Ashburton Guardian MAGNA EST VERITAS ET PRÆVALEBIT SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1932. THE STATE IN BUSINESS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 16, 29 October 1932, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian MAGNA EST VERITAS ET PRÆVALEBIT SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1932. THE STATE IN BUSINESS.

Though every decision of the annual conference of the Associated Chambers of Commerce may not find acceptance there will be general approval of the contention that strict curtailment of the Government ? activities in the realm of business is necessary. That State operations are desirable in certain directions cannot be disputed, but there is also no denying that in New Zealand at the present day the principle of State trading has been strained to a degree that is against the best interests of the country. In considering the matter, several aspects must be borne in mind. To what extent may a Government legitimately undertake and conduct services that are complimentary and subsidiary to those that come properly within its functions? Is a Government going beyond its true functions m establishing services or road transport as feeders to the railway system? Is it exceeding the limits of legitimate State activity in extending the operations of its departments by introducing other systems of an ancillary order? Is it not a legitimate function of the State to undertake the generation and sale of electric energy derived from the natural resources of the country in the form of its running waters? Is it an improper procedure on the part of the State when it provides opportunities for persons of moderate and small means to purchase Government securities in the character of post office certificates? There are, however, many directions in which the activities of Government departments have unquestionably involved such an interference with private enterprise as must be held by all persons, who are not captivated by the idea of wholesale nationalisation, to be distinctly undesirable and, indeed, actually improper. It is axiomatic that as the State enters the domain of trade individual enterprise and initiative are proportionately discouraged; and individual initiative iS the chief asset of trade. Particularly at this time of recovery from depression is this trait of individual initiative necessary. For years there has been an increasing tendency to regard action by the State as a requirement for the removal of handicaps and difficulties, and this attitude must be regarded as the basic cause of some of the disabilities under which the Dominion labours to-day. The undermining of 'self-reliance and initiative, like so many other evils, is cumulative in its effects, so that there is an insistent demand for further enlargement of the sphere of State activities. The time is certainly ripe for severe pruning of the services and functions that do not strictly belong to the realm of efficient government.