The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 1910. THE BUDGET.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 170, 20 July 1910, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 1910. THE BUDGET.

Vor the- cause that lacks tajitatanoo, For tie tcronsr- that need* resiatavm, For the future in the <«e*ance, And the good that tee ca«,iia.

To-thoscy of us who, like the Athenians of oJd, are constantly searching for "something new," the Premier's Budget speech may be something of a disappointment. For there is little in it for •which the country has not already been prepared by Ministers during the recess —that is to say, there is no unexpected and sensational legislation indicated for the current session. But there is ample evidence in Sir Joseph Ward' 3 speech that Govcrraent ie prepared to fulfil the pledges to which it has committed itself, by carrying the principles of Liberalism to their legitimate and logical conclusion, and by exploiting the resources of the country with all possible speed. At the same time, the figures laid before Parliament by the Premier show plainly i enough that our financial position ie sound and strong, and that the country has recovered entirely froni the depression that overshadowed it twelve months ago, and for the time produced such an unfortunate effect upon our sta,ple industries and our public revenue.

I On the purely statistical side, the Budget makes excellent reading; but out of sympathy for readers who do not revel in figures, we may t>e content to indicate only the general results at which the Premier arrived. The revenue for last year was a "best on record," and it exceeded the estimate by nearly .€220,000. At the same time, though the public expenditure had also increased, it fell beiow the estimated figure by about £120,000. The figures quoted hy the Premier show that in several important departments substantial savings were uiadc; and considering the necessity for the constant enlargement of the scope and functions of our departmental work, it is only to be expected that the ievel of expenditure should rise with our increasing revenue. The various sources of public wealth are answering generously to the demands made upon theni, and the buoyant tone of the revenue returns shows that even a more serious increase in our annual outlay could be borne without incommoding us financially. The Premier, it wiil be observed, estimates the revenue for the current year at a figure that should leave us an even larger balance than the surplus from last year, and past experience has shown that Sir Joseph Ward's estimates are always moderate, and that his financial predictions have a way of getting themselves fulfilled.

Apart from blie revenue returns and estimates, Hie most interesting part of the Budget deals as usual with our Public Works expenditure. Considering that about £000,000 was spent last year on roads and over a million and a quarter sterling on railways, Government can hardly be accused of neglecting our public works, regarded as a whole. The allocation of the fund is, of course, another matter; but it is significant of the Premier's determination to push on energetically with the work of roading and railing the country that lie proposes to ■borrow no less than £ 1,750,000 this year for the purpose. Naturally, these figures invite criticism from those who are apprehensive about the size and weight of our national debt. As to the Premier' 3 suggestion for the establishment of a Sinking Fund to wipe out all our debte within the next 75 years, we comment upon this separately to-day. But whatever view one may take of sinking funds, it will be generally admitted that a> debt incurred chiefly to pay for reproductive public works, and secured by immensely valuable national assets, is not to ibe regarded as a dead liability, and that its increase need not cause us serious anxiety so long as- our public funds are carefully administered and the value of our assets is steadily maintained.

The immensely important topic of Land Settlement deserves special mention, and the Premier, in his speech, showed that Government is still bent on keeping the whole subject in the foreground of the political stage. The promised Land liiii, when it comes before the House, will, of course, arouse vehement controversy; but it is to be hoped that members of all political parties will accept iha advice recently tendered them by Dr. Findlay to consider first the necessity for promoting settlement, and that they will refuse to subordinate this all-important aspect of the question to reverence for any ab' stract theory of land tenure. The reference to the Lands for Settlement Act shows tliat the rise in the price of land ia rapidly rendering it impossible for Government to continue the policy of resumption on a large scale, and that other means are needed to check the accumulation of large areas and to break up the great estates still held in such a way aa to "mock settlement and interfere with the progress of the country. The modification of the Land Settlement Finance Act proposed by the Premier shows that Government 13 prepared to take any legitimate couree to assist settlers on to the land; and we may add that the comments of the Premier on the Loans to Local Bodies and tho State-guaranteed Advances business show that Government ia as anxious as ever to bring chcu.p money into the country by all means consistent with a regard 101: its own financial safety. _

We have said that the Budget speech contains no sensational novelty, but it promises a large amount of legislation <*? an extremely interesting and varied character. The .National Annuities Bill is to appear in a new and, wS hope, a final shape. Our water power is , to be utflised, and a start is to be made with a vote of £500,000. We are to have a new mail service of some kind, 'b.nd' if the New Zealand Government fails to arrange some sort of contract with Canada, we are to set up a service of our own. The "wireless" system is being installed, and within twelve months we will have regular communication in this way with Australia and the Pacific Islands. A notable change is to be made in our administrative finance by the extension of the post-aitdit system. The telephone is to be run through the backblocks to link up our isolated settlements withi the outer world; and an even more important benefit is to be extended to the country districts by a Maternity Bill that will lighten the burdens of parentage to fathers, mothers and families. An attempt is to be made to provide New Zealand with a new arid profitable industry by erieouruging the cultivation of the sugar beet; while all our industries are to be protected against unfair competition, and the rights of our consumers are to be safeguarded against foreign encroachment by an Anti-Trust Bill. Taking into account all these various items, we may fairly say that the Premier has made out a very attractive programme for the session, and while we admit that the strain thrown upon our finances in this process of development by borrowing is heavy and increasing, we share Sir Joseph Ward's faith in the prospects of the country sufficiently to believe that in the future the policy that Government is now following will be amply justified by great and enduring success.