NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 200, 21 May 1931, Page 8

NOTES OF THE DAY

A moderate and reasonable remonstrance against the drastic reduction of the Government’s grant to the New Zealand Institute has been made by Dr. Coleridge Farr. He recognises the necessities that press upon the Government and his plea was more directed to the restoration of the full grant when times irhprove than a demand for immediate re-instatement. By contrast with much of the hectoring the Government has to withstand, such a comprehending attitude should be counted to the Institute for virtue and its claims, so well stated by Dr. Farr, should receive special consideration when finances permit. It is a reflection on the official sense of values that the grants to the Institute should have been cut from £2500 to £750; that is, they have been reduced to less than a third of their former figure. Many other State grants or subsidies have not yet suffered in like measure although their objects may in the long run be of far less importance to New Zealand’s future than the scientific pursuits of the Institute.

It is not too much to say that the whole Dominion was thrilled yesterday at the news of the New Zealand team’s decisive win from an M.C.C. eleven. In this country, if we have been inclined to exalt our Rugby footballers, we have also been apologetically modest about our cricket. This inferiority complex was not altogether dissipated by the creditable tour of the New Zealanders in 1927, eclipsed so soon as it was by _ the dazzling records of the Australians, particularly Bradman and Grimmett. But now the doubting Thomases have to explain the splendid performance at Lord’s on Monday and Tuesday. It is true —and the exultant should not lose sight of the fact that the luck was all in New Zealand’s favour and that, had it been the other way about, the result might have been reversed. Allowing for that, however, and it is all in the game, New Zealanders can still claim that they possessed the batting and bowling talent to take advantage of opportunities made by the weather. It is one thing to be smiled on by fortune but quite another to be able to exploit the favourable moment.

Weaknesses in the world’s distributive system are receiving increasing attention by thinkers everywhere. A New Zealand echo was heard in Auckland yesterday on the subject of milk delivery and some lefeience to the world problem of distribution was made at Geneva by Mr. Henderson, British Foreign Secretary. The world seems to have solved the problem of production but, as'Mr. Henderson points out, “unemployment, poverty and starvation exist while the corn-bins of Europe and countries overseas are bursting with food which cannot be sold.” The International Wheat Producers’ Conference m London is considering limitation of output as one remedy but that can only be a palliative; the root of the matter will be not reached without an overhaul of the distributive system. The causes of the present marketing deadlock are fairly well understood but, since international interests crop up at every turn of the wav, it is not easy to clear the path.

Australian politics continue to drift along short of a decision but time goes on relentlessly, consuming the short period of grace that remains for the Commonwealth to put her house in order. A reprieve was gained on March 24 when the Commonwealth Bank drew on its London resources to pay off £5,000,000 of Treasury bills which could not be re-discounted. But there still remains a floating debt of over 50 millions borrowed by the Federation and States, of which 33 millions is owed in London. Of the total, 30 millions is due to the Commonwealth Bank, 10 to the Australian trading banks, five to the Westminster Bank, and another five millions is due on Treasury bills maturing in London on June 30. It was on account of this last obligation that the Federal Government sought to export five millions of gold, a scheme checkmated in the Senate No other provision has yet been made and meanwhile the Commonwealth and most of the States continue to pile up deficits because they will not reduce expenditure to meet reductions in income. There seems no present prospect of Australia emerging unscathed from this precarious and dangerous financial condition.