BRITAIN’S WAR EXPENDITURE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLII, Issue 10119, 29 October 1917, Page 5

BRITAIN’S WAR EXPENDITURE.

SELECT COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATIONS. (London Times’ Telegrams). LONDON, Oct. 27. The Parliamentary Select Committee on National Expenditure has submitted its interim report. It recommended that the General Stall' should be required to consider the financial aspect when considering alternative proposals, and that all army commands should be impressed with the need of further economies. An efficient method of checking waste should bo devised. The Committee recommends to Cabinet that the General Staff should consider whether so large a force of troops and territorials were required for home service and munition work. The cost of guarding a post by a single sentry was £BSO annually. Brass shell cases and boxes worth several millions had accumulated in Franco. The Committee strongly urges a stronger financial check at the Ministry of Munitions. The responsibility of settling the prices of munitions contracts was not yet determined, despite the fact that its expenditure was already over £1.000,000.000. The gross war cost to September 30 was about £5,000,000.000, _ and the gross deadweight added to the national debt, after deducting advances to the A 1 lies and Dominions, which amounted to £1,321,000,000, and also the war revenue, would be about £3,000,000,000. If the war expenditure and all receipts continue at the present rate it would cadi half-year add roughly £1.000,000,000 gross to the national debt, or £750,000,000 after dc- ; ducting advances to Allies and Dominions. 1 UNRELIABLE DUTCH RETURNS. LONDON, Oct. 26. . Sir Walter Townlcy, British Minister at ! The Hague, declares that the Dutch returns regarding the transit of sand and gravel are unreliable. The British embargo on telegrams to Holland will not bo . abolished till the traffic is stopped. The . British Government lias no thought of submitting tho dispute to arbitration. A statement has also been made that America will not send foqd to Holland until tho Entente’s demands arc satisfied. GERiMAN WARSHIP SEIZED. Australian-New Zealand Cable Association. LONDON, Oct. 27. Reuter learns that the German warship seized by Brazil is the gunboat Eber.