FINANCIAL DEBATE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XL, Issue 13156, 16 August 1913, Page 6

FINANCIAL DEBATE.

ANOTHER OPPOSITION BROAD♦SIDK. Mil RUSSELL ANALYSES THE BUDGET. (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, this day. Flagging interest ill the Financial Debate was effectively revived lust night by Mr G. W. Russell. He addressed a well»filled House, and his speech was framed with close regard for financial topics; Mr Russell declared that no one could have listened to the member for Grey without realising that he was a new forte m the House, and stood for ft growing t force m public life. Notwithstanding that there had been one year 01 Conservative mismanagement the Budget was able to show that the country was prosperous, but evidence ol Tory rule was .accumulating. Ten out of 21 railways m course oi construction when the Government came into power had been stopped and seven new political lines started, representing a prospective expenditure ■of one miJioh sterling., Other signs -were the shrinkage m Post Office deposits, the high rate of interest prevailing, the increased cost of living, and the development, of an unemployed difficulty. The mismanagement of the Government had resulted m enormous reductions m loans to settlers and local bodies tltrough the advances department, and had also resulted m intense dissatisfaction on. the part of the teachers of the Dominion. The only fruit of the Government, the granting of a pension to old soldiers ; and also following the intention of the Ward and Mackenzie Governments by reducing the pension age ■of women to 60 years. (Ministerial interjections). CONFESSION OF INABILITY. What did the Budget contain that was of any material moment? Nothing, but a confession of inability to administer the country without greatly increasing ! the expenditure beyond any nrevious increase. The first year of Conservative administration showed that the expenditure exceeded the increase m revenue by £18,432, added to which permanent appropriations went up by £165,567, representing a total increase of £184,999. He reminded the House of Mr Massey's ridicule when the late Mr Seddon presented , a Financial Statement showing what the present Prime, Minister called sham sur- j pluses. There had been some savings I which threw a lurid light on Reform methods — £15,139 saved 1 on old age pene\oh», £17,892 on t)he estimates for widows' pensions, £100,221 from the money voted for land settlement, and £26,916 from education ; . while, per contra, the defence expenuiture had gone up Dy £23,805. The member went on to say that the June quarter last showed an increase of £125,153 m revenue and £130,000 m expenditure, but as last year's expenditure included £70,000 for the cost of the general elections, the increase of expenditure over ' the June quarter of last year totalled £75,000, : while an actual decrease of £100,000 was shown m lands for settlement ex* penditure, compared with the expenditure under the Mackenzie Government m June quarter last year. (Government laughter.) The Customs estimates prepared for 1914 promised a decrease of £157,000 compared with the previous estimate, though, as a matter of fact, the Customs revenue for the first quarter of this year went up by £124,000. Was that honest? He found it exceedingly difficult, within the scope of the language permitted m Parliament, m dealing with the extraordinary table on j page Bof Vhe Budget, wherein' the Mm- ' ister of Finance had the audacity to . show that when he came into power ; there was a deficit of £879,000, which i he eventually converted into a credit of j £1,000,033.. There was actually a gen- i vine surplus of £807,000." . When the \ Minister, m his zeal to discredit his pre- J deoessors, represented a deficit, it was a i wrong and wicked thing which the Minister for his country's sake should regret. Mr Russell, with increasing ! emphasis, went on to denounce the : Finance Minister's announcement, and t declared ,snat on their own showing thei Reform (|rovejmment bad increased thei estimated^ expenditure jn two years by| £1,486,00f ? 'The Reform Government!"^ exclaimed the member. "Why, sir, I j can hardly express my opinion of them j m the language permitted to me m this i House." • (Opposition applause and Go- j vernment laughter.) THE 'GREEN YOU^NG MAX. Speaking upon the Hon. Mr Allen's loan notation m London, Mr Russell was decanting on the extraordinary precedents m loan raising set up by the Hon. Mr-' Allen, when Mr Wilford exploded the House by interjecting, "And alone he, did it !" They saw this green young main from < New Zealand/ he said, and took him m hand. He came back with a four per cent, loan at 98, said Mr Russell, amid uproars of Opposition laughter. The effect of -is visit, he added, is that New Zealand stocks are now on the market permanently at four per cent., while other countries are getting their money for 3£ per cent. (Liberals: Hear, hear.) A comparision of the results obtained, by other, self-governing colonies which had floated loans m London demonstrated that New Zealand was going to pay £516,000 extra 'for the luxury of sending Moses to London to meet the smart man who was to give him precedence. (Laughter.) ; FORGOTTEN ADVICE. Last year's Budget declared it was urgently necessary to curtail borrowing, but not a word like this could be found m tliis year's Statement. It was the Hon. J. Allen who once declared the country •ought to foe warned from a servile dependence on the London money marketr—but he actually intended to raise his. bills m London instead of m New Zealand. The speaker asked the Minister, of Finance if he (Mr Allen) was responsible for the statement that when the Government came into office it found commitments of £717,000 and only £17 000 to meet them? Was' that true? The speaker paused for a reply, but the Hon. Jas. Allen asked him to repeat the question, and. then gave no answer, so Mr Russell went on to show that the Budget contained proof that . the total commitments on June 30, 1912, were £711,000, and that the cash m hand was not £17,000, but £96,000. The Prime Minister owed something more than an apology to his predecessor for the utterly wrong and incorrect impression he had, made. STINKING FISH TABLE. In referring to Jthe £50,000 Treasury Bills raised from the Loan and Mercantile Company at 3A per cent., the member declared that the Hon. Wm. Fraser, a member of that Government, was a director of that company. Was it right! to save the Loan and Mercantile's Company's money from lying idle just becaus>3 a member of that Government was a director of the company? ''Why, Mr Speaker, there was no" less than £709,000 m the consolidated fund- which should have been available if it were not." (Liberals: Oh! f olF!) After speaking of tho table m the Budget dealing with loans falling due as "the stinking fish table," Mr Russell grew light, tioking off, amid roars of merriment, from all round, the. House, the various members of Cabinet with, Shakespearian quotations. Coming to tue Minister of Finance, he quoted, "I am Sir Oracle, and when I ope my lips let no dog bark." -As for the Ministry m .jrfobo, added the member for Avon, "I would just say: Ministers, it is proven already that you .are little better ihan false knaves." (Shouts of laughter.) What had the country gained by the change to Public Service Commissioners? He advised the House, as guardians ol I the public purse, to s«e that no power should be taken from Parliament. It was proposed to let the Commissioners have a vote of £684,000 for staff payments to the Post and Telegraph Department without the submission of the usual details, but the Opposition intended to stand up for its rights.