NEW ZEALAND'S FINANCIAL POSITION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15706, 7 March 1913, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND'S FINANCIAL POSITION.

MR MABIN EXPLAINS. STATEMENT BY MR DAVID .NATHAN. (Pee United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, March 6. A good deal of adverse criticism has 'been aroused by -the statements on the financial position of New Zealand made by Mr A, E. Mabin (president of the Chamber of Commerce) when giving evidence before the Dominions Royal Commission on Wednesday. Mr Mabin told the commission that the country was not paying ita way to the extent of four millions a year and that its financial position was not sound. Under examination by Sir Rider Haggard he stated that the prosperity of this country was not what was generally recognised. This afternoon Mr Mabin attended the sitting of the commission and made the following explanatory statement: —" Regarding some Temarks in answer to questions made by me at the sitting yesterday regarding the relation of exports to imports, more may be read into my answers than I intended. Whilst it is a fact that our exports at present are insufficient to pay. for our imports together with our interest obligations, jet I do not. consjder that the dominion is in any financial danger. The heavy imports of recent years may be largely attributable to importations for works undertaken by the Government and the local bodies, and are in the nature of capital expenditure which will, in _ the course of a few years, bring an adequate return for the outlay. In the meantime the trade returns do not look well, but there is no reason to think that the capital expenditure represented by a considerable portion of our imports will not 6how better returns and tend to increase the volume of our exports.", Later in the afternoon Mr David J. Nathan furnished the following statement on the subject of the country's finances: — J 'Mr Mabin has made statements, speaking, as lie says, for the commercial community, that the dominion 'is not paying its way and that no industries are being developed. If Mr Mabin's statement is correctly reported I, as one of the merchants of this city, a director of the Bank of New Zealand and a'past president of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, desire to have an opportunity of placing on record my statement that *Mr Mabin's remarks would be confirmed by scarcely any other commercial man in New Zealand. It is quite true ihut the dominion foj a few years past has suffered from statements of a similar description made by politicians for party purposes, but none of us here .has ever treated these statements seriously. The present Government, in a statement to' the London press a month ago wheri it invited subscriptions to tlie last/ loan, gave an optimistic yet true account of the national position of the dominion. In the faoe of this statement by. the Government, which is only confirming statements made by the previous Administration, I fear that Mr Mabin, clothed as he is temporarily with the position of president of the Chamber of Commerce, has allowed the remarks he is reported to have made to be given rather too hurriedly and without proper consideration, It would not be opportune to_ go into this matter in any great ■ detail, but a glance at the Official Year Book of 1912 will show that in every walk of life the dominion has progressed, and we know it is progressing in every sense of the word."