NATIONAL FINANCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 205, 31 August 1933, Page 13

NATIONAL FINANCE.

A WOMEN'S SYMPOSIUM. j A women's meeting, called to discuss the present economic situation, was held yesterday afternoon Hi the Lewis Eady Hall, Mrs. J. T. F. Mitchell, who presided, said the finance of the country should not be more difficult than home finance. Men had beeii thinking on this subject for generations, but women would come to the question with open minds and might bring forward some constructive criticism. The speakers were each limited to ten minutes. The Hon. Mrs. Molesworth, the first speaker, asserted that the world was in a state of collapse, and the New Zealand public had never studied economics so much before. Never in the history of the world had there been such production, yet never had there been so much privation. It was not the idea of the Creator that people should starve in the midst of plenty. At the present time there were 78,000 registered unemployed, and with 50,000 boys and women also out of employment the total affected was not far short of a third of our population. There were 25,000 to 30,000 children who were leaving school every year for whom no provision was being made. In its policy the Government did not recognise the girl at all, nor the boy till lie was twenty. Too few mothers knew that fact. At the present time mortgagors could not get their interest, nor landlords their rent, i These conditions ruled in a wealthy country. New Zealand had food in plenty, coal and cement and inexhaust- j ible iron deposits, which could be sold to America, whose supplies were running short. Last year wheat from the South Island was shipped to the East, and yet bread in New Zealand was dear. The Government was paying a subsidy to the growers to keep up the price of bread. The speaker mentioned cases of malnutrition which came under her notice, and said there was a growing feeling of unrest amongst the people. It seemed to her that the present monetary system had completely failed. " Issues Perfectly Clear." Miss Olive Foster said that women should refuse to see problems where no problems existed. The women were told that the experts, witli all their study,

had failed. Women must guard against technicalities which existed nowhere but in the minds of men. They were being called on to fight for human happiness against the love of money; the home builders against the profit mongers. The issues for women should be perfectly clear. The language of experts was nothing but a smoke screen thrown over the problem. Mothers who had reared families had practical knowledge, while experts sitting in universities had but theories, which had failed. The women wanted an answer to the question, "Is there enough food for all or not?" Denmark is about the size of the province of Auckland, but it provided a good living for its people. The passing of food, clothing and shelter across to the people was being stopped by a money system, and women must study so that no money system stopped this flow to the workers. They must also insist on the establishment of some kind of board that would enable food, clothing and shelter to flow in spite of the complications of the money system. The question was whether money was to be the servant or the master of the people. A credit board must be established in relation to our industries to bring about what the people needed. Motherhood should refuse to see the children going hungry, while financiers juggled with their food.

Parliamentary System. j Mrs. Ruby Watson said Parliamentary government was born as an almost revolutionary proceeding, so drastic that if to-day the banks were wiped out and the entire money business handed to the State it would not be so drastic a& was the beginning of Parliament. Not very long ago members of Parliament were comparatively free. Cabinets were chosen by the Crown and not by the Premier, and were composed of such opposing views as Whigs and Tories. To-day most of the time that Parliament sat was wasted in party warfare. Members took portfolios of which they had no knowledge or experience. Parliament was a place where lawyers attended to agriculture, farmers to railroads, brewers to mines, and men with little education and no culture to our schools. Was there ever such folly? (Applause.) The party system must be abandoned. Geographical representation was out of date. A Parliament should be composed of experts in education, dairying, geology, marine work, health, forestry, and every Department men who had knowledgo and experience of their business. The whole body electorate should be divided into groups—professions, business and occupations. Each voter should have the right to vote in that group in which he has an interest or experience. Each group of 7000 voters should have one representative. Every industry, profession and trade, from law to wharf workers, would send their member, and each would be an expert. That system of election would be infinitely more efficient than our present one. Central Reserve Bank. Miss Colebrook spoke on the Central Reserve Bank. Bill, which, in her opinion, should not be passed. (Applause.) The bill looked innocuous, but the bank was only another company with shares; yet it was to be given the sole right to issue notes in New Zealand for 25 years. One million pounds was to be paid by the Minister of Finance into the bank out of the public account, and that million will not be recoverable except on the winding up of the bank, and it would be treated as an investment without interests If there were not a million pounds in the public account, and there was not, the Minister of Finance could create government securities and these would bear interest at 3 per cent. The public would pay interest on these securities, but the Minister of Finance would have no vote. The bank would be managed by a board of directors of seven. Within this is an executive committee of three—the governor, deputygovernor and one other member. Nobody could question the governor's authority. We would be handing over to an expert, brought from overseas, the absolute control of finance in New Zealand, and to what was really a private company. We would be tied to the Bank of England and to sterling. People did not understand that the interests of England in exchange cotild not be the same as those of a primary producing country. Social Credit, Mrs. Stanley Irwin spoke on the Douglas Social Credit, and .quoted the [King's Speech at the opening of Parlia--1 ment, when he referred to the fact that ino reduction in production had taken

place. If the people' could not get goods : it was because they had 110 money. The ■ banks controlled currency and were run entirely for private gain. Was it right that such a thing should be run by a private institution. Because of our ■ banking system New Zealand was bankrupt to-day. When a loan was floated in London the only thing that came overseas was word that credit was available. The present monetary system stood condemned because it was perfectly possible for the Government to issue tickets I against the goods. It was quite sound as long as 110 more tickets were issued than ' there were goods. What was necessary ' was credit for the consumers, and as it would not be used to make money no bank would take it up. Only the State could take up this work of supplying goods for work. Banks had the power of restricting the credit, but not the power of expanding credit. Only the State could expand credit. Purchasing power must be equal to production, to prevent the rise in prices, and to give to people the possibility of clearing their indebtedness to the banks. At the conclusion of the meeting the names of those willing to form study groups in their district were taken down. I |