DOMINION’S FINANCES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 103, 3 May 1930, Page 10

DOMINION’S FINANCES

PREMIERS STATEMENT CRITICISM BY HON. STEWART GOVERNMENT’S BORROWING [ Per Press Association. 1 WELLINGTON, May 2. In a speech in support of the Ke form candidate for Parnell, the Hon. W. Downie Stewart said that Sir Joseph Ward had lately issued a statement regarding the results of the past year’s financial operations. He did not propose to discuss this in detail because the figures were difficult to present clearly in a public address. However, he would deal with it in general terms. Referring to the conversion of the £29.000,000 loan, Mr Stewart said that considering the state of the London j money market at the time, the conver-1 sion appeared to have been carried out ; as satisfactorily as possible. Sir Joseph ! Ward had said that the Government, on I taking office, had been unfortunate in ■ falling heir to a deficit. “That statement is characteristic of the I nited Party,” said Mr Stewart. “It is not a fair statement, nor does it put the facts as the electors arc entitled to have them. It would have been right it JSir Joseph had said that a substantial part of the £156,000 of deficit wi> due tu loan negotiations conducted by the present Government after the Reform Party had left office, negotiations with which Reform had nothing to do. In a statement in London and in his Budget. bir Joseph Ward had made it clear that the deficit was partly due j to the £156,000, but in his utterances to the public he had thrown all the burden upon the Reform Party. As Mr Stewart was in office for only the first eight mouths of 1928-29. he had no opportunity of curtailing expenditure in the later stages, as he would have done if it had been obvious that revenue was falling ■ short. As a matter of fact, in the last | four months Customs revenue began to < decline. Sir Joseph Ward now said I that the deficit was due to bis having over-estimated the revenue, but in any case the last months of the year were the only time in which an attempt could be made by curtailing expenditure to prevent a deficit, Sir Joseph ■ Ward claimed that in that period h> I had economised ami had underspent | the estimates by £90.000. “I do not . know what opportunities he had for doing so,” added Al.r Stewart. *• H<- i certainly, according to his statement. ; underspent his own estimates last year j by £220,000. Still, to say without I qualification that the deficit is due to j me. is not putting the matter fairly. The Reform Government passed ' through three hard gruelling years and i came out at the end of each with a ■ surplus. The only year it failed to i do so was the one it was not allowed i to see through.” In his assertion Sir Joseph had given no details nor had he proved that he himself could not prevent the deficit. “If there had been a surplus. 1 wonder whose he would have said it was.” added Mr Stewart. A voice: Joe Ward s. Mr Stewart: If he could curtail his • own expenditure by £22".""‘J in tie I next year he surely could have prevented a defi'jt. Ido not say that . we could have avoided the loan costs, but the fact remains that ve had no

cognisance of them. Statement Not Complete. •So far as the revenue and expenditure figures for the year just ended were concerned, Air Slewart said that i good deal of controversy a s to the correct interpretation of tiic figures had taken place in the newspapers. Although the statement by the Minister of Finance was fuller than usual, it ■was not a complete statement. Intil further information was given on certain points, and reports were placed before Parliament, Mr Stewart pre!erred to withhold any detailed criticism. Although the revenue for the year had increased by £1.750,000 through extra taxation and increased imports, the surplus was only 2J50.0V0 and expenditure had increased by over £l,OOO.OOU- When it was i ecalled that the United Party said its borrowing policy would not involve the taxpayer in one penny of additional taxation, it was rather startling to see the results after the United Party ’s first complete year in office. Regarding the loan expenditure. Mr Stewart said that when Sir Joseph Ward had put his policy before the “lectors and the House, he stat •<! that : - A annually' for State Advances, £10,000,000 spread over ten years for railway construction, and unstated amounts for land settlement, hydru-el«Ttricity development and other public works. Thus, adding all ngures together, the amount of borrowed money would be far and away above what the Ref<»n ■ Government had proposed. The Reform Party' believed at the time that such borrowing would only reach a position where New Zealand. like om of its neighbours, would not be able to borrow further on the public mar ket. The Latest Loan Commenting on that day’s an.nouncement that the Government proposed to raise a loan of £5.500,00 in London for the present year’s requirements. Mr Stewart said that had Sir Joseph Ward been aide to carry out the policy he had announced at the general elections, he would pioumibly have tried to borrow more and possibly' Sir Joseph might go l ack for a further loan later in the year. “While some of you may think it unfortunate that the Government i* not able to borrow all it wants to. I personally think it is a piece of good fortune.” sail Mr Stewart. Ila thought it wi.~e policy even in times when the money markets were free an ! open not :•» take all that those : < kers could offer bur the least th ■ country could do with.