LABOUR POLICY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 158, 6 July 1937, Page 11

LABOUR POLICY.

THREAT TO FREEDOM.

ADDRESS BY MR. CCATES.

I A CANDID ADMISSION. i A meeting of the Junior National League was held in the Chamber of Commerce last when an address was delivered by the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coatee. Mr. Cecil George, president of the League, occupied the chair and associated with Mr. Coates on the platform were Mr. W. P. Endean, M.l\, and the I Hon. John Alexander, M.L.C. The proceedings were conducted in committee and the following is the summary of a report supplied by the League:— The country, said Mr. Coates at the , outset, had to look to its younger citizens for future leaders, not only in industrial affairs, but in politics too. Leaders ■ were needed who would stand four 1 square for the maintenance of freedom in thought and in expression. "In war. ■ the sentry who sleeps at his post i> shot." he said. "We would deserve our i fate if we stood by and saw the privileges of democracy and freedom, under which we have grown to our present ! state, filched from u*>." Certain leaders ' of industry to-day were averse to giving full expression to their thoughts lest they incurred the displeasure of the present Government. Their silence was a negation of leadership. "Leas Popular" Legislation. The conditions and political factors which led to a change in Government in 193.") were discussed by Mr. Coates, who said he had been asked if he would act in the same way again in a time of depression. His answer wae '''So." "Looking back, in the light of experience, we can see that some of the less popular methods adopted during the depression could have been avoided and that the ; full blast of thp necessary adjustments could have been lightened," he continued. '"No one likes to inflict hardships, but when national security and stability are at stake aud quick decisions are necessary it ie often impossible to avoid hurting someone." In matters of finance the country no longer enjoyed the freedom which it had had in the past. It was not a State Bank or State activity in general that had been responsible for a century of amazing progress in New Zealand. The vital factors had been the energy, initiative and ability of individuals, and those factors were now being destroyed. The change in the constitution of the Reserve Bank, he said, meant the abolition of all safeguards, and to-day the bank existed merely to assist the Government to carry out its will. Similarly, directors had been appointed to the Bank of New Zealand who were not conspicuously experienced in controlling finance, but who were rather concerned especially in giving effect to Government policy. The Mortgage Corporation, too, had been remodelled so that State guarantees replaced reserves. The logical outcome of the Governi ment's policy, eaid Mr. Coates, was an , absolute regulation of imports through I the control of foreign exchange, the I licensing of industry to a point where monopolies would be inevitable and complete power over all matters affecting trade and commerce. Already freedom was giving place to the regimentation of Socialism. The only way out lay in an insistence on freedom and a : determination to co-operate with all I the countries of the Empire in matters ] not only of trade but also of Imperial j unity. Anything that 'weakened New Zealand's ties with Great Britain could I end. only in disaster for the country as a whole. A definite policy would have ' to he placed before the people at the ■ earliest possible moment. It was not : neceesary to issue a detailed manifesto, i but a statement of policy in jreneral terms would be of the greatest help to the country.