development'purposes. Some days ago it was stated by the Prime Minister that the Dominion would have to lind three millions this year to pay i,.ofl' the major portion of the big shortdated loan raised in 1910 by Sir. Joseph Ward. The leader of the Opposition has stated that, had he remained in power, the whole of this loan would have been converted into inscribed stock, and the bill would not then have /come due at such an inconvenient time. Perhaps &o. A man who (according to his own calculations) could have settled the big strike in two days would doubtless, have been quite equal to offering the holders of these securities sufficient inducement to convert; it was merely a question f of how much it would cost. Probably it is cheaper to pay it off. A five million loan, costing £4. 11/- per cent, for four years, was a financial extravagance that a Aviser statesman would have tried to avoid. But needs must when the devil drives, and SixJoseph Ward's five million loan was much less expensive a. transaction than the loan Mr Myers raised for the Mackenzie Government. But the present is no time for holding a post-mortem on the borrowing of the Liberals. The country's main concern is where it stands; at the present moment. For years past we have been borrowing on an average about as much as is. required to pay the annual interest bill. In some years—election years particularly —we have been borrowing more. If we now have to pay our interest as usual, and some of our debts as well, then some careful financing will require to be done. Tt will certainly involve increased taxation, but the country is wealthy and prosperous, and there is no reason for supposing that a reversion to the selfreliant policy will cause any undue hardship. In the long run it may be productive of a great deal of good. Certainly the Government will be compelled j to curtail expenditure on public works, j It ought to be possible to raise a certain amount of money within the Dominion | for necessary -works, but it will be dear | money, and should not be expended on | anything that will not yield a correi spoiling return. The inability to bor- ! row abroad will very quickly be followed by a decline in imports and a shrinkage in Customs revenue—that will also add to the difficulties of the Minister of Finance. In all probability some of the revenue duties abolished by the Liberals when the self-reliant policy j was thrown overboard will have to be restored. It is all very well to say that the cost of the war, and the taxation necessary to meet the liabilities which were so lightly assumed by past, Governments, should he put on the land, but Ihere i.s ;i, limit fo what the farmer can statu!, and we hn.ve reached a, stage when Kycrilices will bo .required not only <>/' the wcll-lo do, but of all da spies in I lie romnniHily. Accoi'diitgly, the people who will hiive lo pay are entitled to be (old what. it. is going to amount to. The Budget, was prepared before the waiy and was framed on the usual lines. The calculat ions of the Government, have been completely upset, but they must by now have'formulated some plans for the future, and the details will be awaited with keen interest. .