THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20214, 17 April 1931, Page 11

THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.

91, thp Prim? Hin : 13; y?, Forbes, said: jjp. S! is measures 'orient in pf sit in tha current Fipgncp Bji? 2?P.« 1, ill, it Is the Public Service, 1,390,000. The Bill PIV if wm& intq' • down certain serrailabie some addict the Budget to Bfttely £l^s2poo, •egfffit for mafecase of certain JiU |ives effect tq is of thp Economy' Is to } in order to seenre full financial year, with in my gtateipent position is that at L?a' shar^', pf in respect to the ato the Loans Be'sm* M Pi*** a securities. This 118 ! 1 - tbo. Sl'tyM'tf&F.* o ' it provide for t? ft? thft litpad of -being; ade operation of the< spen limited to two. !#»- %9 « Bch , devoted to dwing that period' to the "extent of' No. 1 authorises a the', salaries, allowas to ifi pepart-' hp,extent to whichshould be availf the Consolidated jftould bene-, if the salary redue- ># the Dost Offiee, ' increased as from

IlUte'irf andifc U-eiti: j^HaSed* SSfP «f JP m Natiye, and Pt*t*.Fira and liy(tjlsLjiee Qseo yill amounf a7 4 Wfl* have legislative Htr'-pg *ffpctive, and are epti? ministration expenses-of- the Evident I'pud are borne b 3f Fw4 nnanejal yea*-,to ovejr &,«»4 jg tfeargforf. TWviflg tfta,t adjustment, jQf ttw jubgidy Uf.Sfr .tbe pro^ -"'tbi; NatipnaV Broyfdent-Fun4 (»,i? to be reduced ftpfli flpe* <jf Lfa wyiflg fiQSfflHjiate4 *J3,000. The 33?P??9Wy' QQWs sits? -» yer?" C4M* tfre. ,B{Wi|wß Ml, .prejudice the Btsuii: education f J}av§ already, gtte' dec ision of the ,uoverflr Knp special Cpjnfflittee o| SJ)[ directed towaids eeonomief | Committee t&UI'B J Rations of this C3opi» \ SQI9O tMftPj jt | B ?op if i I S BPffltfef t * .

Estimated Deficit of I 15,500^00, 'ip- - m: .. FURTHER ECONOMY MEASURES. Provisions of Second Finance Bill. (PKESS ASSOCIATION TBUjqaln.) < April 16. < Measures to meet an anticipated deficit of £5,500,000.in this year's Budget are fey the Ulster, the R*. 5o». a. W. The Bill Jfo. 1 will effect § paying off in the paid to niejnbers of the Public Sef?ice, a»4 a fptgpr of £J, is anticipated in Departmental expenditure if the Finance Bill ? ? in the House of Representatives to becomes law. Mr Forbes says the railways are unable to pay more s*n $50,000 tQWfltfs titfi interest bill, leaving £1,000,000 tg there has been a heavy in totalisatpr reyejme and amHS«nfi#t tax during the last lew months, W»4w®d a reWdo§ of tte "ItISWWr On the side the economic position is W increased applications .for pensions and "family .gjlDVftgces, and provision has yet to be made for additional *tof»4§ iQt the Unemployment Board's operations and the loss reyenug «s a result of the Hawke's Bay earthquake.

