FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 140, 10 December 1931, Page 10

FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

EARLY SESSION PROSPECTS

MINISTERS' CAREFUL WATCH

The meeting of Cabinet yesterday— the first since the election—continued until late in the evening, and the business is being resumed this afternoon. Frequent meotings will be held between now and the Christmas holidays.

The financial position is still giviug the responsible Minister and his colleagues in- the Ministry cause for anxiety, for it is understood that, despite the measures taken last session to balance the Budget, the outlook is not such as to inspire confidence in the outcome o,f the operations tor the financial year, which does not close until 31st March. The practical impossibility of forming any proper estimate of what the Budget revenue will be when the financial year is finished was emphasised by the Hon. W. D. Stewart in presenting his supplementary financial statement two months ago, and the returns for the third quarter of the year, closing on 3.lst December, are boiug awaited with interest and some anxiety.

The suggestion was made by Mr. Stewart in the House that it might be necessary for Parliament to make a further review of tho financial position before the close of tho financial year, and tho possibility of a short session being called somewhere about February in order to take measures to check further drift was generally recognised by members as they dispersed before the election. It is not yet clear whether it will be necessary for Parliament to meet before the ordinary time late in June, but a decision on that point may be expected early in the New Year.

In conversation with a "Post" reporter, the Minister of Finance stated that the present financial outlook was not alluring, but he added that if when tho figures became available a small deficit for the current year is threatened, he did not think it would be necessary to summon Parliament.

The Prime Minister (the Eight Hon. G. AY. Forbes) declared in an interview last night that an early session would not be held if it could possibly be avoided. The indications were that the coming year would- be bad enough, and he thought Cabinet would not be anxious to call Parliament together without full cause for doing so.