TREASURY BILLS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14528, 20 May 1909, Page 8

TREASURY BILLS.

A 'MESS REJOINDER. (Fiiom Our Owx Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, May 19. Says the Dominion this morning:—"Sir 'Joseph Waid's explanation of Treasury bill transactions dots not, affect our coiitentions. Ho c1ai,,,., ( ~,,( i jL . ,-, n . •saved {.iie country interest on £450,000 worth of Treasury bills. Wc "avc him credit for this, although he probably is not entitled to claim credit for that amount. We said. ' Since interest mint I>I'ii'il "pon them it- is afl to the Prime, n ' ellil l,Klt ht ili,i; l ,ilill " lf £450.000.' Where, the Prime Minister N ini.-N-.-t.-liii-r. nn.l this is what we complained til, was ni conveying the impression that this payin;; off „f Treason- bills meant winiL'thiiig hmii. Our contention was that it was a cash-box liausaction. We pointed out that the Government minht at any tnno issue Treasury bills for an increa-vd amount, and had actually done so. Anyone who will trouble to look up the public accounts, as gazetted for the September 'Filter of 190IJ, will see that the Treasury £600,000, whereas al the iK-ginniiifr of lliat year they weie only £400.000, .-'bowing that the Government had issued ££00,000 worth mou- of Treasury bin' than they stalled the year with. N„ „,„,,. timi is made of this by the Prime Minister, iniii si> lar as he is concerned, the public would gather from his statements that the year had been commenced with £400.000 worlb of Treasury bills, and that they had remained at that amount, until the Government, had reduced them t„ (| le £200,000, at which they appeared in the fiim returns for the year. The attitude ot the Prime Minister is quite misleading Ho can at any lime increase the amount ot J reasury bills, and, as shown above lie (I'd so for a period of last year. He can do tn to-morrow, and for all we know lie may have done so since the beginniinr of tho present year. We desire to give" Sir Joseph Ward every credit where he deserves it, and in our article of yesterday we conceded him more, piobablv" than he was entailed to; but wc must express our disapproval of his absence of candour in placing matters of public concern before tho public. The public are entitled to Know the whole facts, not merely those winch it suits the purposes of the GovcMiment to place before them "