-taMigwnatiQxi of Departments, Tip Government- has decided to makp the amalgamation of Dppartxpei^ta:— (J) The Public Seryips Supprannua: t|pn Friflfl with the" Provident Societies D^arfoient. (2) The Tmmigratioh Department, whose activities are now severely restricted, with the pepprtpient of Labour fl the cpmljined Department with the #pf department. _ (3} The Cppsps. and Statistics DpDepartment of Internal ' Affairs? is to be tronsfprred lo thq Department pf Jn- , - (£) The Justice and Prisons Departments tn be amalgamated and office* i trf Bsgistrar-Gpneral asd electoral tq I ba transferred th^refe. (5) 3?he Forestry Department to be amalgamated T?ith the Lands - audi Survey Department, thus reverting to tie flhfainpd "pripr tg thoaettwgupof » separate Department. (6) The Native Department, Native Trust Office,.and tho Cook Islands DeptyrUflgflt to b§ amalgamated in one Department. t Where it if npteessary to ampnd legislationto give effect io' these amalgama'tipn#, Bfjpyjsion iq m<se in., this Bill. jyitldpated Savings. Thq ftojthj}!: eppnpjnies proposed tjy the iScpppmy' Cpmijiiftee in# gpprpved in tip DqtfMP!* W 1 J?e IB thp ordinary session mUfM general, will bp effective as from the s»mmenceme?it of the current financial year. These additional savings may be summarised as follows. S ,>/ S '' '• ' r Leg|f|§tivQ- Department .. ,3,500 I'S™ :: ?' 25,600 Native Pppartattent ... 6)700 External' >*■>. . 19,500 PripjpiiUy a'' n^ygfwl l f* 1 ® " to" the expenses of Samoa I ftlandq " 11,000 asd 'Oommercb .. 17.70Q ■Justice a»a Prisons . .. 4,450 feftlieif "•• •« l f 7oo' Sr ® PfltlJid . Pejvfge gqjnmi^sipiaJF'fl jDflSfB .... 3QP Printing andstaspnpjy . 6.50Q Mental Hospitals .. 12,9^0 Heajth .. ■ .. • 28,800 Defence Department •< 30,700 v • .. < • • 4.360 ,. 1 .. . ■ 63,200 (line tp the fact " "that' an item lor the npw . lighthouse vessel £Bl,ooo' - w|,B disposed of 'in the last • - ye^r) Labour Department'- 5,050 1401 &i}& Scenery Preservation , •• 11300 - e;opo EJfictqyal .. .. 3,{500 AgnpultflirP , . •• .. Sisifintifle Mptriftl Be- «• • • tySpO . Total , m'. 637U8P sundry, hayp bpen ( "made in the. (wpendityra /various special Acts of the Legislature. In Regard'to pepposed amalgamation Df pa*tm ent > *1 may say that "it is t|Qt possiblp tp the savings tijat 13|B therefty,' bjit tjjie BR)i e ? P? rgflepted iq tfje of vMcJV vjil .furtihPF' in say*, ijip if ef Weft as flrftvplJigg .e^pepgeg, 4pM S*pe)?Beß ? ai|4'. a]j9Wa.Rcpß office expenses. A amount pf retrenchment and t reduction *of staffs has beeji found ipeyit§blo ? but the effect cannot he fully gauged'.until the Departmental for. .the year are complete^,

Co-ordination of Services. I recognise tfcat i?i the' time at its disposal the was unable to go 'mo?Q fyjjy igto'the gupsfjon a$ the (>f soflia pf qqf public eerTioes,, to. Ifeiß wQRjd bays fuTtattfifc «m----(goiries ii| tfce flteld find the'examination of working that could aot l?e vistjajissd from' Wellington. In Bpme that »re greatly si}b(jivjdfri thp tejiSftnejr the -80rvic.es, thus making the formulation sfc flfeiKfiMiaft.fho prompt execution of policies eumhersome and expensive, have ea#S pragfieep paeWrtery „fpf with- : w a that , suggests pvsflappjtog* B»fa?S§9 Ibeiio thgri pbpid w" *N • ntttelfc «<hwMwtk<nw wilb . ~ *" r^Pr,

