BUDGET POSITION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22259, 6 November 1935, Page 16

BUDGET POSITION

REPLY TO MR. HISLOP STATEMENT BY MINISTER GOVERNMENT AND BOARDS [BY TELECRAPH —SPECIAL REPORTER! WELLSFORD, Tuesday Criticism of tho Budget position by the leader of the Democrat Party, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop, was replied to to-day by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Coates, in the conrso of his speeches in the Kaipara electorate. A point made by Mr. Hislop was that with £200,000 allowed for contingencies Mr. Coates' Budget showed a small surplus of £13,500. In the dying hours of the session the Minister had brought down proposals that would cost £648,'187, so that his next Budget would result in a deficit of £400,000. Mr. Coates said the Supplementary Estimates originally placed at £200,000 actually amounted to £627,616. However, they made provision for all items not included in the main estimates, such as tho retrospective increase in salaries, wages and pensions. The back-dating of salary and pension increases to August 1 involved an additional expenditure for tho year of £140,000, but before it was agreed to, Mr. Coates said, ho was satisfied that the revenue for the year would exceed the Budget estimates by that amount. The statement that he was budgeting for a deficit of £400,000 was quite incorrect and obviously based on ignorance of the true position. " At Warkworth Mr. Hislop stated there were 144 boards controlling the various branches of the Government's activities," Mr. Coates added. " One can only say that Mr. Hislop's arithmetic is amazingly fanciful. The only explanation is that ho must bo including rabbit boards, drainage boards, hospital boards and other local authorities in his total. Outside a few departmental boards co-ordinating various departmental activities, there are not more than 10 or a dozen boards in which the Government is directly concerned, and these include boards such as tho Reserve Bank and the mortgage corporation, controlling important and distinct activities. I challenge Mr. Hislop to give a complete list of the 144 boards which his vivid imagination has called forth."

MR. HISLOP AT PAPATOETOE

ENCOURAGING INDUSTRY

A good reception was accorded to the leader of the Democrat Party, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop, by an audience of 300 at Papatoetoe last night. Mr. Hislop was accompanied by the Democrat candidate for tho Hauraki seat, Mr. S. Rickards. Mr. W. J. Nicholson, chairman of tho Papatoetoo Town Board, presided. Mr. Hislop said his party was fighting to check the drift to national socialistic control of the people and interference with enterprise and industry. The Democrat Party proposed to encourage industry and enterprise. "We will examine State works previously abandoned; we will ask local bodies to formulate and submit schemes and if these have a reasonable prospect of becoming self-supporting will be put into being," said Mr. Hislop. Individuals, companies and groups of individuals would also be invited to submit schemes. Mr. Rickards also briefly addressed the meeting. A vote of thanks to Mr. Hislop for "his able and instructive address" was carried without dissent. Mr. Hislop, addressed a meeting of about 100 in Clevedon. Ho was given an excellent hearing and a voto of thanks. Mr. Rickards also spoke and was thanked for his address. Electoral rolls MANY TOTALS INCREASED With the closing of the supplementary electoral roll on Monday, tho following numbers of electors are listed in the main and supplementary rolls respectively for the electorates in the Wellington district:—Wellington North, 7920 and 6536; Wellington Central, 8159 and 6787; Wellington East, 12,901 and 5138; Wellington South, 9618 and 4839; Wellington Suburbs, 14,098 and 4971. Reports from other electorates are: — Dttnedin. —The total rolls now are: Dunedin North, 13,095; West, 12,646; Central, 13,433; South, 13,479; Chalmers, 10,038. All show increases on the 1931 rolls except Dunedin South. Franklin.—The electoral roll contains over 700 more names than did the roll for the 1931 election. Tho number on the roll is now 10,208, as against 9443 on the 1931 roll. Hamilton.—There are 9588 names on the maiu roll and 4171 on the supplementary roll, a total of 13,759. This represents an increase of 729 names as compared with the numbers on tho 1931 rolls.

Marsden. —The supplementary roll closed with 2168 names. The general roll contained 10,014, of which 383 have been removed. This makes the grand total for the electorate 11,799. At last election the grand total was 10,488. Raglan.—The total number of electors on the main and supplementary rolls is 10,513, a decrease of 1384 as compared with the 1931 rolls. R-otorua.—There is an increase of 730 names on the electoral rolls as compared with the 1931 figures, the total now being 13,260. Thames.—The rolls have closed with a total of 11,984 names, there being 9763 on the main roll and 2221 on the supplementary. In 1931 the total was 11,190.

Tauranca.—The supplementary roll contains 2020 names, which, added to 9384 on the main roll, gives a total of 12,004. Waikato.—The total number of electors on the roll is 11,853, as compared with 9918 in 1931. Waitomo.—The rolls have closed with a total of 11,004 names, an increase of 1033 as compared with last election. SUPPORT FOR GOVERNMENT RESOLUTION AT TIRATJ [by telegraph—own correspondent] TIHAU, Tuesday A meeting of farmers and business men at Tirau this evening, presided over by Mr. L. Watkins, carried a motion expressing appreciation of the National Government's efforts to stabilise economic conditions in New Zealand during a world-wide depression. The meeting also affirmed its continued support of the National Political Party, and expressed its confidence in Mr. O. H. Clinkard as the member for Rotorua electorate.