THE SELF-RELIANT, NONBORROWING GOVERNMENT.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXIII, Issue 1165, 30 October 1896, Page 5

THE SELF-RELIANT, NONBORROWING GOVERNMENT.

- ■ — « -r-^r Mr Alfred Saunders,, M.l?3.— The father of tb,e House of Representatives and a, supporter of the present (jbverninent--; in the cqurse of a. reoent address to his constituents, .the electors, of ' Selwyn, said ? — The average annual borrowing, by the Atkinson (Government for their last four years was L 757.00 0; the average borrowing of the Ballance Government, including the purchase of Cheviot, was L 400,000, and the average borrowing of the Seddon Government had been LI ,373,000, to which was to be added L 218.000, which was the average rate at which they reduced the L 700,000 of borrowed money which was in hand when; they came into office, andwhich they had orb the 31st of ]ast March, reduced to L45,00Cf,' thus practically increasing our- debt by a year. If we allQwe|| mgre tn,an t half a million a. yearof thjs. to. have beeri ; fb'f land purchase and for advances tq settlers we atili had a million a yearjipon whioh we would have, to pay the interest. In the way that money was borrowed it still costs about: 4 per cent., and thus the three millions directly added to'their permanent annual charges M 20,000 a year, L 9999 a mrnth, L 2304 a week; or L 384. ft that represented b\\t a, part o$ the bnrden which \he vsver4aVoi the Ballance policy \^o,ulft ultimately inflict osn the colony. It wquld certainly add at least I per cent to the rate of interest upon ejur whole debt, Which we should feel as each conversion beoame 4ue, and that would mean no less than L 400.000 a year on our annual payment for interest. It would be. L 33.333 a month, L 7680 a week, or LI2BO a day. He 'had said nothing about the , L 3,500,000 for which the colony had been made liable for the Bank of New Zealand, which might at any time call upcin us. to .pay another Ll4o,ooo_a year* csV L 4444 per. day of interest ?$ money! Now, if theY ad^e^VthpjSg three items together v?C;ul[rt" B e y no. less than L2iOB pW day; which the " reversal of the Ballance policy would probably yet put upon "the taxpayers of. this country.- In other wo? 4a., 14^108 per day, a suki gufjgeiepf fai pay 5s per day all $hj yeftvvflund t©; 8432 labourers, would probably have tQ be spnt out Qf thistmpoverisned cqunfry for. all ,tin}e to, e.PJ»Q tepay the foreign,-boijcl-boMei 1 in ecinsegiie^ce of the fearfully mistaken policy of men who really-believed themselves to be the friends pf labour. """