FINANCE REFORM.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1512, 7 August 1912, Page 4

FINANCE REFORM.

STATE-GUARANTEED ADVANCES. ACT TO HE AJIJJXDED. An amendment of the Advances Act will be submitted handing buck to Uu office for inveetmont llio funds now held by the Public Trustee. The repayment oi the moneys borrowed by (lie oliice will bt provided 'for in the same sinking fund a; the rest of the public debt. The principal moneys repaid by instalments by present mortgagors will thus be made immediate ly available for advances to new borrow, er,?, and the necessity for further borrowI ing in London to supply the annual need: I of the Department will lx) consider;)!)]} lessened. Loans Falling Due. ; The loans falling due during the ncx eeven vears "arc as follow: — "... . ■ £ From jrriy 1 to March 31, 1913 ... 3,2ii8,66i Vcav eliding March 31, I'.IU 1,777,70' „ 1915 ...... 9,830,86; „ 191G 4,250,70 „ 1917 1,685,21' i, 1918 7243 „ ■ 1919 1,400,01, , Total '.' .£23,176,471 Of these loans there is payable in— London 10,568,551 Australia : 2,i:13,M( Xow.ijZo.-iland, •.......„■..,...•.... .i' 10,474,37) . Of the .t3,295,(i0C falling dhe this year", honourable members will, b<? pleased k know that I have arranged for the renewaJ of .£BOO,OOO duo August 1 at 35 per cent, at pai , , and for the renewal of JJ1,74-I,OGC dim at various dates at 3J per cent, at par, . and- that 1 have every reason to believe that the. negotiations for the romaindei will be satisfactorily 'settled. The .£9,830,835 due in 1915 includes .£3,. 142,(i00 of the .£5,000.000 loan not yet converted. If further conversions lake place, then the .£D,530,81i5 will be correspondingly reduced. Loan Consolidation. The consolidation of our short-dated (debqntnres has fjiveu me grave concern, jII will be seen from the above (able lhai during the next seven years a very large portion of:, our public debt will require cither to be renewed or lo be paid oil' by fresh leans, and arrangements will need to fca made accordingly. The Government doe? not approve of the, issue of short-dated debentures for this country's loans, and is of opinion that a comprehensive scheme for converting them into stock is very necessary. At present 'there, are three kinds of stock— i per cent, maturing in 1929; 3} per cent, maturing in 1940; 3,'per.ccnt, maturing in 1.915. The Government proposes to provide for the short-dated debentures soon, to become due by creating a. further issue of stock at 3J- per cent, 'maturing in not less than twenty years' time. Transfers from Consolidated Fund to Public Works Fund, . Tho total amount transferred since IS9I and up to March 31, 1911, from consolidated fund to public works fund was JC8,030,000. Details of these transfers were given in B—6, 1911. During last year a further sum of .£'500,000 was so transferred, bringing the total up to .£8,530.000. This large amount has not been allotted to any particular class 'of expenditure. Tt seems to me advisable thnt this should bo done, and inquiries will be made to ascertain if such definite allotment can bo made. Public Accounts Committee. 1 I have for some time felt that under the order of reference guiding its proceedings ,in the past the Public Accounts Committee, has not been able to render that service to/Parliament and the country which a responsible body of men liko those constituting that committee might have rendered. 1 am pleaded to say that the Government will amend the order of reference, so as* to give (ho 'Public Accounts Committee the imw (6 call for persons and papers. The order of reference with the above addition will be sufficiently wide to enable the Minister for Finance'to submit to the committee the estimates of revenue and expenditure, both for the consolidated fjind and the public works fund, for its advice. Indeed, it is the wish of the Government that the Public Accounts Committee should havo much more responsibility than in the past. ' T have no doubt the members will accept this proposal in,no party spirit, and that they will by their advice render material assistance in the [■conomical administration of the country's finances. The Union of South Africa has adopted tho'principle of submitting a section of thfl estimates for consideration bv tho Public Accounts Committee. In his Budget speech during the session of 1912. tho Finance Minister, the Hon. Mr. H. C. Hull, states: "I viewed with some misgivings Iho adoption last year of this practice of interposing a Parliamentary Select Committee between the Government and tho House in matters of public expenditure, which are essentially the most important if any Government's responsibilities. But my experience of the working of this syslein in practice has caused mo to modify my views very considerably, tinil I eorliiillv acknowledge (ho value of the committee's work, which T can fee. is destin,'d to prove a source of strength to the i'r'pasury in its efforts to check oxtvurngniicp' of public money." Details of Public Accounts. The members of the present Govevnneiit, when in Opposition, realised the lecessity for placing before member? of PriHiem'eiil every possible detail of pubic expenditure. I nm pleased to sav 'thnt he late Government made a commencelient, with his policy. The details nf the iiiblic expenditure are now in the hmuls if the printer, and as soon as they are ivailable they will be laid before hoiiuirable member?.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT. TO HE DEALT WITH NEXT YEAR, During Hip course of Ihreo w-eks,' and .nth pj muck to do, the Govornment has.

not had time to go into ilic details of a Loci! Government Bill. Tim measure drafted by the previous Administration nas many Rood points, but there arc practical difficulties which prevented its adaption. . Duriii" the recess it is intended to go carefully into the many difficult tiucsi ions which imist arise in the preparation ot a well-thought-out scheme, and it is hoped Hint next year a satisfactory measure, dealing with local Rovorniiiont, will m introduced. It essential that fomotnuig should be dune at onen to replace the present metliod of assisting local bodies, to construct their roads and bridges by a founder system of finance, that thu Government hiiK decided to introduce, this ye.nr « short Bill dealing with the financial aspect of the <|iic>tioi>. "The Bill, will provide that local bodies shall lip classified according to their needs, and according to the measure of their own efforts to meet, the.-.e wants. Government will propo=o, out of public-works moneys raised for the purpose, to pay over to the lecal bodies sums wliich they themselves may siiend on necessary works. Tl\e. ?ums allotted to the most needy will bo larger than those paid to (lie. i\oxt c!af«, aud so on. These subsidies, it is hoped, wiU , the roi\ds-and-bridp:es on the public-works estimates, and finally do away with them altogether. PROCEEDS OF LAND SALES. , PROMOTION OF SETTLEMENT.. For somo years past the proceeds of tl\4 sales of, land, both for cash uiid oa deferred payments, have been paid into the Consolidated Fund. That tho landed estate of tho Crown should bo sold, aud th« proceeds used as ordinary revenue is unsound finance, and I proposo to reform this liy transferring Hie proceeds of sales of land from tho Consolidated "mid to the Land for Settlement Account, which will thereby b? strengthened and rendered less dependent on borrowed money; the change should bo welcome to those who believe (hat the practice of the pnst cannot bo justified, and to thorn who are disposed to welcome, any reform that will promote land settlement.