their contact with the public. There have grown up small distinctions and differences in the handling of the same kind of prpt)leip are UPt appreciated by customers and applicants. The tendency to be self-contained find apart is being corrected, so that the Public Service msy, in reality, be ,a facile, efficient, and economical instrument for the good of the. country. Summary of The effect of the ffoverumpnt's proposals, both legislative and administrative, may be summaried as follows: * & Reduction in salaries §nd • .. •. 1,390,000 |2conppiies apart frpm salaries apd wages t .. 700,000 Use of Reparation moneys .. 330,000 AdUJitiopal postal revenue .. 900,000 Total .. £ 5,320,000 | The country will realise that althpugh much has been done and is iii the measures I have outlined to bridge the gap ,in the Budget touch still remains to be faced. Revenue Fails Off. When the financial position was placed before the country early in February the prospective deficit for this financial year was estimated a,t £4,500,000, but a recent revision of the Estimates in the light of the fuller information now available shows that the ppgition has changed for the worse in thp Budgetary phprtage to be up is by £1,000,000, making a total of £5,500,000. The principal item concerned W m the "shortage is interest on railway capital. Apart from the: benefit from the reductions in salaries and wages which comes in on the other side of the picture as part of the action to remedy the position, it is now estimated that only about £350,000 can be paid to the Consoli4sted Fund by wsy of interest- on railway capital. This is a shrinkage of pver £1,000,000 cpmP&rp<l with the *o? in Ifist year's The heavy falHug-off in tptaUjsator revenue and amusement tax during tbe last few jtfpufhei has rendered necessary a rpvisipn Qf the qstimftte of the stapip revonup, \tfiile reductions h&ve also had to 'bp nnjdq in- various other items of revenue. '

The Expenditure Side. On the exppnditure side the economic position is reflected in the increased applications for old-ago pensions and family allowances, which have necessitated increasing the estimates of expenditure by about £IOO,OOO. To sum up the position, the shortage to be met is now £5,600,000, and the salary reductions and other economy proposals to which I have referred will Srovide about £3,320,000 towards meet. ?g the position. A very largo amount haß yet to bo found before the Budget can be balanced- There are two contingencies for iyhich provision has not yet J>e<jn made, vi?., additional fund? fpr the XJnpmploympnt Board's pperations and loss of revenues which.will accrue as a result cf thb llama's" Bay, earthquake, neither pf which ca?i at present bp estimated, but may no morp clearly defined when thp ordinary session of Parliament is held.

Hospital Finances Mr J?. Praser (Lab.,/ Wellington Cen-, tral) asked whether the Bill made provision for increased grants to Hospital Boards to enablo them to deal with tho constantly gro>yipg numbpr of cases pf destitution created by unemployment. Mr Forbes said the Bill did not deal yith hospital finance. Bridging the Gap. The Hon. W. Downie Stewart (p., Dunedin'West) said ho understood, notthe economy proposals, that there would, still be a gap between the revenue and the expenditure, agd he 9&lcpd did the Prime Minister propose to bridge the gap "by direct and inairpct or lipth, and, if bp, would a Bill involving \ such' proposals be brought d9l?ni thiV sesqionf Mr Forbes that in his previous public statement he indicated that the gap "would be bridged' l>y means of direqt indirect taxation. The question of' wte?i' the' proposais V«ula t>o brought, down was at present receivipg • the attention of the Government. They would h$ presented '^o, the Hiuse dur» ing'the' ordinary jupssion if it" were not necessary for them to appesr during the presept emergency session.

Wtr Pletfiier'f Query, Ult J. 8. Fletcher (Ind., Groy Lynn) asked whet|ipr 'the deficit ' announced was' merply an or final figure. A prpyiqus .been made, and two weekß later the .figure had mounted, lipt now it Wft? up by another £1,000,000. Was that the end!" It was. high tifne the country knew where it Rtpo3, because'the effect was highly damaging on the business of the country. ' ' : Replying' to' questions as to when the Bill would he cpnsidprpa,. Fprbps said he hoped to §eal with the measure some time, early next week. "Mr FjaSpr: |s. there to be a thir4 Fjnancp BSUIT : ' Mr Fprbeg said it was not anticipated that a third Bill would be necessary. althpugh prpbally some pmendmpt»ta t'q prppent measure would be introduced. The Bill was read a first time.

