DOMINION FINANCE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 118, 20 May 1914, Page 8

DOMINION FINANCE

MB. MASSEY IN REPLY TO SIR, JOSEPH WARD. "Speaking concerning the Prime Minister's statements that when the Reform Government came into power they found the Treasury chests depleted. Sir Joseph Ward stated that the Prime Minister did not tell the people the real truth as to the cause of the tightness of money that he experienced after he attained office. He did not tell them that the scarcity o£ money was due to the fact that deposits in the Post Office Savings Bank had fallen very considerably during the first year of their term of office." The above is an extract from a Press Association report of a speech delivered by Sir Joseph Ward at Hastings last night, and it was shown to the Right Hon. W. F. Massey by a Post reporter this morning. "The failing off in the deposits of the Savings Bank," said Mr. iMassey, "was not the only contributing cause. As a matter of fact, the falling off of the deposits was one of the effects of the scarcity of money. I cannot give you the figures at the moment, because I have other business on hand just now. There were instances like this: In the case of the local authorities there were £770,000 of commitments and only £17,000 to meet them. So with the Reserve Fund securities; £775,000 had been borrowed against these securities, which only amount to £800.000. The amount of money which might be lent to any settler was cut dow n by the previous Government to £500. These are all indications of the state of the Treasury when we came into office, and it is quite useless for Sir Joseph Waid or anyone else to quibble, for these facts speak for themselves and cannot bo refuted."

A big load of apples will be taken to South America by the Corinthic, leaving Wellington on Friday aftornoon. Some of these wore grown in tho Nelson district, but tho majority came from Tasmania. The Tainui, which arrived from Hobart last night, brought 10.000 cases of apples, and all those aro being oxpeditiously transhipped to the Corinthic. At tho third annual mooting of tho Wellington Celtic Club, which is to Iks held to-morrow nitrla at Winder's Buildings, a proposal will bo, made to reduce the subscription to 10s per year Prominent lecturers from Australia and New Zealand havo boon scoured for the emuing session, which promißO"s to bo of a varied and ill* /iercsling chai-uetcr.