THE PREMIER'S SPEECH.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 496, 1 May 1909, Page 4

THE PREMIER'S SPEECH.

This evening at Invercargill Sin Joseph Wabd will deliver his promised address on the financial rcsulta of the year's operations. His statement as to tho financial position will be looked forward to with greator interest than usual on account of his recent admissions of a shrinking revenue and his wholesale retrenchment of Givil Servants in an endeavour to curtail the expenditure which has increased in such extravagant fashion for many years past, but more especially under the Ward regime. In July last Sir s Joseph Ward in his Budget estimated a surplus of £229,000 at tho end of March, 1909. This estimate, however, was reduced to £49,000 by the amounts placed on the Supplementary Estimates. At. a later stage still he expressed confidence that this moderate estimate would be realised. It would be very disquieting if this were not so. At tho end of December last, with nine months of the financial year, gone, tho credit balance (including £767,000 brought forward) was £537,000. During the last quarter of the year—the quarter ended March . 31— £600,000, balance of £800,000, principally made up of last year's surplus of £767,849, had to be, transferred to the Public Works Fund, so that tho: £537,000 to credit at the end of December would be absorbed by this payment, with something ovor. In other words, the balance would bo wiped out by! tho transfer of the £600,000 and the surplus for tho year was practically dependent on the ordinary revenue and expenditure for the March quarter. In 1908. there was a surplus of revenue over expenditure in the March quarter of over £400,000. Has this been ! realised; in 1909? Wo think not. Even if the revenue held its own, which is open to doubt, the expenditure is certain to have exceeded that of the corresponding quarter of the previous year. ' What that"expenditure has .been Sir Joseph Ward, will: mate known this evening. We expect his estimated, surplus of £49,000 to be considerably below the mark, but tho actual amount will probably be less 1 than one : ; third of the surplus realised twelve months ago, when thero was tho handsomo credit balance of £767,849. It ib'expected that Sir Joseph Ward will make a further reference to ' his "retrenchment proposals. This is very desirablo, as much uncertainty •. still prevails in • tho public service'as to the futuro intentions of tho Government, '