LABOR AND THE SURPLUS

Evening Star, Issue 18627, 7 May 1924, Page 9

LABOR AND THE SURPLUS

HUGH OVERESTIMATED.

WELL UNDER £2,000,000.

(Per United Press Association.]

WELLINGTON, May 6,

“ Referring to a telegram from the Christchurch Labor members of Parliament, which, I presume, appeared in the evening papers oi yesterday, which were in print before the copy reached me,” Mr Massey said, ” it compares the date upon which the information with regard to the public accounts is supplied in New Zealand with the date upon which similar information is supplied in England; but the two cases are not parallel, because in, Great Britain the cash received is issued out of the Exchequer to the various departments, and on March 31 the balance is struck between the receipts and issues. This is regarded as a surplus or deficiency, as the case may bo. In New Zealand all expenditure is made through the Treasury, and to account properly for this expenditure it is necessary to clear all imprest vouchers received up to March 31 before the separate votes can be charged. In addition, all revenue received into the public account at the bank at Wellington must bo correctly credited, and as the various cash accounts are obtained from the receivers throughout the dominion, it is a matter of several weeks before the Treasury can strike a balance of the cash In the bank at the end of March. This affords no criterion of the state of the revenue account, as the balance of the public account is made up of public works moneys other than the loan mud, besides the revenue.

“ In the United Kingdom the departments are allowed from ton to twelve months to complete their accounts and havo them audited and presented to Parliament. In New Zealand, on the other hand, abstracts of receipts and expenditure for the year must bo audited by May 14 and then gazetted. This, together with the appropriation account, must he presented to Parliament, if then sitting, or, if not sitting, then within ten days of tho next ensuing session. Details of revenue and expenditure are audited and presented to Parliament as soon as practicable.

“ Tho Public Revenues Act says that tho Treasury shall, within fourteen days after the end of each financial quarter, except tho last, and within thirty days after the end of last financial quarter, prepare and send to the Audit Office an abstract of tho revenue and expenditure of the public account, as provided by this Act during such quarter; and shall, within thirty days after tho end of' each financial year, send to the Audit Office a similar abstract of the revenue and expenditure of tho public account during that vear.

“ The law in this respect has been strictly complied with. There has been no suppression, and the usual course is being followed. So far as the information with regard to' the position is concerned,"! have already published tho figures of the imports and exports for tho last financial year, while the facts with regard to the revenue and expenditure on the larger departments have also been published, I presume, in every newspaper in New Zealand. I'have also indicated that the surplus would bo satisfactory and substantial.

“ As the members who signed the telegram are absolutely wrong in their premises, so they are very far from oorreet in their deductions, for which I am afraid they will not apologise or withdraw. As for" the suggested surplus of 1 well over £3,000,000 ’ (using the words in the telegram), I am sorry that such is_ not the case; but it is a surplus which will satisfy the public, as it will bo found to bo the result of the industry of the people and strict economy on the part of the Treasury. The financial department’s balance carried forward from March 31 is now being used, and is essential for covering that period when tho expenditure, is in excess of the receipts, which is the case at the beginning of each financial year. “To satisfy my friends and show them that it is not well to jump at conclusions, 1 may say that the surplus will he well under £2,000,000. Only yesterday, in dictating an article which is intended to be made public in a journal well known to certain sections of Hew Zealanders, I intimated that within a few days I would be able to give the exact amount of the surplus and other particulars iu connection with public accounts. If my friends will read the Public Revenues Act, from which I have already quoted, they will : find that I have still eight days to go. I “In their statement that ‘without in--1 creasing taxation by a single penny pieco the Government could meet the demands of tho public servants,’ Messrs M'Combs and company have again fallen into a serious error. To meet the demands that have been made by the different departments, it goes without saying that an increase to one department means an increase to all others. It would have been necessary not only to refrain from reducing taxation during the coming session, but also to increase it by a considerable amount. Having, after a long struggle, got the finances of the dominion back to a satisfactory position, I am not inclined to take any risks. I know exactly what a suggestion such as has been made to me would mean if given effect to—another depression and very serious unemployment all over the country, because tiie money that under ordinary circumstances is spent in employing labor would have to be handed over to the collector of revenue. “I wish I could make the Labor members for Christchurch understand that all taxation is a levy upon industry, and affects the wage-earners more seriously than any other section of the community. It is scarcely necessary for me to (junto figures with regard to the wages paid to raihvaymen. I should like to see every other worker in Hew Zealand paid as well as they arc, but unfortunately it is not possible to do it, There was a table published iu a Christchurch paper on April 23 which must havtj been a revelation to anyone who chose lt> read it, and which has caused spmewhilt serious dissatisfaction among the workers employed in other industries, especially in the country districts. It is absolute nonsense to say that the Government has thrown the workers back to the position they occupied over thirty years ago. Genuine workers have admitted to me repeatedly that they were never so well off as since the present Government came into office. Salaries wore increased to employees of the State in tho first year after our taking office. During the war period bonuses were several times arranged for until tho war came to an end, when it was calculated that the average wages had risen in the combined Hew Zealand services from £162 per annum in 1913 to £215 in 1923. This includes juniors and female employees, but excludes message boys._ “I hope my friends will be satisfied with the information which I have supplied. If not, Parliament will soon meet, and they can then get all tho information they want.’’