BORROWING AUTHORISATION (From Our Own Correspondent.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2801, 20 November 1907, Page 12

BORROWING AUTHORISATION (From Our Own Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, November 12. When the Railways Improvements Authorisation Bill, which proposes to authorise the Government to borrow another £150,000, was under discussion in the House to-day there was a brief discussion upon the large borrowing powers which , ■the Government now possesses.

The Premier explained that the money would be required mainly for the AucklandPenrose and Dunedin-Mosgiel duplications. These were found to be works of considerable magnitude, and much difficulty had been experienced on bofh lines owing to the nature of the country through which the work had to be taken. The AddingtonRoUeston duplication, on the other hand, was through easy country, and this money would not be required for that.

Mr M&ssey, referring to the bill, said this was about the fourth loan bill they had had this session. To begin with, there was the bill for th'o million loan, then there was one for £200,000 for the erection of post offices at Auckland and Wellington. This was followed by another one of £100,000 for the Hutt road and railway, and now they had* this bill for £150,000— in all £1,150,000. He could not understand why the Premier had not brought down a loan bill for a million and a-half in the first instance. To a certain extent he was misleading the public. In addition to these authorisations the Government had authority to borrow under the Land for Settlements Act £500,000. under the Advances to Settlers Act £500,000, under the Loans to Local Bodies Act £250,000, under the Advances to Workers Act £200,000, and under the Maori Land Settlement Bill £50,000, Under all these authorisations, therefore, the Government would have authority to borrow £2,950,000; and, yet that was not quite all, because it could also borrow for the Dairy Industry and Scenery Preservation Acts, which would make & total authorisation of about £3,000,000 for the current year. No doubt, he said, the country was developing rapidly, but these enormous borrowing powers meant that a responsibility was placed upon the shoulders of the Government to get the money at the lowest rate of interest, and to sec that the taxpayers got value for the expenditure, so that the credit of the colony would not be injured. Mr Gray said he would have liked to have seen the improvement of the Lyttelton tunnel included in the present bill. The present slate of matters in connection therewith was remarkable.

The Premier, in reply, complained that Mr Massey's speech was calculated to do harm. He stated that the whole of the money for advances to settlers was now being obtained 1 from the repayment of loans to the department and interest that had accumulated; but on consultation with Mr M'Nab he modified this statement to the extent of. saying that they were not borrowing more than £150,000 a year. As to loans to locaj bodies, he said there were accumulations in the Government account* for whjoh they must find investment, and these, icouOjnJations were being used for loans to local Dodies. Ih fegwd 1 to tge loans to local bodies and advances to settlers no fault could be found. As to these duplications of railways, they were not in the nature of ordinary work. In connection with land for settlements, the Government was often blamed for not taking still larger borrowing poweu. In

this case they had a good asset in the pfro- : perties acquired. He complained that Mr Massey's statement might be transmitted over the cable to London for the purpose of creating: alarm, and just at present the financial position was oi. a very dangerous character. In regard to the Lyttelton tunnel, he said the Government was carrying out the work between. Christchurch and Lyttelton in a fairly satisfactory way.