AMOUNT OF SURPLUS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18703, 8 May 1924, Page 10

AMOUNT OF SURPLUS.

THE "ALLEGED" &5,000,000.

CRITICISM CONTINUED..

LABOUR 7 MEMBERS' 'ARGUMENT.

|"BT TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

, CHRISTCHUPCK. Wednesday. The Canterbury Labour members, replying to Mr. Massey's comments on their letter, saya: "The. revenue for the first 10 months of the financial year was -well ahead of last year, and expenditure lower. If this was maintained during the last two months the surplus would be in the region of £3,000,000, as alleged. We are anxious to see ■if there was some extra* ordinary expenditure in the last two months, and whether capital expenditure, such as the repayment of loans other than Treasury bills,; has been met out of revenue.

"Up to 1921 the Government Statistician used to publish, month by month, Consolidated Fund figures showing the actual .amount entered in the Treasury books. Since 1922, however, the practice has been to withhold figures for January, February and March until the surplus is declared. It is this recent innovation which we complain about. We are interested to learn from you when the law compels publication of the figures, but we still see no reason why facts, which were available in past years, should now be withheld until - the law compels publication."

USUAL PRACTICE FOLLOWED.

ACCOUNTS READY IN A WEEK. fBX TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON", Wednesday. A reply has been sent by the Prime Minister to the telegram from the Christchurch Labour members. He says their estimate of the revenue and expenditure for the last two months of the financial year was evidently seriously in error,. as the quarterly accounts when published will reveal. " You are aware, of course," says Mr. Massey, " that the revenue and the expenditure for the- last two months are by comparison with the preceding 10 months, nearly always abnormal, and calculations must be made accordingly."

As to the suggestion that there may have been some extraordinary expenditure during the last two months, and that capital expenditure, such as repayment of loans, has been met out of revenue, Mr. Massey says that as a matter of fact, the repayment of loans lias nothing to do. with the surplus in connection with ordinary revenue and expenditure, which latter comprises permanent charges and departmental appropriations. Finally, Mr. Massey explains that tho monthly figures . from the Consolidated Fund have not been published in the Abstract of Statistics since the beginning of 1922, because of the frequent misunderstandings which arose out of the difficulty in reconciling departmental monthly figures with the Treasury accounts for the same periods. The accounts for the last quarter of the year will ,be published not later than a week from now, which will be in strict compliance with the provisions of the Public Revenues Act.