DOMINION POLITICS.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume XXIV, 23 April 1927, Page 7

DOMINION POLITICS.

MINISTERIAL POLICY AND A SURPLUS. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS PENDING. Sou* OWN WELLINGTON, April 20. Within the next fortnight the Minister of I inane© (the Hon. NY. Downie Stewart) is expected to make a survey of the financial year ended at March 31, and to indicate in a general way the attitude of the Government towards future plans, in which the all-import-ant factor is the amount of money available. This Ministerial statement will be the preliminary to further policy announcements, which are beginning to be demanded by a public ! somewhat impatient of an administration so silent on affairs, except when prodded into utterance under such emergencies as the failure of dairy control. The critics of lack of policy speeches are likely to be satisfied in the near future, though there is not much room in the present financial situation for anything spectacular. Inquiries into the condition of the consolidated fund at the end of the financial year have

so far produced nothing but a request for patience, until the Treasury completes its routine of check and countercheck. This, however, is nearly complete, and there were Cabinet meetings almost daily prior to the Easter holidays. It seems that the 1926 Budget predictions of a very modest surplus are to be realised, but the balance is said to be so small that the announcement will be accompanied by an economy warning which th e State departments will have to take seriously. The Government, it is well understood, is going in for reduced expenditure, because there is no prospect of a buoyant revenue during the current financial year. That the Minister of Finance has not been caught napping by tho seriously reduced Customs receipts of the year just ended is shown by the fact that in predicting a possible balance at March 31, 1927, of £279,000, he suggested that for that year it would be inadvisable to expect any increase the gross revenue. “In fact,” he added, “the preparation of this

statement is based on the expectation of the possible reduction.” Hence tho Minister came to the conclusion til t the estimated surplus would leave very little margin, and, either way, the ultimate result would depend a great deal on the uncertain factor of imports. And as things have turned out, the margin is not impressive enough to give Ministers’ coming policy speeches a high color of proposed achievement. On the contrary, economy will be the feature, with the Government proposing to set a good example.