BUOYANT REVENUE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 9, 10 July 1912, Page 3

BUOYANT REVENUE

RETIRING MINISTER'S STATEMENT SUCCESSOR "ON A GOOD FINANCIAL WICKET" When the financial statement of tho Minister of Finance (Hon. A. M. Myers) was presented to Parliament yesterday afternoon (its main features were published in last night's Post), Mr. Myers said he thought they had every reason to congratulate themselves on the buoyant state of the revonue. It was- quite clear that there would be a surplus at the end of the year, and he ventured to say that his successor would rejoice at the satisfactory financial position «f the Dominion. Considering the fact that there were four and threo-quarter-million of unexhausted authorities and tho fact that four and u-half milli»ns of loan had been floated, he did n»t consider it would b© necessary to go on the London market far some time. Ac it would not be his privilege to deliver, the Financial Statement, he desired to impress upon the House and the Dominion that they had a very flourishing Treasury, and that the outlook was very premising. Sir Joseph Ward congratulated Mr. Myers on having read a- statement of such*an interesting character. It ought to givjo Mr. Myors'fi successor full confidence in the future. When he called attention to the fact that many of the items had been harshly criticised in the past, ho was entitled to direct the attention of the House to what he considered t» be a very important _aspect of the matter. Ket infrequently* he had heard remarks made as to the unsatisfacttly condition of affaire in regard to the different Acts authorising the raising of loans. It appeared always to be futile t» direct attention t» the fact that these authorities were given for a vpry much longer 1 peried than one year. The new Minister ®f Finance would have unexhausted authorities for £4,750,120, applying to almost every branch of tho utility requirements of the Dominion. He was locking forward with considerable interest ,t» seeing hew many of those items were t» b« reduced, because if the arguments of the opponents of tho borrowing were sound none of the authorities ought to be used. As on© interested in the welfa.ro of tho country he was leaking forwaa'd to any further proposals that might be made in connection with borrowing. He recognised that there must be further loan authorities obtained for public works, but in his opinion the general condition of the finance of the country, as set out in the Minister's statement, was extra ordinary, and fully demonstrated the buoyancy of the revenue and the healthy condition of the finance. They might look back into the history of the Dominion, and he thought he was right in saying that ho defied tho oldest person, in or out of Parliament, to recall anything like tho financial position that the Minister had put forward that day. He estimated a surplus of £1,688,000 at the end of tho present year," and he (Sir Joseph Ward) thought the estimate was fully justified. Of course, the actual position could not be gauged until they knew what remissions of taxation were to be proposed. That could only b» known when an anno unrernent on the subject was made by the new Prime Minister. He (Sir Joseph Ward) desired, however, to point out that the Government was coming in on a magnificent financial wicket. In reply to an interjection Sir Joseph Ward said it would be found that tho strong financial position of the Government would not deter members from asking for their full quota for the back* blocks. As a matter of fact, he added, the financial position was remarkably satisfactory. It was a good thing for the country that it was so. He called attention to it because it had been a subject of discussion in the House more than once, and 'it had been suggested that the Government was not so strong as it ought to be. The paper was then laid oa the table.