FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3102, 27 August 1913, Page 55

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

DEBATE IN PARLIAMENT.

WELLINGTON, August 19In the House of Representatives thisafternoon the Budget debate was resumed by Mr J. C. Thomson, who complained that the Budget was devoid of any indication of that great era of reform which the people had been led to expect. There was an entire absence of a constructive policy or of legislation heralding social betterment or national insurance against sickness ar *d invalidity. There was not one word about economy, yet it was well known that enormous waste was going on in the Defence Department. The duties oi Ministers were gradually being shelved on to boards and commissions, nominally to get rid of political influence, which was quite a different thing from political corruption. There was plenty of borrowing in the Budget of a parly which had always denounced borrowing. The increase in the public debt had been repeatedly denounced by that party, but never a word was said about the assets we had against that debt until the Treasurer went to England. There he used the finance of his opponents to help him to raise his own loan. Two of the properties purchased for settlement in Southland were worthless for the purpose, and in his general land policy the Prime Minister dared not now put into effect some of the doctrines he had advocated before the election, such as the aa.'e of the national endowments. '1 here was no reference to the reduction of taxation to cheapen the cost of living; therefore the Prime Minister was now endorsing the policy which he had condemned before the election.

Mr Witty commented upon the statement contained in the Budget that* the country was prosperous. It was prosperous, but the prosperity was not to be lard at the door of the present Government. It was due to the excellent markets and the products of the country. The small man, however, was not benefiting. It was the big man, and he was not being taxed as he should be. lie contended that the Government’s claim that -it had put through progressive legislation would not hold water. The Government was not in power by the will of the people. It got where it was by false preaching, innuendo, the preaching of blue ruin for the whole country, loud cries of political corruption, and sectarianism. He guaranteed that when the Government went out of office it would not have as clean a record as the previous Government. He asked where was the great square deal they had heard so much of? Was it a square deal to reduce telegraph boys’ wages by Is per week, or was it a square deal to the teachers to appoint Mr Garlick at £600? \vas it a. square deal to turn thousands of men off co-operative works or to the people of Waihi to cend the police there as had been done? Vvas it a square deal to prevent the second division of the railway from rising into the first division, and to appoint only men of the right political colour to laud boards and harbour boards? The Government’s freehold was a bogus one. A man could not own his minerals. The bringing down of the Bill had produced covetousness amongst the people, and they were all wanting to buy each ether out. The Government had promised many Bills and additions to railways, but where were these things? They had not materialised, and he did not -think they would either. He criticised the suggestion of the Government to hand over the control of experimental farms to am irresponsible board. Mr Sidey commented on the fact that Ministers had not seen fit to reply to the speeches of ex-Ministers on the Opposition side of the House. He expressed disappointment at the meagre nature of the Budget and the absence of any expression of the Government’s policy. There was nothing regarding labour matters, nothing with regard to legislation in connection with the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, nothing about local' government reform or banking legislation. A,’ those- were matters of extreme importance, and should have been mentioned. Air Mander contended that the present Government had gone considerably further in its one year of office than the Liberals did during any of the 21 years they were in office. He defended the civil service commissioner, citing himself as an instance of the use of political patronage in connection with appointnieints to the civil service. He commended the Government for several measures introduced, including the Local Bodies Loans Bill, the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill, old-age pensions. and the graduated land tax. He had heard Mr Massey say that if the present tax did not prove sufficient to force the large landowners to cut up their holdings lie would increase the amounts. He thought there was little difference between the Liberal-minded men on the Government side of the House and the Opposition side, but to overcome the difficulty which undoubtedly existed he would favour an elective executive. He advocated as a scheme of defence, employment of aeroplanes and torpedoes instead of building battleships, which became obsolete in three or four years. It was unfair for the Government to try to force its way into the Bank of New Zealand by demanding a greater amount of interest than its share entitled it to. If the bank was willing to pay off the one million guarantee it should be allowed to do so., Mr Isitt contended that it was as ridiculous to suggest that the brewers or wine and spirit merchants were identified .with the Liberal party as it was to say that the large landowners were not allied with the Government. He dealt exhaustively with the affairs of the Cook Islands’ administration. Judge APCormack had visited the islands and had reported on the conditions obtaining there. His report was furnished to the Government in December, 1912, and should have been laid on the table of the House before the debate on the Budget commenced, yet members had not seen any sign of it.

The debate was continued by Mr Payne, whose main point was that the new manager of railways was to draw in the way of salary exactly the same amount as the chief engineer of the Panama Canal works who, Mr Payne said, controlled an expenditure of hundreds of millions of pou-ds. He urged the Government to insist upon employers granting a holiday on polling day so as to ensure that every citizen recorded his vote. He maintained that a great waste was going on in connection with the manufacture of defence uniforms, and quoted incidents in support of his argument. August 20. In the House of Representatives this afternoon Mr Harris continued the debate on the Budget. He contended that the Opposition would find out what the country thought of the Reform Government at the next election.

