THE HAURAKI SEAT

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 51, Issue 187, 22 May 1931, Page 4

THE HAURAKI SEAT

ADDRESS BY MR COATES. AUCKLAND, May 21. The Leader of the Opposition, the dt. Hon. J. G. Coates, addressed a public meeting in the Hauraki eleor torate to-night. He said he did not my all the present troubles of the country at the door of the Government. He knew they were elected on a policy impossible of execution, and they had aggravated the position by their delay in realising, this, so that the reactiorf was greater than it otherwise would have been. The Government's hesitancy in going on with their original policy was of advantage to the Dominion arid a credit to themselves. Mr Coates drew attention to the dangerous, position the country had been getting into during the present Government's regime. He recalled that in 1925-26 a total of £11.000,000 had been borrowed. During the next three years, when the Reform Party was in. power, borrowing had been progressively reduced until in 1929 £o,150.000 had been borrowed, m the first eight months of that year. The United Government were in power in the l&Sv four months of that year, and borrowed a further £2,262,000. In 1930 borrowing reached £8,600,000, and in 1931 £9.256,000. ~ Regarding fusion, Mr Coates said Reform took a wide view of the position, placing the well-being of the Country before party interests. IHe Reform Party reserved the right ot criticism, but the Government need have no great annul that their co-oper-ation would not be forthcoming. Mr Coates described as a fallacy the Labour Party's argument that wages must be high to increase the purchasing power "of the people. It was not what was spent in New Zealand that affected the purchasing power of the people, but the price that was obtained for the ereat bulk of our products in the world markets.