Grey River Argus FRIDAY, July 9th., 1926. THE BUDGET.

Grey River Argus, 9 July 1926, Page 4

Grey River Argus FRIDAY, July 9th., 1926. THE BUDGET.

The Financial Statement which the Hon. W. Downie Stewart yesterday submitted to Parliament may commend itself to financiers as being wisely conservative, but the fact is not to be disguised that the Dominion is becoming, if any thing, less solvent in the light of, the possibilities which have compelled the Finance Minister himself to adopt a conservative outlook. For the past year the gross national debt has grown by more than thirteen millions sterling, and the Budget remark that assets, as against that increase, have increased to a extent, does not disguise the fact that the nioneylendei s have a stronger grip upon the community. The Minister admits that the surplus is made up largely of customs taxation, to which the rich and poor both contribute, but the land And income taxation returns show a decrease of over £86,000. Contrasting the customs increase of over £BOO,OOO with this, it is evident that the wage-earners have been mulcted to a greater extent than before, while the well-to-do have relatively escaped lightly. It is noteworthy that a smaller customs revenue is anticipated for the current year, on the strength of the fact that our imports last year were | very large—over fifty-three mil-, lions, or four and a quarter millions more valuable than our exports were. Surely, when wealth is leaving the country in such a i volume, some at least of it could have been secured fiscally to cheek the growth of the public debt! Instead, the Minister actually apologises because he is not proposing a further reduction of the taxation on riches. The item

of £150,000 increase in the pension outlay contrasts very modestly with the concessions enjoyed by the wealthy. The public works outlay itself is less than the customs revenue, while the State advances, totalling over six and a quarter millions, are doubtless covered by part of what is termed the assets, increase as against the public debt. It remains to be seen, however, whether, from a State viewpoint, the assets, turn out as valuable as the estimate, but there is no doubt that, from a national standpoint, these.advances will be more than profitable in the ultimate result. The expediture of about £lOO,OOO on immigration during the year, as the Minister remarks, is less than the year before last, showing just how little the State is doing for the many new-comers arriving' every month in the county. The actual revenue inc;ease was less than one million, to which the Post and Telegrapß Department .contributed the substantial sum of. £370,000, showing that a cheapening of the services brings better results. The growth in the interest charges increased expenditure to the extent of over a quarter of a million, and other debt charges grew by over £200,000 during the twelve months, while railway expenditure is shown as having increased by close on £350,000. No doubt, the growth in expenditure, apart from borrowing, is well enough warranted by the increase in population, and' the Minister claims the figures show that an economy policy is still being followed, but the results obtained for the expenditure as a whole do not by any means demonstrate that it is economically laid out. The Minister estimates decreases in customs, land and income tax. and. under some other headings, and his estimate of total revenue for this year is twenty-four and a quarter millions, compared with the actual revenue of nearly twenty-four and three-quarter millions last year; while the expenditure is estimated for the year at £23,986,616, compared with the actual outlay of nearly half a million less last year, so that there is an estimated surplus of about a quarter of a million for the present year. In point of fact, the surplus is likely to be greater, but it will come from taxation, to which the poor largely will pay as well as the lieli. In view, as already remarked, of a big growth in borrowing, the past, year’s surplus is a mere bagatelle, and the boast of the Reform Party that it stands for sound finance is merely a boast, without any foundation in fact.