THE PUBLIC DEBT.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 September 1926, Page 5

THE PUBLIC DEBT.

POSITION TO DATE, ALLOCATION OF EXPENDITURE. Wellington, Thursday. From a statement laid before Parliament yesterday showing the allocution of the Public Debt, it appears that £63,302,990 has been spent on productive works; £25,814,590 on land settlement and forests; £33,616,544 has been utilised in connection with the investment departments; £20,034,346 has been applied to indirect productive purposes; and £95,480,098 to what is termed financially unproductive purposes. The total public debt outstanding at Marcb 31, 1026, is set down at £238,855,478. SINKING FUNDS. The statement points out that the practice of instituting a sinking fund in connection with each loan issued was abandoned in 1870, t.nd no provision was made for the ultimate redemption of the loans floated after that year. The Budget of 1884 contained an extensive review of the position of tli« sinking funds belonging to tht loans issued prior to 1870. Therein sinking funds were described us “exploded fallacies,” and the Colonial Treasurer stated, inter alia, that “there is no reason why the colonists who are exerting themselves to lay broad and deep the foundations of great public works, which will be a splendid and magnificent heritage to those who come after them, should attempt to pay off piecemeal portions of the public debt whilst they are borrowing more. Twety-five years hence, compared with the value of these works, the public debt will be a bagatelle. I propose we should not be idiotic enough to tax the people to pay off a little fragment of our debt; no other colony does it.” 1111908 there remained but £212,602 of the old sinking funds accumulated prior to 1884. Ju 1906 the policy was again reconsidered, and a special sinking fund for the repayment ef old war and defence loans was instituted. This was followed in 1910 by the Public Debt Extinction Act, which made provision for the ultimate redemption of : :ie whole public debt, and marked the roiiipleto reversal of tin* policy which had been followed since 1870.