The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1912.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3704, 13 December 1912, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1912.

The Rea! Position as to the Public Works.

As ho occupied for some months the important position of Minister for Public Works what Mr W i). S. MacDonald had to say at Motu on the subject of the restricted policy of the Reform Government in this respect at this juncture is worthy of some attention. Upon the present occasion we shall, however, have to confine our remarks to the financial aspect of the matter • but we shall, at an early date, discuss the. question as to whether any real fault can honestly bo found -\s j regards the change that has been made in the method of letting railway I and road construction works. What the popular member for the Bay of j Plenty had to say with reference to the financial aspect of tho present pos- i ititm of the public works in this conntry was, first of . all, ‘‘that when the i Mackenzie government (of which lm j was a prominent, member) was in office it carried on a vigorous policy of public works.” Tins was, oi course, just as good as declaring that if -it had not been deprived of the reins of Government the public works of the Dominion would to-day have been proceeding at the same rapid rate ns

hitherto. His next meet important statement on the same aspect of the matter was (it will be agreed) that in which he asserted "that if the present Government were afraid to raise money in the country when there was a revenue of over 11 millions, the settlers would have to wait a long time until they got relieved." In this connection it may fairly be stated that what Mr MacDonald must have intended to convey was that if the Mackenzie Government had been to remain in office it would have A ad no difficulty in raising sufficient money to enable public works jSs>/ne pushed ahead as quickly and ajf extensively as has been the experience of the past few years. Now, 'for our 'own part, we cannot help ’ ’thinking that the member for the ’ Bay of Plenty should not have contented himself with making only such bare references to such an important matter. As his contentions stand — naked as they are of all detail—he could not find fault with anyone who suggested that lie either cannot have a very wide knowledge on matters of national finance or else he was merely endeavoring in a very unfair way —considering the present state of the money market —to make political capital at the expense of the present Government. When Mr [MacDonald declared that the country was in a wonderfully prosperous condition he undoubtedly spoke quite correctly. He might, indeed, have gone a great deal 'further at the same time by adding that it was also .. very happy circumstance that the outlook so far as produce is concerned is also extremely bright. How it came about that the member for the Bay of Plenty did not | care to explain the present position jof public works in the light of the j monetary situation it is really diffi- [ cult to understand. Surely, he lias ! not forgotten the trouble and the stiff { terms which the Mackenzie Government experienced when they found it j necessary to raise a loan during their j short term of office? Nor can he be | ignorant of the fact that even since | that time Home investors have been i finding in Canada, China and other countries increasing opportunities for much more lucrative investments than those which present themselves in the Australasian Colonies. Had he so desired Mr MacDonald, too, could —and he must, one would think, be in a position to do so—have also explained to his auditors the effect of even the Balkans War alone on the world’s money market. In this re- ! gard no one, we should say. could i possibly contend that it is anything but a great disappointment to the | Reform Government that at the preJ sent juncture money is ’dear and cii- ! fficult to obtain except on eompara- ! tivelv high terms. • Undoubtedly, had I‘ ' ' ] Jir Massey and his colleagues raised j large sums at all costs during the past few months it would have been nothing more nor less than a detrimental policy, so far as the country is concerned. The position, ( indeed, would then have been that before long New Zealand would probably have found herself in a similar very awkward fix to that which now confronts New Soutli Wales. As showing liow badly i off the Mother State is to-day it need [only be pointed out that after a phej nomenal period of public works exI pend it lira its spendthrift Labor Min- ! istry is now in the sad condition of j tne prodigal in the parable—" Having j spent all, he began to be in want.” j It might be all very well for Mr MacI Donald to infer that as money is I bound to become cheaper and more ■ plentiful in the future the Govern- ! meat of the Dominion might make, ! say, some temporary financial arrangej ment which could later be superseded j by borrowing on mere favorable t wins, j W hat has happened in the case of | New South Wales is simply what may ! be expected as the result of reckless j borrowing under the supposition that j all would be bound to come right in ! time. Last year, for instance,- it re- | newed two and a-half millions of 4 per cent. Treasury Bills at a high cost for only 12 months! Within a few j months an additional two millions ! were raised in London, with the mere- j ly nominal currency aDo of a single j year! It now. of course, finds itself | compelled to borrow again a very j j large sum not only to. cover renewals j j but also to meet current public works j expenditure and with what result ? j I Everybody well knows that only a j | few weeks ago New South Wales offer- | od three million pounds of debentures j at £99 with interest at 4 per cent., j but the Home investing public de-! dined more than half the issue—a j condition of affairs which has had no j parallel since the Australian boom collapsed 20 years ago! What is more, j hundreds upon hundreds of workers j on the State works of New South! >.ales have, in addition, had to be! dismissed! Mr MacDonald will then,! surely, admit the next time lie addresses a public meeting that the Re- I form Government is doing quite the ! proper thing in sending the Hon. Jas. j Allen (whom he ;»knowledges is a very able man) cn a visit to the Home Country so that he can make (in conjunction with the High Commissioner) full investigations in regard to the prospects of the money market and other matters. If a substantial loan can be raised on advantageous terms it is, of course, certain that it will he at once raised. Until Mr Allen j reaches Home the Government can be

depended upon to expedite tlie public works as much as possible, so that Mr MacDonald and other members who ; form the remarkable Opposition which J exists in connection with the Doinin- i ion Parliament, should, in the mean- j time, he content to withhold further : futile criticism on this important i matter !