The Hon. Dr Pomare said there was nothing in regard to the administration of the Cook Islands which the Government was afraid to lay on the table of the House.

. Mr Robertson dealt at great length with what he termed political turncoats, and he chided the Government with being on the Ministerial benches by the aid of turncoats. He defended the Social Democratic party against responsibility for the views and actions of the Red Federation, which it succeeded.

Mr R, W. Smith deplored the absence of policy in the Budget. It was as one reformer expressed it, a “crude” statement, devoid alike of originality and initiative. Where were the promises of a reduction in the Customs duties? Where was the square deal to the workers? All the workers had got was the increase in the price of coal and a reduction in the rates of pay on public works. Where was the assured finance for local bodies? The local bodies had never been so starved as since the present Government came into power, because they had diverted £200,000 that ought to have been spent on the backblocks; hence the hack-blockers bad had a bard winter. The freehold given was more or less a farce, and he challenged the Government to do justice to the Main Trunk settlers.

Mr Wilkinson blamed the Liberal party for continuing the practice of paying in revenue derived from land sales to the consolidated fund, the system being wrong. Equally wrong was the system of paying public works salaries out of loan moneys. August 21.

In the House of Representatives to-day the debate on the Budget was resumed by Mr Ell, who justified the time devoted to the discussion of the finances of the country. He said the most remarkable feature about the Budget and the debate was the complete backdown on the part of those who now occupied the Government benches. In this respect one of the most remarkable instanc-j was the Government’s present attitude towards the State Fire insurance Department, which it condemned at its inception, and which was now held up as one of the most successful institutions in the dominion. What, too, did the Government say in the prospectus issued by the Minister of Finance before he raised his recent loan. That prospectus was a complete vindication of those who had been conducting the affairs of the country for the past' 21 years. The Minister of Jauids had admitted that large estates had gradually disappeared, and ho also had to admit that the Crown tenants holding leaseholds were perfectly satisfied. The Budget was also remarkable for the paucity of new matter. There was no new humanitarian legislation, and the Government was simply building upon the foundation laid by the Liberal party. The Government had not taken up the question of developing the water power oi the, dominion, which remained where its predecessors left it. He compared the increases in the graduated land tax made by the respective Governments, declaring that the last increase made by the Reform Government was infinitesimal as against that made by the Liberals. He defended tlie expenditure on public buildings undertaken by the Ward Government, contending that the growth of the public service made that expenditure imperative. He commented upon the unfairness of those speakers who failed to point out that a large proportion of our public debt was interest-bearing, and to draw attention to the fact that concessions had been made to the public, through the Customs, by both .Mr Seddou and Sir Joseph Ward amounting in the aggregate to £870,000. Had the slump not come in ISO 9 even more than that would have been done. He defended the admission free of duty of the chassis of motor cars up to a certain point, because they could not be made in the dominion ; but he suggested a sliding scale so that the business man could get his motor van free, and the man who wanted a £IOOO car would have to pay for it. The principle of the sliding scale should also be applied to many other articles now taxed.

Mr F. H. Smith held that the Liberal party had raised the cost of living to what it now was. In their hour of death they sacrificed their leader, and were now weeping for him to return. Air Buxton contended that there was a greater menace to farmers in the- present Cabinet than there was in the last. What this country mostly needed was a greater advertisement of the qualitv of its produce in the Old Country. During his recent visit to England he was greatly struck by the utter ignorance of the people concerning the virtues of New Zealand produce, especially meat. Poor men preferred to pay Is Id per lb for an English product * rather than buy the socalled “ foreign ” or New Zealand meat at Bd, simply because they did not understand the excellence of its quality. Air Statharn held that the Government had carried out the pledges given on the platforms before the election. He agreed with a reduction of the duties on household commodities, but contended that the consumer did not benefit; the storekeeper seemed to get it all. He defended the creation of the Public Service Commission

on the - grounds that the commission obviated the possibility of nolitical patronage in connection with appointments to the civil service.

