Sir Godfrey Collins, who was entertained at luncheon by the
Aldwych Club on Tuesday, made an interesting speech on public expenditure and the necessity for economy. Especially curious and valuable was his analysis of the expenditure of the money produced by Income Tax. Of every pound collected five shillings was spent on armaments and seven shillings on the Civil Service. Both these items were grossly excessive. It might be excellent to keep up a large Army and Navy if we could afford it, but economic necessity would soon drive UB to reduce them. The Civil Service before the war cost eleven millions, and now costs forty-two millions. This, allowing for the difference in the value of money, and assuming that it has doubled, is twice the pre-war cost of the Civil Service, and who will be bold enough to declare that Government work is twice as well done as before the war ? This is only another instance of the well-known axiom that increased efficiency in a public department is very rarely commensurate with an increased expenditure on it. A point made by Sir Godfrey in regard to the National Debt should be carefully noted. The debt was incurred when prices were high, and so incomes were apparently high, and therefore also the yield of the Income Tax was high. It will have to be repaycd in an epoch of lots prices, when the Income Tax yields a good deal less. "That is one of the worst features of the years to come." Here is another argument for the special method of dealing with the National Debt advocated by the Spectator.
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