The Dominion. THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 1908. THE PREMIER V. COMMON SENSE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 150, 19 March 1908, Page 6

The Dominion. THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 1908. THE PREMIER V. COMMON SENSE.

———4—— Sir Joseph Ward, : having spared a few hours from liis electioneering tour to attend to the real business of the country, has departed • again for the northern districts in an endeavour to make his calling and election sure. In. his, jauntiest fashion; he has boasted'for weeks past of. the "magnificent state of the finances," and has demonstrated his belief in his own preaching by practising a lavish extravagance which must ma,ke thinking people wonder when the bare boards of' the Treasury chest will appear in sight. ranging • from post-offices to pillar-boxes are made in generous profusion, and the 1 only thought' of the morrow appears to be in its bearing on the General Elections. On the one hand is the buoyant Premier with his glowing superlatives, and on the other the bankers and merchants' and lawyers and commercial people whose cold, ■business-like analysis of the situation discloses no occasion for this wild exuberance of spirits. Even some of the Premier's : warmest 'admirers', ' are amazed. Is the Premier right, and they all wrong? Beef is» down, mutton is down, tallow lower, hides low and falling. Wool has fallen badly, and a further fall is dreaded. Sheepskins down 30 per. cent, and the bottom fallen clean out of the hemp in-, dustry, and every mill in the Dominion likely to be stopped " next month. Sheep and cattle, have fallen in value. Money is dear, and banks and loan companies have raised their rates. It is very difficult for borrowers iy>\v to get money on' mortgage. Companies, look askance at new clients. Land sales are fewer.

Yet Sir Joseph Ward tells us hot even a ripple of the American trouble has reached us. Ask wool dealers why wool has fallen 60 badly, and why ■they dread a further fall. Everyone of them will,reply: "Things are bo

very bad in America ; their buyers are out of the market." Yet those who hold this view must be wrong, for the Prime Minister assures us that not a ripple of .America's trouble reaches us. Ask flaxmillers why they are closing—they cannot pay royalties of any kind now. They must shut down, they will tell you. Money is so tight in America that holders of Manila are selling at any price to get.cash. Manila has fallen from £40 to <£22 per ton, and has not reached bottom. Yet these flaxmillers must be wrong, because Sir Joseph Ward has told us : " We are outside the zone of American troubles." Ask our leading_ commercial men why money.is "tight." They will tell you: " The Government has been borrowing money so largely locally. Sir Joseph Ward raised the Savings Bank rate to .per cent.; lie has attracted a lot of money." That is : 'probably why the state of our finances is, as he says, "magnificent." The Dominion's exports last year were valued at £20,000,000—this year they will not reach £18,000,000, yet our finances are "magnificent." . Practically the only exported article that shows a rise is butter, and of that rise the greater part goes into the hands of English buyers, and, owing to the drought, the amount of butter is smaller this year.

In spite of these unanswerable facts Sir Joseph Ward is holiday-making and electioneering, and boasting of our magnificent finance. He has missed a great opportunity. When the American trouble came On the horizon, lie should have boldly grasped the position. He should have said the trouble will'be here directly, and the Dominion must be prepared to meet a range of lower prices and of dearer money. A real statesman would have warned the people to be careful not to launch out, but to prepare for, the coming storm. The Premier, however, prefers to ignore the signs, of the times, and although the after-effects of the American , financial tornado have reached the Dominion, and thoughtful people are viewing the position with concern, Sir Joseph finds : the time opportune for, extravagant rejoicing, picnicking excursions, banqueting, and all the When times get " a bit anxious," merchants and traders give up holiday-making; they abandon amusement, and stick religiously, to their: offices, , closely watching their business. The Prime Minister and his colleagues apparently think there is no- sucli work for them to do ; so they spend their time electioneering, race-going, banqiieting. In the lofty regions tliey dwell iri there is.no terror for them in the fall in wool, in the ctillapse of the hemp trade, in the widespread concern for the immediate future. We do: not suggest for one moment that the Dominion' is .in.'dire straits, or' likely to be. - But this extravagant talk of the Premier about our magnificent finance, and our splendid' 'prosperity/ in face ;of existing conditions, sounds very much like a prelude to; extravagant expendi-r turefoi'. electioneering purposes; and the tinie ; . is 1 ''singularly inappropriate for. extravagance of. any kind.,liv pre--vious: articles we 'have shown .the huge increase of rccejit. years in our public debt and the. increased taxation .per' head of. the people of the Dominion, and it. is ; quite time that, the Premier descended from the . clouds and faced the financial situation in a sane and business-like manner.