NATIONAL FINANCE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLVI, Issue 10456, 24 July 1925, Page 6

NATIONAL FINANCE.

STATE DANK ADVOCATED. ADDRESS BY LABOUR CANDIDATE The official Labour candidate for Ashburton at the approaching General Election, Mr J. N. Harle, held a meeting in the Victoria Hall last evening. There were about 20 people present. His Worship the Mayor, Mr R. Galbraith, presided and briefly introduced the speaker. Mr Hatrle, before dealing with his subject, "National Finance," proceeded to explain the aims and objects of his party. The newspapers always called them "extremists," but he maintained that tiie way in which candidates were chosen, and the party's platform drawn up, proved that it was a misnomer. The term "extremist" denoted a dictatorship, but the Labour Party was 'essentially democratic. | Proceeding to his subject, Mr Harle said the banks were fast becoming a huge trust, like the Union Steam Ship Company, which had grown from a small concern into a national and filially international trust. He then described the evolution of the modern banking system, and went into considerable detail on the methods employed by the various nations to finance their war operations. The Labour Party stood for the establishment of a State bank of reserve and issue, which, he claimed, would .tend to stimulate production anil industry. Mr Hade was accorded a vote of thanks for his interesting address.