A WAR LOAN.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 68, 20 March 1916, Page 7

A WAR LOAN.

, WELLINGTON MEMBER IN FAVOUR. PRESENT SYSTEM UNJUST TO BRITAIN. •By telegraph.—Special to "Star.") WELLINGTON, this day. "I am strongly in favour of a local war loan," declared Mr. K. A. Wright, member tor Wellington Suburbs, to your correspondent to-day. Mr. Wright "hud nbt at that time seen the statements of Mr. Den;6on Miller, Governor of Commonwealth Bank, whose description oi the. remarkable success of the wur loans in Australia must be regarded as another strong argument in lavour of similar self reliance in prosperous New Zealand. "The time has come," continued Mr. Wright, "when we shoud do all we can to relieve Great Britain of financial pressure. It is unjust to expect them to go on financing everybody in connection with the war. In New Zealand there are some millions of money lying uninvested. It would do no harm for the Government to invite applications from people with money to subscribe towards a war loan, and I haven't the least doubt that they would get three millions sterling to start with. The war is costing us more than that every year, tut we could make a modest start with local borrowing, and see how it affects general conditions. It is right to face the possibility -of a war loan affecting the price of money for the private borrower, but could it make things worse than at present! My opinion is that interest has reached the limit, and if it went np any higher, there would be nothing doing. Interest is almost prohibitive for the private borrower now. \Vheh we were raising the Public Works Loan, I met people who said, 'If there was a war loan, I could put my money into it, but I don't think we should borrow large sums for local purposes.' There are lots of others who think the same," added Mr. Wright. "There is no question about it, we have to face the position, draw in our horn 6, and in for general saving, if we are to sec this big thing through. To expect Britain to keep on financiing us, and all the other nations who depend on her, while we are getting high prices from her for our produce, and our money lying idle, is selfish in the extreme."