WHO IS RIGHT?

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 9632, 5 October 1911, Page 5

WHO IS RIGHT?

COST OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS

PREMJER'S STRANGE REPLY.

[By Tez.2&raph.] (Br Our Parliamentary Reporter.) YfETJiINGTON, Oct. 4, An inquiry by the Member for Bruce ! regarding two /contradictory statenfents made by the Miiiister of Finance' f?fls elicited, a routtirkably uninfoiTOtivc reply. In ,'tha Budget of 1906';, when dealing wiilr the public debit xp to 1891, the Minister for Finance pfesified the item "BvMic buildings as non-reproductive and in' tlie. Budget of 1911 as interestbearing;, and Mr, Allen asked which of these statements was correct.

j The Minister's reply was printed in to-day's- supplementary Order' Paper, Following, a remark that Mp Allen appeared: toi be quibbling was a' denial that he Had ever stated that public buildings were 1 reproductive. Nor were they. Sii- Joseph Ward etattfd thatpublic buildings' might- in connection with loan; money expended upon them be considered indirectly interest-bear-ing, for tile reason that if the loan moneys had not been so expended rent must have 1 been paid in 'every instance. Tlie answer also contained a lengthy and .involved complaint against "tlie unusual and- extraordinary form of finance attack which is calculated to damage the Best interest of the country" adopted by. the Opposition. Mr Allen said that he had long been of opinion that tlie tables attached to the Budgets delivered by the Minister for Finance were not worth the paper they were written on. The Budgets of 1906 and 1911 contained two statements that were absolutely con? trary, and when lie asked which wa6 correct he was given a. reply of which the sole purpose was to give no answer at all. "And then he says lam quibbling," added Mr Allen.

Mr W. 11. Herries (Taurangaj said the question was an awkward one, and the Prime Minister had'evaded it in a characteristically capable manner. The opinion expressed' by the Minister for Railways was directly opposed to t-lio Prime Minister's statement. He assured Mr Allen that public buildings were directly interest-producing and properly classed ■ as reproductive and lie challenged anyone - to deny it. Mr Allen: Which statement is right? Mr Millar: The Budget of 1911 is absolutely right. In 1906' the Government did not take credit for a portion of the public debt that was reproductive. We take it now and we can prove it.