OUR WAR BILL.

Colonist, Volume LVI, Issue 13592, 6 October 1914, Page 5

OUR WAR BILL.

LONDON ESTIMATE OF TEN

MILLIONS

A BIG EXAGGERATION

(Special to "The Colonist.")

Wellington, Oct. 5

A London newspaper's estimate that New Zealand's financial shar£ of the war bill will reach ten millions was referred to in the House of Representatives to-night, and generally discounted.

It was first mentioned by Mr Russell; the Prime Minister remarking, ♦•Absurd!" when the big figures were quoted. Mr. Russell agreed /that such an expenditure was impossible^ unless there was a huge increase in the Expeditionary Force and they were at the seat of war for very much longer than we hoped. The Minister of Finance: Thai estimate did not come from here.

Mr. Russell: "No, it comes from London." He added that, although he had* no inside, information, he had gone into the matter closely, and believed that, if our troops were in the field for a year "from the time of enrolment, the cost would run into between three and' four millions, certainly not much less than three and a half millions.