WELLINGTON NEWS.

Waikato Times, Volume 97, Issue 1600, 31 May 1924, Page 5

WELLINGTON NEWS.

THAT FIVE MILLIONS. NEED FOR PUBLIC ECONOMY. (Occasional Correspondent.) WELLINGTON: May 27. It would be both ungenerous And unjust to deny. Mr. Massey a considerable measure of credit for the economies he has effected in the public expenditure since his. attention was pointedly called to this urgent national necessity. Every reader of the newspapers knows that, during the twelve months covered by the statement of accounts .he issued the other day he was assailed in his capacity of Minister of Finance by deputation after do putation with insistent demands for additional grants for one purpose or another, and that many of these demands were supported by a large volume of public opinion. T t .would have been much easier for the Minister to say "Yes" than to say "No," and yet in the great majority of cases he held firmly to his pledge of economy, and bore with great grace the denunciations that ■ were heaped upon his head. When the expenditure for the financial year just ended is compared with.that for the financial year 1913-14, however, it is. impossible, even after making allowance for the huge cost of the great war and the increased obligations it imposed upon the Dominion, to believe that the last effort has' been made in public economy, and that huge increases in the administrative expenditure during the last eight years have been inevitable. Of course, the permanent appropriations, amounting to somethink like £12.500,000 and having to do with 'interest on the largely increased public debt, pensions, and so forth, cannot be controlled by the Government. These ' obligations' have been accepted by the country, and they must be discharged. Growth of Expenditure.

. But the annual appropriations, which represent, the cqsj. of administering tho affairs of the country, stand on a different .footing. They, are within the discretion of the Government, and, nominally, at,any rate, under the control of Parliament; Let us then set 1 - how they.'have grown during the last ten years, from 1913-14 to 1923-24: ' .

These figures show that the 1 increase of expenditure, in. the Post and Telegraph Department during the decade has been £957,968, 'in the working railways department £2,148,960; in the Education Department £1.472,7-53-in the Justice •Department £-283,327, and in all other departments'-£1(255,-548, a total of £6.107,656, or an increase of just over 80 per cent, upon the figures of 1913-14. And' these figures do not tell the whole story, for the amount set down against the Education Department is only the amount expended from the Consolidated'Fund. In addition to'this, the Department has obtained from the Public Works Fund £1,034,662, and from loans £1,139,959, and, as far as can be made out from the public accounts, it is correct to say that the expenditure of this particular department has grown from £1,420,951 in 1913-14 to £3,205,263 in 1923-24. These increases, it must be remembered, were not due to the war, nor in any great measure to conditions arising out of the war, unless in this category can be included the habit of spending contracted during the period of borrowing and "booming." , Mr Massey's Good Intentions. Mr Massey himself recognised the perils of the position in. his Budget of 1921-22 when he strongly urged the need for public and private economy and the concentration of the efforts of the Dominion upon increased production. He thought that the aim of the Government and of Parliament should be to reduce the administrative expenditure by £5,000,000. No doubt the Prime Minister spoke sincerely, and no doubt he has striven earnestly to reach his allotted goal. But how far he has failed may be judged from a comparison between the expenditure of 1922-23 and 1923-24:

13,289,847 13,697,432 . 407,583 It is obvious that, while every credit must be given to Mi* Massey for his honest effort to reduce expenditure, he has signally failed to realise his desire and expectation.. The peak year of expenditure under annual appropriation was 1920-21, when the sum of £15,834,005 was expended. Th 3 year following, 1921-22, showed.a:decrease of £1 on these figures, being £15,834,004. The first substantial decrease was made in 1922,23, when the figures came down to £1:1.289,847, a, reduction of but. in i 923-24, the year just closed, the expenditure rose to. £13,697,432,.an increase, as just stated/of £"407,585. To redeem his good intentions', therefore, Mr Massey "will 'require- tliis year to reduce the. expenditure under annual appropriations by nearly £3,000,000. Excessive Expenditure. To accomplish this there must' be drastic - economies all round: 'Just where they should begin' and where they should end arc questions .which only the Prime Minister can determine with full knowledge, and effective authority. It is a I difficult and extremely disagreeable task .for any Government to undertake while the pub • lie, so far from approving of the only course that could' lighten the Burden of taxation, reduce the cost ; of living, restore trade ' and industry 'to ' their former buoyancy, and place the finances of the country upon a thoroughly sound basis, is clamouring'for addi_ tional services, larger grants, and the more active prosecution of public works.- Here it'i's only possible to indicate one or two directions.in which savings might be effected., The Post and Telegraph Department is, in a sense, a trading concern,with a very valuable monopoly, and any increase 'n the cost of its .management .shduld.be covered by an increase in it-s'business, or, at any rate,, by additional facilities given to the public. Its expenditure between, 1914 and 1923 increased by £943,068, which would, not be by any means a ,large amount if its services showed a corresponding, increase. . ; But between .1914-and .1923 tiie < maiter

handled by the Department—letters, telegrams, newspapers, parcels, and so forth—showed an actual decrease, while the number of hands employed showed ah increase of approximately two thousand. The Railway Department Increased its expenditure by slightly over £2,000,000 between 1914 and 1924, and it still fails to pay anything like an adequate rate of interest upon the cost of constructing its lines. The Education Department, during the same period, increased its expenditure by £1,784,322, or approximately 125 per cent., while the population of the country increased by only 16$ per cent. Here are three big departments of State whose "expenditure ought to be receiving a very searching overhaul from the Ministers immediately concerned.

1013-14 1923-24 Increases *',- ... - £ "' ". .'•.- £ Post and Telegraph— 1,170,8,83 2,117,951 947,068 Working railways-— 3,004,180 5,153,140 2,148,960 Education— 1,131,755 2,604,506 1,472,734 Justice— 419,749 703,076 283,327 Other Departments— 1,863,209 '3,118,757 i,255,54d

1922-23 1923-2.4 £' £ Post and Telegraph— Increases h 2,112,543 2,117,951 5,408 Working railways— 4,946,180 5,153,140 206.960 Education— 2,514,991 2,604,506 89,315 Justice— 646,079 703,076 56,99 7 Other departments'— : 3,070,054 3,118,757 48,703