BANK POLICY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 76, 31 March 1941, Page 3

BANK POLICY.

LABOUR ATTITUDE. I VACANT GOVERNORSHIP, j (O.C.i WELLINGTON. Sunday, j '1 lie appointment "i a governor of the > Reserve Bank of Now Zealand in' succession to Mr. Leslie Lc.featix. who ' retired at the end of December, is not : expected to be announced for some time yet. The. Go\criimeitt's decision is bjing withheld, it is , understood, until the term of the appointment of tlie deputvgovernor, Mr. \V. F. L. Ward. expires at the end of April. One expla nation given in reliable, quartern for the delay in making a |;ei niiuient appointment is that "the Government is awaiting an opportune time to recast the salary provisions attaching to the po->:tinii« of governor and deputy-governor. Members of the Labour party have made no secret that they evaluate the governorship at a i-iini a peat deal le~s than the £-">OOO per annum paid to Mr. Lefeanx. and it is considered likely that the. .-alary to lixed for the new appointee will, indeed, be closer to that now paid to the deputygovernor. It is pointed out thai an invidious situation would have been created of the governor receiving no more than his deputy if an appointment had been made while Mr. Ward was still holding otlice. The unwillingness of the Government to take over the bank of Xew Zealand continues to exercise the minority of the Labour party, who contend that that act is necessary to carry out the party's policy of currency control. Reports are that at the caucus before the session the subject was debated at .meat length, and that the Minister of Finance, the Hon. W. Nash, .spoke strongly in opposition to the proposal. It is reported that he told the caucus that the Government had power to take over the bank without further legislative authority, but such action would be unwise, and his financial policy was endorsed by the caucus.