NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20841, 7 April 1931, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

NATIONAL FINANCE

A suggestion that the state of the national finances should be comprehensively reviewed by Parliament was made recently by Sir Hilton Young, who was Financial Secretary to the Treasury in 1921-22. He expressed tho opinion that under present conditions once a year, at Budget time, is not often enough for the country to be told how it stands in the matter of solvency. "Other opportunities of financial discussion in the Commons are not full enough," he said. "The rules of order prevent tho House from discussing anything but the particular expenditure proposed. That is purely not commonsense. What is needed is that all proposals for expenditure should always be considered in relation to each other, and to the state of national prosperity and public revenue. The result is that the Commons has no grip on financial policy. Of course, there is no complete remedy save that the people and all their representatives should realise that we cannot go on spending public moiiey and taxing at the present rate without disastrous consequences. But it would be a useful step toward that to enable the House of Commons to grip the situation, and to do that it must have more full and more frequent opportunities of being told how things stand by Ibe Chancellor of the Exchequer, and of discussing national finances as a whole and not piecemeal."

RELIGIOUS INDIFFERENCE,

A correspondent of the Yorkshire Post recently attributed tho growth of religious indifference to the intellectual pride engendered by the introduction 30 years ago of sufficient instruction in chemistry and physics to "knock the bottom out of all the claims of tho Christian religion to any further attention from the developed intelligences" of the rising generation. In the course of a reply to this theory, the vicar of Leeds, Canon Thompson Elliott, wrote:— "I am not maintaining that tho general impact of modern science on popular thought has nothing to do with present religious indifference, but I do seriously maintain that it is a minor factor. It concerns a few people only. The greater number are much more influenced by the changing social habits of the people, the decline in the influence of tradition and authority, the cult of freedom as though it were an end in itself and not simply a means to a greater pud, and other things which are only remotely connected with chemistry and physics. For instanco, there is no more striking feature of the present situation than the decline in Sunday morning worship. Most churches are affected by it, yet many of them retain good or even large congregations in the evening. This has clearly nothing to do with the relations between religion and science. Doubts which assail one on Sunday morning have not vanished by tho evening, only to return in full forco when next Sunday morning comes round."

AUSTRALIA'S GOLD RESERVE,

" Mr. Theodore's latest proposal to . transmit to London the gold held in reserve against the Commonwealth note issue to discharge current revenue liabilities has upon its face all the appearance of a desperate expedient, and it will be so regarded," the Melbourne Argus declared recently. " The course proposed is necessary only because no other arrangements have been made or can be made for meeting large commitments in London while the Scullin Ministry is in power. . . . The transfer of the gold reserve to London is a measure that can bo taken only once. A person who has been living far in excess of his means may find some jewellery in a case or some cash in a stocking that will help him for the moment. The Scullin Ministry may pay some of its revenue deficits out of reserves specifically provided for the note issue, but that payment will not help il. to meet the deficits that are impending. Nor will it assist in commanding that sympathetic feeling abroad without which it will bo impossible for Australia to formulate any policy of finance extending over a series of years. The Treasurer who finds these nest eggs may be assisted in presenting a more favourable Budget, but hu leaves the fundamental problems for solution to his successor. The use. of the gold rcservo to pay debts in London is not, as Air. Theodoro would have the country believe, an earnest, of sincerity. On t ho contrary, if is a policy of evasion, in addition to having elements of danger u.ll its own."