A STERN WARNING

Gisborne Times, Volume LIII, Issue 5538, 21 July 1920, Page 5

A STERN WARNING

MR MASSEY ON THE FINANCIAL' SITUATION.

LIMIT TO THE CAPACITY OF THE COUNTRY.

BUT OUTLOOK FOR PRESENT YEAR GOOD.

WELLINGTON, July 20. Vv hen members of the House were demanding higher salaries for judges of the Supreme Court and incidentally for other servants of the State of all grades, Mr. Massey took occasion once more to warn the House that there are ’imits to the capacity of the country. j “I ask the House to consider this matter for a moment from the point I of view of the Treasurer/' said Mr. | Massey. “This morning I was en-1 gaged as Minister of Finance in providing for increases of salaries amounting in all to not less than two million pounds per annum. It is an enormous .sum, but it has to be faced.” He went on to say that among those servants of the State for whom increases of salary had to be provided were Judges of the Supreme Court, magistrates, members of Parliament, railway servants, postal officials and other branches of the' public service, school teachers and the police. Fortunately the Treasury was in such a position that so soon as the increases were ordered he would be in a position to author-

iso payment. He did not think i would be necessary to increase taxa tion to provide for the payment o the two millions this year and li hoped that he might not have to d it next year. This would depend oi die markets for our produce on whicl the whole community lived. But h feared that there might be a drop ii prices within a year or two. Thi people of the Dominion, however would have to face an increase ii railway fares and freights for tin increases of pay to railway servant: would have to be borne by the' rail way service itself. So also with the postal department, there would have to be increases in the postal anc telegraph rates and by this meant the department would hear the cosi of its own increases of salaries. He feared that as the other department! were not revenue-earning in quite the same wav the increases for them would have to he borne by the Consolidated Fund. Fortunately there had been surpluses in the past year or two and it was on account of this that ho hoped to be able to provide the extra money without further taxation. The outlook for the present year was good; the country was prosperous and money was plentiful. But we must look ahead and consider what the position would he when the prices for our produce might not be so good, for there was more than a possibility that ere long they would not he so good. For this reason we should not go too fast and he thought we were going just fast and as far as the country could > afford. Members would be told all about this when the Financial Statement came down next week. He had intended that the Statement should bo made to the House next Tuesday. He would try to be ready by that day, but* if he should not be ready lie might ask the House to give him till Wednesday. When the Statement was presented members would know something more of the demands being made on the Treasury and would know what the Government could meet and what it conic?' not meet. The time might come when the Government would have to increase the salaries of some of the higher officers of the State. He was prepared to admit that some of the heads of departments were not now being adequately paid. Mr. Hanan: Some of them are not worth what they get. Mr. Massey said that this was always the case in a big service. Possibly the same might he said of members of Parliament. He recognised the importance of the position held by judges and if the funds would permit he would have much satisfaction in ,proposing further increases for them.—Special to Times.