The Lyttelton Times. MONDAY, JUNE 8, 1908. FIGURES AND FICTIONS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXIX, Issue 14704, 8 June 1908, Page 6

The Lyttelton Times. MONDAY, JUNE 8, 1908. FIGURES AND FICTIONS.

It is a little annoying as well as amusing to find a widely circulated newspaper like the Sydney “ Daily Telegraph ” gravely telling its readers that tho Arbitration Court in New Zealand has been a failure, and that tho Government has determined to do away with this tribunal for the settlement of labour disputes and- to set up Wages Boards in its place. But there is ample excuse for tho strange miscou.ceptions concerning tho dominion’s affairs which are betrayed by the Australian and British Press in tho persistent mis-statements of special correspondents, who seom always to he seeking to discredit the policy and administration of the Liberal Government. In the last number of tho “ Insurance and Banking Record,” for instance, tho Wellington correspondent of that very excellent journal sets out to review the financial position of tho dominion, and takes the opportunity to cast suspicion upon Treasury returns which the Primo Minister has been quoting in some of his recent speeches. “Tho increase of £143,999 on railways,” ho says, “ is misleading, as it only represents the revenue side.” Of course, everyone in New Zealand who has given any attention at all to the subject will smile at this comment, but our friends in the Commonwealth may easily imagine that it points to somo inaccuracy in the accounts. As a matter of fact, Sir Joseph Ward took particular care when ho first announced the figures to explain that tho increase was merely an increase in revenue, and that the increase in expenditure had been oven greater, on account of the additional sendees that had been provided and the better pay and better conditions that had been granted to a largo section of tho employees. The important feature of the figures was that, in spite of these concessions and in spite of the absence of the special Exhibition traffic, tho revenue had continued to grow and tho Department had been able to pay tho three per cent upon the capital invested in tho lines, which is now generally accepted as the margin required by a sound policy of national development. There would be little difficulty in earn-, injT four or five, or oven teu per cent from tho railways if the public were content to havo them used simply as a taxing machine, without any regard to the convenience of the community or tho requirements of the country. But, happily, that policy ended with the disappearance of tho last Conservative administration. Then tho correspondent of the “Record,” tailing tho.so indefinite people, the “ expert critics,” as his authority, goes on to say that “ considerable sums are charged to the Public Works Fund that ought to ho paid out of ordinary revenue, and if this were done there would be little or no surplus to transfer, and, on the other hand, no need for it.” This is an old story, which Mr Massey and his friends have repeated again and again, hut it can gain little force by silly reiteration when tho exports themselves are bound to admit that New Zealand makes more generous provision for tho maintenance of its railways out of revenue than does any other railwayowning country in the world. Tho present complaint, at worst, is nothing moro than a complaint against tho method of book-keeping. If the money wore paid out of ordinary revenue, wo are told, instead of the Public Works Fund, there would be no need for a surplus. The obvious retort is that tho money is finally paid out of ordinary revenue, and that the fact of it appearing at one stage as a surplus cannot affect the accuracy of the figures or the soundness of tho administration. Probably we Imve given more attention to this matter than it deserves. But the “ Record ” is a recognised authority on finance, and wliilo it allows its Wellington correspondent .to use its columns for the most discreditable of partv purposes it seema

desirable to occasionally remind the public of tho true position.