The Dominion SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1928. FACING REALITIES.

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 70, 15 December 1928, Page 8

The Dominion SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1928. FACING REALITIES.

-Following so closely as it does on the the election Certain amount of disappointpolitical programme is bound to cau e Governme nt has not ment. Excuse has been pu toward thatt>he had sufficient time to fully develop its p 1 Unr T’t a he e same tatmust be recognised that evenjn the short period that he has been in office the Prime Munster has found necessary to modify his buoyant electron expec.tat.ons of distribution of cheap loan money. campaign was his The outstanding feature of ynto 1/0,000.000 loan proposa , w llorrow . 160.000,000 at 41 per a special scheme of his own 4 s r cent This financing cent, to lend to settlers and workers a was to be done without any call on the taxpayer '° SS There can he no doubt as to this election promise Yet as confronted with unexpected difficulties; and for the trnre bemg least must be laid aside. . , w , f th; We are not inclined to quarrel with Sir Joseph admission. On the contrary he is to be i. 2 the realities of the position and recognising so promptly his inapuity ;o C put£: scheme Into practice. But wh e tbs may be satd rn his favour,-the fact cannot be ignored that Sir _gh Ward election success was mainly due to his promised millions of 4$ per cent, loan money. „ . Had Sir Joseph Ward been inexperienced in political affairs and unfamiliar with the problems which from time to time a Finance Minister, there might be some ,^ u se for his errgeou estimate of the financial position. But it is only fair to assul that when he made his election promises he did so st, {g of the financial situation and with a proper appreciation of t difficulties liable to be encountered. . Indeed it was because of his past experience and c aims asa financier that electors swallowed what was described in the United Party’s advertisements as: “The boldest, most amazing, and comprehensive policy you have ever read.” Those same advertisements, ft may be recalled, announced that “Sir Joseph Ward, world-famed financer,” would raise “£70,000,000 without one penny additional taxation direct or indirect.” ... And now we are brought from the clouds of fancy to the solid earth of realities. It is extremely unfortunate that in ms first policy pronouncement as Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward should have had to admit that his much-vaunted cheap money scheme must stand over till some future happier day.