§ I now come to the expenditure of 1911–12. There are five items of expenditure to which I shall have to call special attention. Most of them, but not all, are known to the House. The first is a very considerable and exceptional increase in Navy expenditure. Naval expenditure this year is up by £4,006,000. That represents a total increase in three years of £12,204,000. [HON. MEMBERS: "Shame."] This expenditure has now reached the gigantic figure of £44,392,000. When the Unionist Government left power in 1892 the naval expenditure was £14,240,000. In the course of twenty years it has gone up from fourteen millions to forty-four millions. I hope and believe it has reached its climax—for reasons to which I shall refer later on. The next item of exceptional expenditure is old age pensions. Last year, including paupers for one quarter, the total cost came to £9,798,000. This year it has gone to £12,415,000. The original intention of the Government, which I announced in my financial statement of 1909, was to recover from the Board of Guardians all the money saved to the rates by that expenditure. That would have amounted to £1,500,000. Now the Government have undertaken the whole responsibility, and to that extent it is a boon to local ratepayers. It is a very considerable boon, but you cannot have a boon to the local ratepayer under these conditions without having a burden upon the Imperial taxpayer. I want the House to bear that in mind.
§ The other item of expenditure where there appears to be a considerable increase is the Post Office. It has gone up by £1,401,000. The automatic increase, which is not exceptional, I think, would be about £600,000. There is £798,000 due to the taking over of the National Telephone business. I can give particulars later, but I do not want to dwell upon it now. The other exceptional expenditure this year will be in connection with the Coronation, and will add to the total something like £300,000, spread over various items.