NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17984, 9 January 1922, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

AUSTRALIA'S DEBTS. A compilation of tho publio debts of Australia has been made by the Sydney Morning Herald. At Juno 30, .1920, the Commonwealth publio debt stood at £401,720,024', and the State debts amounted to £462,650,332, a total of £864,372,356. Against this, allowance has to be made for loans issued in London by the Commonwealth on bohalf of some of the States, totalling £16,750,000; value of properties transferred from the States, £11,636,139; and advances to the States Dut of War Loan Fund, £27,834,937; reducing the total to £808,249,280, Further, municipal loans, current at the end of 1919 —no later information is availabletotalled in all States, £19,847,454. The grand total of Australia's public debts in therefore £828,096,734. Taking Australia's population as 6,426,000, this works out to approximately £152 12s 2d per head. New South Wales has a substantial lead over all the other States with regard to her publio debts. Apart from her share of the Commonwealth public debt, she owes in State and municipal public debts a total of £177,678,355, With a population of 2,096,393, this means that each resident of ,the State is responsible for something like £84 15b Id for State and municipal debt 3 alone. GREATER LONDON. A Royal Commission, of which Viscount Ullswater, the late Speaker, is chairman, has been appointed to investigate the whole system of government of Greater London, to recommend the extension of London, the rearrangement of local areas, the revision of local taxation, and the readjustment of powers as between existing authorities or the transfer of powers to a new authority—in fact, the commission can roam over the whole field and produce a new civic chartci' for the vast area, with its multitude of authorities, known as Greater London, having a population of 7,600,000. Ono of tho greator problems awaiting it is the definition of the area of Greater London, and this involves a study of the movement of population. Just as tlio original City of London overflowed its borders into outer wards, as the City made a junction with its neighbour Westminster, as tho suburbs of both old centres spread nortlj, south, east, and west, until a metropolitan am was mapped out by urban expansion, so now that area is getting congested, and ia spreading its surplus population over Greator London. For many years tho old City of London, within its square mile, has bean losing residents until it is now reduced to a night population of only 13,700, equal to that of a small town. Now it is the turn of the County of London, with its area of 117 squejre miles, to face a diminishing population. The county population began to d<«line after 1901, and between 1911 and 1921 London suffered a numerical loss of 38,436. On the other hand, there is a check to the phenomenal growth of the population of Greater London areas, showing that people are moving farther afield. Tho sphere of decentralisation is widening. Last year's census shows that in ten years Greater London added lest than a quarter of a million to its inhabitants, an increase of 3.1 per cent., which is less than onethird of the rate for the previous decennium, and only about 60 per cent, of tho rate of increase for the whole of England and Wales and for all urban districts. FINANCING PUBLIC WORKS. Commenting on the latost roport by the British Trade Commissioner in New Zealand the Electrical Review reminds its readers that to the British exporter of general merchandise "New Zealand is one of the most attractive of our Dominion markets. Competition from local manufacturers has scarcely yet seriously affected sales from the Old Country, while foreign rivals have in few instanoea succeeded in supplanting British goods in face of the patriotic preference for them which has been consistently displayed by New Zealand purchasers. This goodwill is of special interest just now to the British exporter of engineering material, in view of the electrical developments which are taking place in tho Dominion. . . . The market fleeds nursm> at present for more than one i*ason. Tariff revision is under consideration and, it w said, will follow the lines adopted ir. Australia. This signifies that every effort will be made by means of protective duties to foster the growth of local manufacture. Such a programme should certainly not be lest successful in New Zealand than in tho Commonwealth, in view c f i the advantage possessed by the former in it« sources of cheap water-power. JMwih manufacturers 'should endeavour *o participate in this movement by the supply of the necessary skilled supervision, equipment, and semi-manufactured products." There in yei time, for the Dominion, like every other country, is still suffering from excessive prices of imported goods and depreciated prices of its exports. The neßd fcfr oconomy is likely to lead to the postponement of a portion of the hydro-electric programme. Yet the prospects of a return t 0 normal trade are probably brighter in New Zedland than in most other countries. Mean'vliile, if tho early realisation of New feUiid's full scheme of hydro-electrio eenerativfj .would lead to contracts for IW'.isb 'hjostry, there seems a good case m n i-wi vtud.ir Mr. Lloyd George's new echea* oi fctcdiU for gjsuustiys i&tat"