The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 1910. MR. ALLEN AT MILTON.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 825, 25 May 1910, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 1910. MR. ALLEN AT MILTON.

• It has long been a commonly ac- ') cepted fact that the Government is perfectly ready to take up any pol- • icy that it considers likely to assist, j it to maintain its grip of office. So commonplace is this fact, and so _ philosophically accepted by tho pub\i lie, that those friends of honest govt ernment who do not want to waste their time concentrate their; efforts . on. finding a way of stating the posii» tion that will pierce the crust of popular indifference. In other coun- • tries—assuming that there could pos- ' . sibly exist in any other country a Government entirely barren of principles and ready to change its coat j on any subject at any time—it would . be sufficient merely to state the bald fact that in this or that particular . there has been an opportunist rcof policy and a swallowing of principles for the sake of office. In his Milton speech Mn. Jas. Allen, replying to the Prime Minister's W'tnton oration, was unusually successful in bringing out in sharp colour the title of the Government to the disapproval of the pubt lie. It was not quite necessary to '' go to any trouble to show the impropriety of the Prime Minister's abusive references to his critics; very few people now pay much attention to Sib Joseph Ward when he cries out about "misrepresentation" and ''back-stabbing" and all the rest of - it. Mr. ( Allen was wise, however, in emphasising tho soundness of the hostile criticism to which the Reform party had subjected the Govern-, ment's administration and legislation in a dozen important particulars. ; His task in this respect was not a difficult one,' of course. Despite the venom and vigour with which it assailed those who complained of wastefulness in Departmental expen- , diture, to take one example, the Government had to admit that the expenses should be reduced. It has had to admit that a sinking fund for l&an-redemption must be established; ~ it has had to admit that its Land . Bills are quite as bad as they were , said-to be; it has had to change its views on compulsory training. and on railways administration. Ma. Alien dealt very effectively with the growth of the public expenditure and the growth of tho taxation per '>, head. The taxation per head long ago passed what any serious statesman would consider the maximum figure compatible with sanity and - reasonableness. Even Sir Joseph , Ward himself stated fifteen years ago that less money should be ex- . tracted from thepublic in this way. Instead of making the remissions ■- necessary to keep the per capita levy down to a sensible figure, the "Liberal'' party has so contrived that r that levy has increased by 30 per *■ cent. If reasonable eare had been . taken with regard to expenditure, as Mr. Allen pointed out, there ' would have been no occasion for this rise in taxation. He is only partially correct in saying that "tho extra amount raised by taxation had _ led to the extravagance going on": it is more accurate to s'ay that the extravagance made a decrease in the y taxation per head impossible. Nobody would greatly , mind if the '" money raised by taxation were spent wisely, but there has been waste of the most reckless kind. The Prime Minister never wearies ol '" telling us that "the revenue for tho year is a record," but he never adds that the expenditure is also a record. Even when the revenue shows a. decrease tho expenditure goes on rising. The following tabic, giving the expenditure and revenue in the > year 11)05-6 (Mb. Sedbon's last year) • and the year 1909-10, speaks, for itself : 190T.-G. 1909-10. Increase. £ £ £ Revenue ... 7,6.50,098 9,238,261 1,588,163 . Expenditure 7,122.3)0 6,990,922 1,868,582 3 Tho annual expenditure, during Sir Joseph Ward's Premiership, has thus increased by nearly £300,000 more .than the rev- _ onue. That little tabic is really a shattering disproof in advance of '* anything that the Prime Minister can say about his finances—a damning fact in the blazo of which every . sophistry must shrivel up—a finan- - eial "scarlet letter" if ever there was I one. Tho greater part of Mr. Allen's speech was devoted to the problem of defence. With his scathing treatment of the Government's proceed- „ ings in connection with the Dreadnought offer and the Defence Conference everybody will be in sympathy. Thnt even the most submissive servants of the Ministry are secretly a little ashamed of their master's behaviour may be deduced from the irritated objection of at C (cast one Ministerialist journal to i. the resurrection of unpleasant memories. Mu. Allen's observations '' upon home defence will lie welcomed ' by everybody as the opinions of an enUiusia.st who brings experience and study to tho aid of his enthusiasm. He treats this, very properly, as a non-party question, and the Govcrn- ' men', wo have little doubt, will bo

wise enough to take him as an ally for the time being. There is one point, however, which Mil. Allen . either has not specially noticed or lias not perceived to be important As we pointed out the other day, D tho adoption of Load Kitchener's i scheme in place of the measure of ) last year does not involve a great increase in the burden on the people or the cares uf the Government. Indeed, it may turn out to make for greater cheapness—not that we think cheapness a great object in this mat- . tor: wo merely wish to point out that the Kitchener scheme, involving the termination of "universal compulsion'' at eighteen years of ago instead of twenty-one, may cost less though worth much more. Instead of forcing every young man between the ages of IS_ and 21 to undergo a special training, and of thus spending far more than is required by the defence needs of. the country, fclie State will obtain an equal efficiency by training a much' smaller annual draft to the age-limit of 26 years. The Prime Ministee will doubtless have much to say in reply to Me. Allen when he reaches Hokitika. We do not think Mr. Allen will Buffer any damage, however, for his speech, upon the whole, was sound and interesting to the point of deserving the large space which the papers have given to it.