THE Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1895. BORROWING.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2885, 24 October 1895, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1895. BORROWING.

Pressure ou our space prevents us from dealing with the Public Works Statement at any length, but we must congratulate our Timaru contemporary ou its grasp of finance. Instead of dealing with the Statement in an intelligent manner the Herald has indulged in a dissertation on what its calls “ rotten finance,” and hints at the desirability of going on the London market for another loan. The “ rotten finance” of which the Herald speaks consists in the Colonial Treasurer taking a loan of £70,000 from the sinking fund of the Loan to Local Bodies account. The correct thing in its opinion would have been to have borrowed the money in the London market. Now why should we go to Loudon for money if there is abundance of it obtainable in the colony ? To borrow in London means to send the interest payable ou it out of the colony, and thus open a wound through which the lifeblood of the nation must flow. What makes England rich ? Simply that all her public debt is borrowed within herself, and consequently the interest payable on it remains within herself, and circulates amongst her own people. She has besides lent money to the whole world, and the interest from the loans she has advanced to foreign countries constitutes a constant stream of gold flowing into her. What makes New Zealand poor ? dimply that she has borrowed largely abroad, and the interest on her loans form a constant stream of gold flowing out of her. All the money New Zedaud can beg, borrowe r ste-d, goes to pay interest ou her foreign debts, and hence her impecuniosity. Supposing the interest which we have >o pay on our foreign liabilities remained in the country, would we not be bettor off? We have to pay away every year about £4,000,000 ou our public and private foreign indebtedness. Supposing that money wore distributed amongst our own people instead of going to Loudon, would we not be much better off? If we heard that a man was coming into this colony with £4,000,000 of money which he intended to employ in developing the industries of this colony, what would wo all think ? Would we not feel that a new era of prosperity would set in and that wo should all benefit by it ? But would not £4,000,000, which is now going out, if kept in the colony, be as good as £4,000,000 brought in ? Certainly it would, and what is more, this £4,000,000 would be a yearly matter, and it would accumulate so that very soon our taxation would “ grow small by degrees, and beautifully loss” every year. To borrow abroad impoverishes the colony, to borrow at homo does not, and yet we find the Timaru Herald, Sir Robert Stout, Mr Bell, and others of that ilk condemning the Government for borrowing £70,000 from the Loans to Local Bodies Sinking Fund instead of opening the financial flood gates through which the life blood of tan colony is pouring by borrowing abroad. God help the country if it has to depend for its guidance ou blockheads who cannot see how much better it is to . borrow at homo than abroad. It would be batter for us to pay 6 per cant, at homo than get money at 3 percent. abi - oad. Thanks to the carefulness and intelligence of the present Government, wo have borrowed very little for the past live years abroad, and we trust we shall borrow no more for some years to come. The Timaru Herald says we must raise a loan next year. Eivo years ago we were told the Government was galloping to another loan, but they have never galloped since, and wo believe they will bo able to amble along in the future as in the past without it. The finances of the Government have been wonderfully well managed during the past five years, and the fact that they have close on a million of money to spend this year proves that the surpluses which tfieic opponents regarded as mythical were real, substantial, and tangible.

SCANDALOUS TACTICS,

Thk Timaru Herald of yesterday morning 1 asserts that the Public Works Statement provides for rebuilding the Porirua Asylum at a cost of .£12,000. It also says that this is the asylum ou account of which Mr Bell was diamis-od for condemning bad workmanship. There is not a word of truth in all this;. The Porirua Asylum is not to be rebuilt, and there }a pot a yenijy set aside for it. The £12.000 is set aside for the Auckland Auxiliary Asylum, as anyone reading the 1-üblj.f Works Statement can see. Mr Bell was not dismissed fop condemning the bad workmanship. Jle resigned his position in order to take up a more lucrative engagement in Western Australia. His brother, Mr H. D. Bell, in his pipes; ip Parliament recently stated that Mr Seddop hpd ppegted him most generously and when he resigned hjo position he got six months’ holiday on 'full pay. P’here were only six Hues in the Herald’s paragraph referring to this matter, but there was uqe even one wordof truth ip the whole of them. This is scandalous. The Herald ought to correct its blunder if it possesses any sense of honesty ; but wo venture to think it will not, as its object was to mislead its readers.