A STATE BALANCE-SHEET

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21511, 28 June 1935, Page 23

A STATE BALANCE-SHEET

TO rna «DITO* Of rult PRS33. Sir,—ln Tuesday's issue, the report from your Sydney correspondent, who writes of the impending surplus in the Federal finances, has made a suggestion which will, at first, sight, lead us to cast envious eyes across the Tasraaii. He says, "It would seem that this balance-sneet will make pleasant reacting tor Australia's 6,500,000 shareholders." A surplus! Shareholders! That implies a dividend. He mentions a balance-sheet—a statement of revenue and expenditure. A balancesheet to be of any use to shareholders in allocating the distribution of a surplus must nave a statement of assets j and liabilities. It is true that such a j balance-sneet can be drawn up in sucn a way as to hide a considerable sur-, plus, a.s is more often the case than j otherwise, especially in regard to bank- j ing institutions. However, even ua ! national balance-sheet look its a '-sets in at a conservative valuation there 1 is ' no doubt that any state in the world . cfiu'cl show a substantial surplus which 1 could be monetised arid paid to -as shareholders as a dividend. Your Kyo- ; nry correspondent has merely antici- j pated a time when the people "f a state will realise that they are share- j holders in an asset which can pay a ; dividend. Oo» of the mouths of babes ! and sucklings and newspaper corres- | pondents, etc. . . . —Yours, etc., W. I'.. BRAY. June 2fj, 1935.