The Dominíon. MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1916 THE PREMIER IN A NEW ROLE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1302, 4 December 1911, Page 6

The Dominíon. MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1916 THE PREMIER IN A NEW ROLE.

There is onn really delightful passage in the Pnniß Misjstf.r'h Milton speech which desorres to be set in capital letters. Ifc is that in which the head of the Government rises in righteous wrath 1-0 denounce the borrowing policy of Mr.. Massf.y. Surely nothing could be more screamingly funny than the spectacle of tho biggest financial plunger New Zealand has ever seen in the matter of running the country into debt de■elaiming from the election platform his undying determination to prevent the country being pressed on into the slough of borrowing. Here is what Snt Joseph W.vkd said: Any person who took an interest in tho well-being of the people must recog'niso'tlint if we were to borrow at the rate stated by tho Leader of the Onuositiou we would ho over-borrowing. (Applause.) He would not allow (his country to be carried off its foot by the'pressure of members of Parliament or by the pressure of tho people acting through their representatives, and it would bo carried off its feet if it were to borrow tho amount that the Leader of tho Opposition thoiH;ht tho Government was going to borrow .it tho rate he suggested. He was vastly mistaken, and if ho thought the country was going to borrow to that extent he was coming to a conclusion that was unwarranted by Ihe requirements of the Dominion. (Applause.) For the purpose of carrying on railway construction an average of a million a year was as much ns tho ponntry could expect to borrow exclusive of what might bo necessary lo carry on the work of additions to open lino 9.

Now, what is Mr. Massey reported to have said? "Ho believed the country could safely borrow IS or 4 millions a year." This is the statement which so horrified Sin Joseph Ward and provoked his denunciation of the Leader of the Reform party. Jjct ns see how far the actions of this preacher of cconomv and caution compare with his words. To borrow three or- four millions a year, he states, would be overborrowing, and tho country could not stand it. If any elector will take tho trouble to turn up the official records for the year 1008 ho will find that on March .11 of that year the Public Debt, was £06.433,807 If he turns to the Budget laid before Parliament a few weeks ago lie will find that the' Public Debt on March 31, 1911, totalled £81,078 l Deducting the smaller sum from the larger he will obtain this result: Public Debt, March 31, 1011... 8107812-3 Public Debt, March 31, 1908 ... 1iii,.1335)7 Increase in 3 years 14,644,225 Pursuing his investigations the elector will find that on dividing the amount of the increase in the Debt by the number of years in which the increase was piled up, the average increase in each of the three years is £4 874,408 That is to say, that fcini Joseph Ward, who condemns as over-borrowing the limitation of borrowing to three or four millions a year suggested by Mb. Masset, has himself during the. past three years aoded to the Public Debt at the rate of nearly live millions a year. And he, apparently thinks that the public who know him so well ire to be bluffed in this simnle fashion into thinking that he is a. pattern of cautious finance and Mil. Massey a reckless plunger. This latest pose of Sir Joseph Hakd's must appear so supremely ridiculous to anyone. who lias followed his career that it is hardly worth serious attention. Still, since he has adopted it, it may bo just as well to expose it fully for the sham it is.. During the absence of tho Prime Minister in England, Mu. Milmh was acting Minister for Finance, and in a speech at Dunedin, shortly affer tlio close of the financial year, ho reviewed the position of the country's finances. He referred, amongst other mat tors, to tile Public Works Fund and .stated that ''if the revenue kept up the same as last year they would he able to transfer £600,000 to the Public Works f tifltlj giYinjj them £1,851,000

which would relieve tlio necessity of ii Loan Kill next Mil. Millar, it will |).j ,s t .|-n, suw nn necessity fnp borrowing ||,j s v ,., 1r f„ r |iiil>liu-u-cn-kM purposes if Mie'revrniie kept up lo enable a transfer of .11100,000 to In- Hind,; 1,, |.h,. Public Works Fund. lli> considered Mini, ;i sum of something under .1:2,000,000 would ha sulueicnt for the. renuiroments of the J'uhlic Works Fund. Not so Sin Joseph Ward. Wlicn he returned he promptly falsified Jlu. Alii,i,.\rh prediction. The revenue kept, up all right, but, Sik Joseph >Vai:d wanted money to sweeten the electorates find so he. brought down ji Loan Bill for a million and a luilf and raised the Public Works Fund to £3,921,10;-)— or double the amount that Mi:. Miu,ai; a few mouths previously had declared to he sufhcient. But that, is not all, To fully appreciate the position it should be known that the Prime Minister, before he. introduced this Loan Bill for a million a lift a half, ahead;/ had aulhorit.i/ under the State Guaranteed Advances Art to borrow over four millions. Thus Sir Joseph Ward, who professes to consider the limitation of borrowing to 3 or 4 millions suggested by Mr. Massey excessive, has himself borrowed at the rate of nearly 5 millions a year for tho past 3 years and for the current year has taken authority to borrow over 5h millions. Can effrontery further go ?