RETRENCHMENT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 267, 12 November 1909, Page 7

RETRENCHMENT.

REASONS FOR TOE STEP.

FURTHER EGONOMIE^TO BE

EFFECTED.

The Government retrenchment scheme was dealt with as follows in the Financial Statement oil Wednesday night:— The revenue for several years had, as you are aware, continuously increased to such an extent that from time to time heavy reductions by way of remissions both in taxation and in the receipts of the various departments have been effected^ I would remind you of the fact that during tho last fifteen years the total amount of remissions amounted to nearly seven millions, and of that amount during the session of 3.907 the last remissions in taxation and reduction of revenue were made to the extent of £600^000 per annum. The extraordinary drop ift the value of some of •our principal products brought about an alteration in the commercial condition of the. country that told its tale upon the revenue, and more particularly with respect to that derived from the Customs branch. For the six months of the present year the Customs revenue is not satisfactory. It is, however, the worse half of the year, and I should expect that during thtf j remaining portion] very liueh heir ter results;will be obtained; but it is my duty in dealing with the financial position, of %ho. country to /provide against,.» possible continuance of the i shrinking ihat has taken place. This fall in the Customs revenue is due to reduction in the imports.* In view of the^tieavjr fall in revenue brought about from the* causes I have indif. cated, on the top of the large reductions' made, it adversely affected our general financial results; and i reduce tion of public expenditure became necessary. This the Government at once faced, though naturally, with reluctance, as the removal of pen from their I positions, with the 'trouble it entails, is a most painful duty for any Government to perform. It is not, j of course, possible for the effect of retrenchment to come withiii the period of? oneyear, ,arid it is- obviously necessary to wait some .time ; before-the total.result of retrenchment can be seen. It is impossible in any 'country where you have 'largely, expanding revenue from year to yeai\to. carry on the work of departments without a considerable increase in staffs, and as the result of a heavy fall in the revenue the converse must of necessity arise. Advantage was taken of the position of affairs to amalgamate a. number of departments, and while we formerly had thirty departments we now have but nineteen—that is, fifteen of the Civil Service and' four of the outside departments, namely Government Life Ins'»lran6&,, •. Public Trusts, State Fire and Advances to Some months ago I set lip a committee, consisting of five of the high officers of the public service' of wide financial experience, namely the Con-, troller and Auditor '•General, the Secretary to the Treasury, the Commissioner of Taxes, the Assistant Secretary to the Post Office and the Accountant of Railways, for the purpose of examining into the whole of the accounts as carried on in the various departments, with a view to the establishment of a uniform system, and I hope before long to receive a report from the officers named.1 The outcome of this will certainly lead to further economies being effected. Necessarily it will takersome time under the amalgamated departments before it oan be expected that the full results will be achieved, but1 I look forward within a reasonable period to find as the outcome of; the- important changes effected that the valuable services we have possessed in the past will be maintained, though on somewhat dfferent lines, and one making for more economical administration. I may say for the information of the House that the,total number of employees who were affected by the reductions put into operation was of all classes 910. Unfortunately, simultaneously with the heavy drop in .the revenue a temporary depression existed in portions of the country, and on that account every effort was made to enable the employees of the service to continue as long as possible. This was done in order to minimise as much as possible the effect upon them of losing their positions at a time when other employment was more difficult than usual to obtain. But for this reason the reductions that had been authorised would hava come into operation at an earlier date. To give those members of the service whom it was found necessary to -retrench an opportunity of obtaining homes for ihemselves, special blocks of land were set apart for selection by them and by other landless personjß under the improved farm conditions. These sections were made available in September and October, and were balloted for amongst the applicants. The intention of the Government was to set aside 400 sections, aggregating 60,000 acres. It was, howover-,' found that^land of sufficiently gfiod quality and reasonably near the Mmn Trunk Railway could ho£ be obtained to carry out in full the original proposals. In the Auckland land district- there were three settlements containing 86 sections with an area of 22,941, acres, for which 358 persons . applied; in Taranaki there were two -settlements- containing 120 sections with an' area, 0f.*20;085 acres, for , which 257 persons applied; in the Wellington land district 103 sections containing an area of 143,420 acres, for which there were 550 applicants. ' The total number of sections wa« 310,

containingfanaJteaiof 47,444 acres, for <wjndh tthere .\«?Ee 31155 applicants.