DOUGLAS CREDIT

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 16, 13 October 1933, Page 10

DOUGLAS CREDIT

Prime Minister’s Remark

MR. SAVAGE IN REPLY

An assertion by the Prime Minister that the Douglas credit movement had passed through America some years ago and that nobody had taken it seriously was. the subject of comment by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. M. J. Savage, when speaking in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon during the debate on the World Monetary and Economic Conference.

The World Conference, said Mr. Savage, appeared to have discussed “every problem under the sun” except the fundamental one—the need to increase the purchasing power of the people. It was an economic impossibility to exchange goods for goods and pay outstanding debts at the same time, as between nation and nation. “I wonder how many members there are on the Government benches who can give us a rough idea of what the Douglas credit system really is?” said Mr. Savage. A Government Member: How many in the Labour Party could do that? Mr. R. Semple (Lab., Wellington East) : We understand it. Mr. Savage: We are going to say we understand il. If we set out to condemn it we would at least have a reason. It is not sufficient to laugh and sav the Douglas credit plan passed through America years ago and no one took it seriously. Hold in New Zealand. Mr. H. Atmore (Ind., Nelson) : They are taking it seriously in the Auckland province. Mr. Savage: Yes, and in many other parts of New Zealand. The Minister of Finance, Rt. Hon. J. G; Coates: Does the Labour Party support it? Mr. Savage: I am not discussing the Douglas credit system. I am discussing the policy of the Government and the shallow criticism of some of its representatives. The Douglas credit people want to control the credit and currency of this country. . .

Mr. W. E. Parry (Lab., Auckland Central) : So do we. Mr. Savage: They say it belongs to the people and should be controlled by the people. They say the people should benefit, to the full extent to which they produce. We say that, too. Now, I wonder if the Government understands that. Could we agree on fundamentals? Could we agree that the present banking system has failed, and that the international conference failed to face up to the issue?

Banking System Failed.

The present banking system, said Mr. Savage, had broken down, and the statesmen of the world would never right anything until they righted the banking system. The scheme of the Labour Party was quite simple. Labour held that the banking system of New Zealand should be controlled here, not abroad. Moreover, it contended that there was a grave danger that it was going to be controlled from abroad. He was not arguing that a central banking system was necessarily bad. He was arguing that any banking system controlled by private Interests was necessarily bad. . “We say,” said Mr. Savage, “that the credit of the people of New Zealand should be available to the people of New Zealand, so that they will be able to buy back the things they produce. Any differences that can be found, and any degree of satisfaction the Government members can find, in putting the Labour Party up against the Douglas credit people, they are welcome to. The aggregate price of all commodities in any country cannot rise higher than the aggregate purchasing power of the people of that country. . . Mr. Semple: Let them answer that. Mr. Parry: That’s the good stuff. Captain 11. M. Rushworth (Ind., Bay of Islands) said he would like to know whether the Prime Minister was aware that the Douglas credit, theory was so far from dead that, in April last, a prominent member of the British Treasury staff undertook a public debate in Birmingham with Major Douglas himself, and that the consensus of opinion among those who were present was that Major Douglas made his case entirely, in spite of the fact that he was opposed by one of the world's recognised experts. Was the Prime Minister also aware that, while the World Conference was actually siting, the Douglas credit system was regarded as of such importance that Professor Robertson, of Cambridge University, undertook a debate with Major Douglas, and that the speeches were broadcast throughout England? “This is the matter the Prime Minister said was dead,” continued Captain Rush worth. “I think the Prime Minister was thinking of some other death. Probably he was thinking of the death of his one and only idea. However, it is not my intention to discuss the Douglas credit plan. The prisoner in the dock is the present system.” Mr. R. Semple (Lab., Wellington East) : We have said that for 20 years. Captain Rushworth: The present system is on trial. Mr. Semple: And the Government is in the dock with it. The debate was interrupted by the adjournment. PURCHASE OF CREAM Butter or Butterfat Basis? CHANGE NOT JUSTIFIED “The question of making payment at per pound of butter instead of at per pound of butterfat has received consideration, but it is not believed; that sufficient advantages would result from the change to make it worth while.” said the Minister of Employment, Hon. Adam Hamilton, when replying on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. C. E. Macmillan, to a question asked in the House of Representatives yesterday by Mr. D. S. Heid (Govt., Raglan). Mr. Reid asked whether the Government would consider amending the Dairy Industry Act to cause dairy factories to furnish returns of all cream graded and purchased, giving details of weight of each class of cream purchased and weight of butter made therefrom, and also to provide that suppliers be paid on the manufactured output of each factory. Mr. Hamilton said that to adopt Mr. Reid’s suggestion would mean that each grade of cream would require to be churned separately. This was practicable in some of the largest, creameries, but would be irksome in smaller creameries where there might be a difficulty in getting sufficient cream of the lowest grade for a churning.