Leaps and Bounds—Backwards.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2097, 27 July 1887, Page 2

Leaps and Bounds—Backwards.

Thbeb years ago Sir Julias Vogel propounded to the country his wonderful policy of “ leaps and bounds.” If that policy meant any one thing more than another it was —Borrow ! Borrow again ! Eternally borrow. If it did not mean one thing more than another, it did not mean economy or retrenchment. There was no need to economise or retrench with Sir Julius as financial steersman. Well, he has had three years’ trick at the wheel, and what has been the result of his navigation ? Why this: the ship of State is among the breakers, the sharp rocks of financial embar. rassment gore her sides; she is on a lee -shore and the prospect of wreck is imminent. One would think that at such a moment the pilot and his supporters would admit some different and less dangerous course should be tried. Not a bit of it. Lighten the ship by throwing overboard useless encumbrances, say the Opposition. Not a rope yarn, practically reply the Government and its supporters. Some say, to drop the simile for the moment, that there is no need for retrenchment. Others say, in a half-hearted manner, yes, retrench, but we must still have “ judicious borrowing and judicious spending,” while others again repeat the fatuous old fable about progression by “ leaps and bounds." But, what irritates all these Goverement benchmen is the fact that the Opposition should dare to mention retrenchment. If retrenchment there must be, no one can initiate it, these faithful followers seem to think, but the Government. The lubberly pilots who put the ship ashore are the only persons who can get her off again. But the generality of Government supporters hardly admit the need for retrench ment at all, declaring that the Oppo sition hare only raised the cry for election purposes Let us then take a brief glance at the position, and judge whether the demand for rigid economy is simply the result of self seeking pessimism or no. The public debt of New Zealand on 31st December, 1883, was £37,658,553, or £63 14s fid per head for every man, woman, and child in the colony. Victoria has nearly twice our population, but her debt yw capita is only £33 is Od. The debt of New South Wales being £39 16s 9d per capita. As ajconsequence of our extraordinary indebtedness and owing to other causes, New Zealand bonds are quoted at a very low figure in the London money market—the most delicate and accurate financial bare meter in the world. On the same day our last loan was floated at £97 ss, tho 1 per cent, stock of the following colonies was quoted as under: — New South Wales .. .. £IOB Victoria £lO5 Queensland £lO3 South Australia .. .. £lO3

This conclusively proves that our credit is under a heavy cloud, or were it not so we should at least have attained tho same figure (£103) as Queensland, whose debt, by the way, is worse than our own, being £67 10s 9d per head. With such a debt, it follows that our rate of taxation must be proportionately immense. The following table, extracted from Hayter (Decerns her, 1886) shows the rate per bead of taxation in United States, Great Britain, and her colonies; — £ a d Cape o1 Good Hope .. 1 4 2 per head United States .. ..143 „ Canada .. ..167 South Australia .. 1 10 7 „ United Kingdom ..90S „ New South Wales ..281 „ Victoria .. .. 213 1 „ Tasmania .. .. 213 7 „ NEW ZEALAND ..378 Queensland .. .. Sl3 0 „

New Zealand raises half her revenue by taxation; Victoria, two-fifths; New South Wales and Australia less than one-third by taxation. We are quite prepared to admit that there might be certain circumstances under which a heavy national debt like that of New Zealand would not be ao very serious a matter. If population were pouring into the country we might regard our enormous indebted* ness with equanimity, or if the public works ou which the money has been lavished were remunerative, we might take matters more calmly. But what increase of population do we find in New Zealand compared with the increase in other Colonies which are incomparably more prosperous ? Let us go back a few years;—

Population Population Inotease Deo. 'Bl Deo. ’B4 Victoria 849,000 961,000 112,000 N S Wales 751,000 921,000 170,000 N Zealand 489,000 664,000 75,000

In other words, the increase during the above period in the population of New South Wales was more than twice larger than our own, and in Victoria a half greater. In the 2J years ended 10th May, 1887, the in. crease in New Zealand’s population was 25,366 only. But the increase during same period in Victoria was three times greater, and in New South Wales over four times greater than our own. Moreover, the increase in our population is tmfc barely sufficient to give ua -he additional revenue to pay the growing interest oa our increased indebtedness. As a mutter of fact we are at present, as regards population, at a standstill, the emigration and immigration returns for the month of April last showing a balance against us of 400 adult males.

As regards our present financial position the interest and sinking fund for 1887*88 amount to £1,764,793 Last year the receipts under the six principal heads of revenue were as follows• 1. Customs ~ .. £1,285,765 2. Property-Tax .. 310,897 3. Boer Duty ~ ~ 53,494 4. Registration, <60. , .. 37,034 5. Marine .. .. 13,071 6. Miscellaneous .. 44,232 Total £1,744,493

In other words, if the revenue on these items amount to the above amount during the ensuing financial year, the six principal items of revenue will he insufficient by the sum o/Z20,300 to pay interest and sinking fund. But mere facts and figures are re« markably dry reading; We ask our readers to ponder well these data we have here offered to their contemplation, and we will at some future time return to the subject Enough will be found in the foregoing statements to show that the policy of leaps and bounds has been highly successful in a backward direction. Moreover, it will be seen that the Opposition demand for retrenchment is not a mere election cry, but a stern necessity that must inevitably be faced.