Rangitikei Advocate. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1910. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9653, 5 January 1910, Page 4

Rangitikei Advocate. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1910. EDITORIAL NOTES.

SIR Joseph Ward has an unusual supply of the qdality which enables a man to regard his gesso as swans and this power was never better shown than in a portion cf the review of the past session which he gave the other day to a Christchurch reporter. The very rapid increase in the pubilo debt of the Dominion has caused considerable anxiety to all thoughtful men, ana even the optimistic Sir Joseph has net always found it easy to make lenders tabs the same view of the finances cf the country as he does. The Prime Minister devised a phu: to keop two separate accounts of the public debt, in one of which will be placed all sums borrowed for advances to settlers, loans to public bodies and fer the purchase oi estates for settlement and native lands. In thie way it will be possible tc go on borrowing millions every year without producing any increase ia what up till now has been called the public debt. There ia about as in aoh hope of deceiving the moneylender by this

new method ;of bookkeeping as tha ostrich has of becoming invisible to the'hunter by hiding its head ia the saud*whea its, whole body is plainly to be seen. It is an expedient which would readily occur to a sixth standard schoolboy, but Sir Joseph thinks it an absolute masterpiece of finance, which is destined yto make the past session memorable. Oar financial juggler is at any rata a master of the paster of hia profession, and this is how he introduces his latest .trick to tha public; '■‘lt is something that as least cur 'coontry can be proud of that this system is unique, and has not been established in any other country in' the world. Without being egotistical, I- may

express iiia opinion that before many years pass by the efficiency and advantages of the [system will impress other countries, and like many other advanced laws which have long since parsed that stage, will be adopted by them.”

ANOTHER example of the methods of Sir Joseph Ward is'his treatment of the question of loans to local bodies. Under the old Act it was possible for a County Connell to borrow up to £6OOO par annum for snob works as roads and bridges at 3Jij per cent.,[aerate of interest which paid off the money borrowed in 41 years. It is true that the Government could not borrow at this rate but it seemed not unfair for the State to give a subsidy in tim shape of lower interest than the market rate to those settlers who were willing to tax themselves in order to provide means of communication in the country districts. An alteration has been made by the Act of last session which will mpke it necessary for local bodies to pay about five per cent, interest and sinking; fund for money borrowed in future. This change has naturally beoa strongly objected to by practically every County Council in the country, but the addition to the rate’of interest is described by Sir Joseph Ward as making better provision for tb© finance oS local bodies. The new scheme may be of son« value to the Councils in large cltiss who wish to borrow large sums f&r water, drainage or tramways, but for the country districts the alteration simply adds to the difficulty of carrying out works necessary to make the lives cf back block settlers loss full of hardship.