THE MEMBER FOR BRUCE.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXXVI, Issue 46, 19 November 1909, Page 2

THE MEMBER FOR BRUCE.

Mr J as, Allen (member foi Jj ruce | in the course of his speech in p..! ment on the Address-in-Reply, sa jj;Now, I want to say a word or \L in regard to the condition of 0 finances at the present time. \ [,. said something about retrenchment I have something to say now a jw[ : ' plunging. I do not know vihtZ members have examined the rcverjti and expenditure of this Djiiiinio n the last eight or ten years. If a have, there is only one less m \\l. can learn from the figures: thy J. learn that there have been large increases in revenue over a cer'j;' period. 1 do not deny that f ur moment. I will place in columns |i, increases per year in revenue a -j expenditure : Increase li, c;eivi Year in Revenue Expcnjj, " 1901 2 200,364 4i 6 ,.! 1902 3 aa3s.it) amiJ! 1«03 4 034,770 aa'to 1904 5 261,484 1905 0 301,489 .^Z 1906 7 814,710 652*1 1907-8 050 871 439( J 1908 9, decrease 54,701 57^ Totals ...£3,148,479 Xvi.MsJj And now, Sir, I wish to draw special i attention to the year iyoS y. \\y happened ? For the first time in the history of this Dominion since I have been in Parliament we find the revtnue is less than the previous year's revenue. The Hon Mr T Mackenzie. -That is owing to the value of pruJt.ce, v Mr Allen.—The value oi produce! That may be part of the but We all knew that produce was going down. It is an enormous drop f ro:il an increase of ,£"656,871 to a decrease of £54 761. If that position had be.n met by responsible Ministers m , proper way we should not have hi so much to complain of. But notice the diffeience with regard to ex.enji, ture when we come to the ycr 19089, Is there a decrease ? No ; mere is ad increase in expenditure of 1,518 and that in view of a falling revenue,' Sir, where are the responsible Minis, ters? 1 say the country should judge them upon their financial paiicy they ought to be judged, and they ought to be punished, for leading this Dominion into the position in which we find ourselves to-day. There should not have been that depressicn, because the Dominion is sound enough to prevent ii under proper management. It is the I'.mie Minister and those associated with him who have led us into this. An Hon. Member—What tot! Mr Allen.—Facts are facts. The increase in the expenditure lor the period I have been referring to has been ,£3,305,810, and the increase in the revenue has been ,£3,148,479, Now, I say that you cannot goon in this way. The Government have not laced the position in the way they should have done. The consolidated revenue has been uncer their control, and in this respect Parliament has been impotent for years. We are practically without power to control expenditure, and the offer of a Dreadnought was an instance of that. In that we had no control, because we were committed to it and never had a say. We had to acquiesce, because an a it.critic Prime Minister imposed his will upon l'ariia» ment and pledged F-uimlrun ,j