BRITISH WAR CREDIT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17066, 26 July 1917, Page 5

BRITISH WAR CREDIT

STATEMENT BY ME BONAR LAW.

BRITAIN'S EXPENDITURE INCREASING. NEARLY SEVEn"mTT,T,IONS DAILY. neuter's Telegrams. LONDON, Juiy 24. In tho House of Oonimons, iVir Bonar Law, in moving the vote of credit lor £bOO,OWJ,<JOO, said it was larger by £It)O,UUU,UX) than any previous vole. Tiie average daily expenditure out of the last vote nad exeeeued Diie 'ostnnate by one nullum daily. The estimate was £5,4x1,0u0 daily, wnereas for J. 12 days of tho financial year t'iio daily expenditure was £0,<90,000. Tho nicreases were in the army, navy, and munitions, half a million advances to the Allies, and dominions half a million, and for miscallaneous £300,1)00 daily. ne was somewhat disappointed, despite the aid of America, that our advances to our allies had increased. We had held throughout that the money spent for our allies was money for ourselves. We were not fighting lor ourselves alone. He was satisfied that tho United States would deal with this question in the same realising that we relied upon receiving in the United States those resources necessary to pay for supplies of all kinds for the Allies. Our total advances to our allies and the dominions were but the total advances to the dominions only were £146,000,000. Part of the increased army expenditure was due to the greater payments to India, because a larger force had been obtained in India tlian was expected. The expenditure on aeroplanes had also increased.

(Received July 25, at 6.45 p.m.) Mr Bonar Law said the daily increase of expenditure, apart from loans to allies, and allowing that that would be subsequently repaid, was £300,000. The Budget estimate would be largely exceeded, mainly owing to advances to Allies. The total of the votes of credit since the war started, was £5,292,000,000. Now .that the country with the greatest resources of the world had thrown into the scale "on our side, h\was'truer tihan ever that we would not want money to assist us in winning the war.

Mr M'Kenna said the present position was that our total expenditure was £8,000,000 daily, and tho revenue was £2,000,000. It would mean an addition of 40d to the income tax, making over 8s in the £1 altogether, and that would cripple trade. The remedy was a curtailment of expenditure. Further labour unrest was certain if prices continued to rise. The credit vote was adopted.