THE NEW YEAR.

Auckland Star, 2 January 1931, Page 7

THE NEW YEAR.

HERALDED IN LONDON.

Prime Minister Criticises , Capitalists.

NEWSPAPERS ON MacDONALD.

(United P.A.-Electric Telegraph—Copyright)

LONDON, January 1. ' The New Year was heralded with the usual festivities. The crowd outside St. Paul's Cathedral at midnight avrs huge, but not so large as it was last year.

A feature of the Chelsea Arts Ball at the Albert Hall was a gigantic cracker, from Avhich when it was pulled sprang a number of girl students.

Newspaper comments correctly reflect the opinion of the country that 1930 was a disastrous year. It is hoped that 1931 will, he better, but the prospect is not too bright. -

The Prime Minister, Mr. Mac Donald, in an interview in the "Daily Herald," said it had been, a hard year, with .never such a tragic 'demonstration of the truth " of the Socialist case that ' the machinery of capitalism was bound to break down.

A few financiers in New York, London and Paris were pursuing their own ends and their own fortunes, and were able to destroy the fruits of the good harvests and the productive accomplishments of human energy, with the result that prices fell and a sense of insecurity spread over the world, which has descended steadily into, the darkest depression.

•Fortunately there were signs that the country had reached bottom, 'and an upward move was. beginning.

The "Daily Telegraph" describes the old year as decrepit and discredited, the worst of modern times. It says a bad year has been made immeasurably worse through the Government's being in incapable hands. No Government was ever so utterly discredited.

The "Morning Post" says there were two main causes of the depression, Socialism, which means wages without work, and Communism, meaning work without wages.