Mr Coat-es held that the gum lauds of the north when cultivated would make first-class fruit-growing country. The gnm diggers should have proper safeguards before the lands were taken for the purpose, and the men now employed on the lauds should have first consideration when anything was attempted. Mr Massey moved the adjournment of the debate, and the House rose at 10.50 p.m. August 22. In the House of Representatives this afternoon Mr Atmore continued the debate on the Budget. He said he wanted to know whether Dr Pomare was really in charge of the Cook Islands or whether he, was just a figurehead. He considered that the administration of the Islands .at present left a lot to be desired. It ill became the Minister in charge of the Islands to sneer at men who gave up the pleasures and luxuries of civilisation to indulge in missionary work in the Islands. Dealing with the Budget, he was pleased to see the provision made to foster the fruit-growing industry, which meant a great deal to Nelson. That district had a magnificent future before it in the fruit industry. Already many orders had bee:* received from South America and elsewhere. The workers of the country were getting restive They felt that they were not getting government for the people and by the people. They had a Government of land monopolists and vested interests, who had not the welfare of the people at heart.

Mr Hind marsh said he hoped the Government would cause full and complete statistics to he secured of all trades and industries. He considered that New Zealand lagged behind all countries in that respect. Sufficient encouragement had not been given to the Arbitration Act. The Government’s policy regarding land seemed to Ire to sell the land, borrow money on the security, and lend it out. The Prime Minister had said before the Farmers’ Conference that a man could make a living on five acres. ]f that were so, what an immense future this country had before it He implored the Prime Minister to think of some scheme whereby the great rural problem would be settled. It did not matter whether he sank or lived over the outcome. He should give a lead in the matter. He held that probate duty should fall upon the people who were blocking settlement. He would make it up to 50 per cent. He criticised the method of opening lauds, and instanced a case near Waverley when a block, some of which was 2000 ft high, was offered at £2 an acre, and the settlers taking the land up had to keep un certain dray tracks. Yet the Prime Minister said they wanted immigrants to come out and take up land. There was not enough land for our own people, and the Prime Minister had even admitted that he considered that there was little work offering for farm labourers, most of the work being now done by machinery. People were enticed out here, and when they arri\cd they found land dearer than in England.

The Tlnn. Mr Massey said that land for settlers was not as scarce as was imagined. If Mr Hindmarsh would go on to the land he would give him a section to-morrow, lie had never seen a set of men so embarrassed as were the Opposition during the debate. The Hon. Mr Allen had not gone in for window-dressing, but had put out a straight and plain statement of the affairs of the country, and it was a credit to him. He considered that the Opposition criticism was futile and puerile. Thev had just experienced a more prosperous season than the preceding one, and settlers had risen to the occasion, with the result that the country was in a more prosperous condition than it was in 1912.

For the month o£ July there ha-d been an increase of £596.456 in the exports over the figures of July, 1912. Those figures showed confidence in the Administration. The Government had put forward its policy in July, 1911, and it had adhered to it entirely." It did not change its policy every week or so. He dealt with each of the planks of the Government platform, and contended that each had been carried out. There was not a single point on which the Opposition could agree in the way of the formation of a policy. He considered that members of the Opposition were using the teachers for party purposes, and_ the teachers knew exactly where they were. . The Government was going to see the matter of teachers’ salaries put right. An instalment of what was going to be done would come before the House this session.

A Member: Five pounds a year, Mr Massey : That’s £5 more than you gave them. The Government would increase the taxation of those who could afford to pay A Board of Agriculture would be established, which would be a purely advisory board, no payments being attached to the position. Arrangements had been made for one of the best positions in the Strand, London, for Hie erection of new offices for the High Commissioner It had been asserted that the withdrawals had exceeded the deposits in the Post Office during the Government’s regime, but the figures proved the contrary to be the case. He admitted that the unauthorised expenditure was heavier for last year than it had been for many years past, and the reason was the necessary • expenditure on railways, defence, and telegraphs, which amounted to £128,436, to which no member of the Opposition could object. Ho j>ointed out, in connection with the Southland (Brighton) lease, that the law was specific on the subject. It was so simple that he could not imagine anyone making a mistake or. the matter. „ ' Mr M'Callum: That matter is sub judice. It is going to the Privy Council. Mr Massey: Oh, no, it is not. It was the intention of the Legislature since 1873 to reserve all minerals to the Crown, which had the right to resume on the payment of the surface rights. He quoted instances of large estates being cut up during the past 12 months in answer to the criticism that large land-owners were not disposing of their estates. Dealing with the assertions that the Government had increased the public debt by £5,700,000, he said the Mackenzie Government borrowed £4,500.000 of that amount. He quoted from London newspapers showing New Zealand’s 4 per cent.' quoted at 100, Queensland at 99, South Australia at 99, Victoria at 100. West Australia at 99. and New South Wales at 101. Our credit stood higher now than it ever was before, and was above the average of the Australian States. He defended the appointment of Mr Northcroft to the Commi&sionership of the Cook Islands. Mr Northcroft had not applied for the position. He (Mr Massey) believed that Mr Northcroft was the most suitable man for the position of Resident Commissioner He explained that all the petty squabbles which were brought before* the House were the outcome of living in a small community, where such things were inevitable.