CRITICISM.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 47, 25 February 1937, Page 8

CRITICISM.

GOVERNMENT WORK.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

RETIRING PRESIDENT'S VIEWS

While endorsing a good deal of the Government's legislation, Mr. A. A. Re*-:, retiring president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, found much to criticise in his iinal speech before the fliamber to-day. A luncheon was held in the reception hall of Messrs. Milne and Choyee. Mr. Ross' critical review ranged from taxation to the Government policy of aboli>hiiig boards, particularly tho Railways Board and the Dairy Hoard, and from the alteration of the constitution of the Reserve Bank to Government assumption of control of the dairy industry. He said at the outset that the chamber approved the Government's measures for placing the Main Highways under unified control, and the Minister of Transport was also highly to be commended for his efforts to make the roads for the travelling public. Local body reform had long been on the political programme, but hitherto local interest had been too strong. Now there was a concrete proposal. Referring to taxation. Mr. Rose, said that instead of following the lead of Australia, in a reduction, there had been another solid increase until now. New Zealand was among the moet highly taxed countries in the world. "It would have been wiser." said Mr. Roes, "to have at least kept the expenditure within the limit* of the revenue to be raised imder the previous scale. It was expanding in any case sufficiently to meet all reasonable requirement*."

Railway Board Doing Good Work. The abolition of the Railways Board »tw aW> a mistake Mr. Ross said. The board had done good work, and he would l>e agreeably surprised if, from the first year of political control, the result of the Government's action would not be a eerioue lapse. "The fate of the Dairy Board is another instance," he added, '•It was formerly composed mainly of representatives of the dairy industry, but the Government and the trade were aleo represented, though this was being continually objected to by a considerable section of the industry. Xow, the producers as such no longer have any effective eay in the control of their industry." "It is hard to see how, under present conditions expansion can continue, or even how the industry can hold its own. If we compare the wages, the hours of work and the general conditions in almost any other occupation with those which the farmer can afford even with the. present prices of produce, it appears inevitable that there is going to be a serious drift of farmers and farm employees to more attractive occupations, and a substantial decline in primary production. Farm employees have already; to a very large extent,"disappeared, and in the case of a great many .small"farmers only their unwil- | linpness to finally abandon the fruits of their life's work induces them to continue. :•. ■ Guaranteed Price Discounted. ; '*If the position is going to be met by adequate guaranteed prices for all primary produce, as would appear to be the Government's scheme, then the loss whiehaaea* ultimately fall on the! general taxpayer will be colossal, and jwill soon become an impossible burden. Moreover, it ie Tiard to see how any system of barter eueh as is being advocated by Mr. Nash can have any beneficial effect, or how any improvement in 1 marketing methods can mitigate- the position to any great extent." > "I The -trend of the time, he said,-wae towards more State control in industry and commerce. *We are all prepared U> recognise that certain things can be done more satisfactorily when under public control, but most of us maintain th%t this haft limits and that those limits have already been far exceeded. It will be among the duties of chambers of commerce in the future to watch, carefully this trend and its results, and when experience has proved unlimited State control to be an utter failure and detrimental to the best interests of the people, to assist in bringing matters back once more to a sound position." Reserve Bank Changes. , "The alteration in the constitution of the Reserve Bank ie another instance," the president added. "It has been converted to" a Government department under the Minister of finance in spite of the fact that all expert banking opinion ie that to function properly a Reserve Bank must be entirely free from politics. Then the Reserve Bank has been jriven extended powers of control over the trading banks and unlimited powers in respect to making advances to Government Departments, a phrase of the question which will require viligant attention as time goes on if complete financial chaos ie to be avoided. "Aβ we all know, primary production is the basis upon which is built all our other economic activities, and thus it ie of prime importance that it should I have the freest possible development i and expansion.