DETAILS OF Tm WU+ j MANY GRANTS WITHDRAWN, j . [Faow Oub Sricm. ApriV 16. ' Details qI the Finance. Bijl Jfo. 2 reveal th{9 hand of the Economy Committee wherever there wap pqpsiljility of giving even ft few pounds iq admin? istrative eoste. ■ The a«tbQTity qf th« fitoverinnent to boxraw on Treasury Bills is increased from £4,(300,000 to £6,000,000 as froifl iht, beginning q£ this .J»9ntl). / -The Mister fop is epipowcrf4 ?JOt to transfer pertain profits of the Post and Telegraph Bepaitwentj to the credit of the Fund, but he may anticipate the promts of the Depßitmeat ? aqd transfer m advfincb any TOovfjit? h 9 fit to asejst the Gqitflglid&te#' F\ipd this way. The subsidies to the Greywauth Harbour BQ£Td haye been reduced frQfli sJs,ftflo to £JS,OOO; Tee annual State grant to the New JJeftJanjl Jjjgtitutje JiflP been reduced fFCW «IPQQ to Acclimatisation Societies are' no longer to rcc;pj.yg the usual grants from royalties, {ees, "anfj. #nes fqllegtM J?y State. . This money b to t> fl retained py the Consolidated Pup - Tbe poU<SQ forge in Sapipa lp«ea its giant. ' 'The Government takes power under tha Bin tq ypgulftte ?p4 prohibit the impgrtstipn iptq. Pr from tjjp 1 {Dominion of coined silver, updei' a pea? alty of a £SO line. j <

. Provident Fu&a. In addition to the reduction' of the 'Btate's pubaidy to the Provident Fflß(} frojft qjip-fourth to one-fiftli of tl?e annual cpntpibutjons, thg In future ig to, pay its awn working expenses, instead of having the?n prt»pr|ats4 ftTWWlly fey The ipatorgity thi? |ui}d, w])ich hitherto been payable to petsonr receiving £3OO apd und e rj $?9 aw rcsfadcted to ,|hgs§

and under, and the payment from, tho fqnd at the birth of each child reduced from £6 to £4. Money unclaimed within'six yean becomesJsrt of the fund. Benefits under the Family Allowances Act have been tightenpci up The a' lowance of 2a for each child in excess of iwo remains, but' the allowance is restricted to families whose weekly average inpomp jioes escpod £3 12b, in place of £4, as hjthertp.

other Provisions, The Official Assignee, instead of having separate bank accounts for individual estatep, will, for the purposes of greater economy,, have one bank acCfiunJ; fqr . all estates. > ' Employees of the Cook Islands and Public Service are deprived of the privilege of counting their seryifie as time and a halff for the purposes of superannuation. By special repeal the provision wjiiefy hithprtq pxigted,for the of loans ipf tfce University 4®4 otljer educational ipstitutionij, also for rising money for dental clinics, is abolished, and the money held in the Education Lpanp Account is * transferred to the -Public Works Fund. Casep of emergency say be met by thp payment pp to June 3Qth n e *t amounts not. to exceed in the aggregate one-fourth of the amount transferred Tfye Bailwpys Authorisation Account i« 'aboljshe'd "and the ippney transferred tp the Public Works Account, It is also provided that a trustee is not to be liable for a breach' of trust in continuing to hpid' an investment which has to" be an investment anthorised by the trijst instrument, Ofc by. general law. Trustees may in pertain cases, with the consent of 'the CjQurt, bpffow moneys apd apply the ampuntg for advancement to persons entitled to tfte capital of the trqat jtroperty. i; Bates.

Several virtual washing-up provisions affecting local bodies included. Authority is given fio4ies 'to remit the additional charge of 10 per cent, on unpaid rates levied during the financial year'- ended March 31st last. Where the penalty has already been paid power is given for a refund to be made, and the action of local bodies which have already made thp remission is validated. Similar powers may be exercised by the Minister for Lands in respect of rates levied under the Bapgitaiki and Hauraki PJainp drainage lationPovyer is given a borough to make by-laws for regulating the'depign and construction of buildings to resist earthquake shocks, Tlie replacement of lost or debentures Ijy local authorities is authorised. Applicants must, however, give an indemnity against the possible .presentation -of the original debenture.' .A

In connexion with tlje jjpion of hospital , districts, the Govemar-Greperal appoint gqph number of qualified persons as he thinks fit to hold office a? ipejnhepp of the District Board until the Board is elected in the usiial yrfiy, Boards are to bo brought under the provisions of the Local Bodies Finance Act which, liipits the borrowing powers of local bodies.