DOMINION FINANCE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 11 June 1924, Page 8

DOMINION FINANCE.

CREDIT SOUND

By Telegraph—Press Association.' Auckland. June. 10.

Replying to criticisms of -New Zealand finance at the banquet to tiie Hon. C. J. Pair, Mr Massey spoke ol the success of the last loan, which showed how secure the credit of the country is. According lo tiie most competent judges the Government had been criticised for ending the ye at' with a .surplus. “Heaven only knows,'’ lie said. '‘what critics would say if wo had a deficit.” In ihe present position, with heavy expenditure to be laced, it as necessary to have a surplus. He hoped lie would be able to induce Parliament to make a considerable reduction in taxation within the next few months. He maintained that the exemption from tax of mortgages up to DIDOO was mdit, and showed that the Government was concerned with the small sot Her, struggling along. He believed the trade ot New Zealand per head of the population was higher than that of any oilier country. Vet the people were going about saying the country was going to blue ruin. . While the country owed C 218,000.000, the interest earning asset red need the dead weight to only LbJ.OOD.UUU. Much ot it also was productive.