Patea & Waverley Press. FRIDAY, JULY 10, 1914. A Satisfactory Position

Patea Mail, Volume XXXIX, 10 July 1914, Page 2

Patea & Waverley Press. FRIDAY, JULY 10, 1914. A Satisfactory Position

A considerable amount of criticisoj has been levelled at the Ministry with regard to the question of the country’s finances but like a good many of the complaints that come from the membeta of the Opposition party, when examined, they are found to be groundless. The record of the Reform Ministry as can be ascertained from any of the officiaL documents is one 1 tnat any Government can be proud of. It has been shown beyond any question of doubt that the present, party assumed the reins - of office and took charge of the finances of the country at a very critical time. Sir Joseph Ward in his last year of office had lent money with a lavish bandit mav have been a mere coincidence that it was election year—but the fact remains that the country was committed to a great deal more expenditure than for which funds were available. To make matters wiorse when Sir Joseph Ward found that the elections had gone against him he declined to raise the loans which were then necessary to place the country’s finances on a sound foundation, leaving this to his successor in the ten minutes government Mr Myers had to face the position but was in office for too short a time to straighten out the tangled skein that he otherwise would have been compelled to unrayel, this work falling to the lot of his successor the present Minister of Finance, the Hon. James Allen. The following table supplied by the officers of the. Advances Department, will show the position on March 31st 1912, a few months before Mr, Allen assumed control of tho country’s finances

Fuads LiaDopartment available bilitiea l £ £ Advances to Workers ... _ 1215 557,823 A ■•Traces to Settlers ... 519,401 158,035 A dvacces to Local Bodies 163,643 821,515

631,259 1,538,023 According to the above it will be seen that there was a deficit in the Advances Department of bver three quarters of a million pounds on March 3lst 1912, whereas at the,present time thanke to the prudent administration of Mr Allen and his colleagues, the deficit has been wiped out and the, finances of the country placed in a (s6und and eatisfmtory condition. This is shown by the fact that whereas Mr Myurs found it n eeessary to curtail the amounts that could be loaned to local bodies to £SOOO and to individuals to £SOO, Mr Allen is now,’ able to lend to indviduala and local authorities the full amount allowed by law. The public are thus in a position to judge between the methods adopted by the Opposition and those of the present Government and the ballot box in a few months will show, whether electors prefer a reckless and plunging I policy as shown by the state of affairs on March Slat 1912 or a sound and eafe 1 one as is diecloi e 1 by the official figures at the present time. It is a matter of history how the Ward Government' for five mouths prior to the last election were lending money at the rate of £122,128 per month, and was thus exceeding the limit of its borrowing powers by £1,165,536 per annum- The result of this was to cause a serious setback to several districts which were unable to obtain loan monies for development purposes and much needed works. Naturally a certain amount of odium has attached to the present Ministry owing ;o the fa.ct that the country’s finances had to be nursed until they were in a more healthy condition. Had the policy that was being pursued by hit Joseph Ward prior to the last election been continued for any length of iiuis financial disaster would have nvrr'aVau the country. • The recent ton " V r : } io»o t-»4t with on the market proved conclusively if -iv l i rh(>.- proof wore needed rhat U t»nc'T.l opeir-'.o-iu of sho Eafoi m V ~ ia toe credit of :th--"’:;uu.;!ry being raised .a f .Ue s

estimation of the lending authorities | at Home. As a consequence of its , successful policy the present Ministry | that found itself restricted when it | took office to the lending of £SOO to individual settlers, £SOOO to local ' authorities and nothing at all for the ] redemption of existing' mortgages . is now able to lend up to £2OOO in the case of settlers and £60,000 in that of local bodies as every ratepayer in Patea has good reason to know. Those electors who have a stake in the country will be pleased to learn that in place of a wild and reckless system of expenditure a sound, safe and businesslike method is being adopted that will undoubtedly strengthen the position of this country in the eyes of the financial world should the Government at any time be authorised to increase the scope of its borrowing powers for development purposes.