THE SURPLUS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11303, 31 August 1922, Page 4

THE SURPLUS

HOW IT IS USEQ 1 HON AV. DOAVNTE STEAYART ANALYSES THE POSITION. TREASURY BIT,US SOON. The Government lias been twitt< d lately by members of the Labour l a'• iy in the 'House of Representatives with having a surplus of from four to sewn and a half millions of money, out of which it might have done a greai cloyl more for the -unemployed than it has done, ©peaking in the financial debate last 'evening the Hon. AV. Oowni-j Stewart set out to answer this criticism by explaining the position. ' The" quarterly statement showed, he said, that at March 31st there was £7,500,000 in the Treasury, either in cash or in investments. During the earlier months of the year the amount represented in cash was £4,800,000. That had to he used for all sorts of payments during ■ the early months of iihe year, to such an extent, in fact, that on June 30th the amount had dropped to £1,700,000. That was due to payments having to be made and to revenue not coming in in the early months of tile year. The whole of that cash was being paid out_ next month, and they would then he in the position advocated by some of the Labour speakers of having to issue Treasury Bills. THE SECURITIES. The question had been ashed, said Mr Stewart: “What about securities?’ It was quite true that there had been securities to the value of £2.300,000, but these had drooped to £1,700,000. The position of these securities was that there were accounts such as forestry and public worhs which had authority to" raise borrowed money and they were in the habit of receiving advances. So long as the Treasury had cash in hand it was much more economical to lend it to these departments than for the deportments to go on the markets and borrow it. Tho figures he had quoted were no refle.tion on the state of the Treasury, but were merely the results of arrangements to mart accounts. As to the expenditure on public works, last year the Government spent £5,500.000 in that quarter as against £.3,000,000 in the previous year, and this largely in an endeavour to keep down unemployment. It was wrong of the Labour Party to imagine that the members of the Ministry did not feel concern for the people who were out. of employment. UNIONS CONTRIBUTING TO UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF. Mr Stewart raised the question as to whether some of the wealthy trades unions might not contribute something to the relief of the unemployed. Mr Holland: There are no wealthy trades unions in New Zealand. Mr Stewart asked if the Labour members had seen that the British trades unions had contributed over £8,000,000 last year to the relief of unemployment. Mr McCombs: They are contributing monthly in Christchurch. Mr Holland: They are doing it day by day in New Zealand, and what we are demanding is that the people shall have work, not oharity. . . The unions are levying themselves every day for people m distress.