The Dominion. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1933. CONFIDENCE IS NOW JUSTIFIED

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 47, 18 November 1933, Page 6

The Dominion. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1933. CONFIDENCE IS NOW JUSTIFIED

Calamity howlers and other varieties of pessimists may describe the biff Carnival which opens in Wellington to-day as an attempt to boost by artificial means the depressed spirits and trade of the community. Therein they will be wrong. . Time and favouring circumstance have made the Carnival coincident with the appearance of a distinct and definite rift in the clouds of adversity. The sun has broken through. We can see an increasing expanse of blue. The Carnival is in fact, and should be in spirit, a festival of rejoicing at the turn of the tide. It would be a cruel imposition on the credulity of the public to declare that the worst is over when it is not. But there can be no gainsaving the fact that, as far as the British Empire is concerned, it is definitely over. There was little hope of a real recovery in the overseas Dominions as long as Britain herself was in the trough of the Clepr When the head office of a big firm, is in a bad way the branches feel the effects. Much as we may pride ourselves on our independent sovereign status, the fact remains that economically we are still, more or less one of the branches of the British tree. Recent events have proved that the fine old tree is sound to the heart. . It may take a little time for the effects of Britain s magnificent raljy from her economic illness to make themselves manifest in this country, but there is nothing more certain than that they will arrive. The first effects are already perceptible, and they are well worth-capi-talising as a psychological stimulant to public confidence. There is no longer any need to shrink from taking a plunge. What is wanted now is that soaring spirit of confidence which in Britain to-day has moved the London Observer to sound this exultant note: —

The forges of'Sheffield are singing, and the looms of Bradford are crooning, with a music that had long been stilled. Employment everywhere' expands with a momentum that absorbs and annuls seasonal fluctuation. Whatever is uncertain in the future is external. Britain, both domestic and Imperial, has found herself and found her road. If we in New Zealand want to participate to the full, and at the earliest possible moment, in the better conditions which have now definitely returned to Britain, we must be prepared to bank on the futuie with courage, confidence, and enterprise. During the worst of the depression many have let go, some under overwhelming pressure, some under panic and faint-heartedness. Others have held on with grim tenacity, confident in the power of the country eventually to recover. It has been an ugly, at times a terrifying, experience. That is past. Let there be no mistake about it. 1 rue, there are external circumstances beyond our control, but that condition of human affairs has existed throughout the centuries, 'lhe possibilities of what might happen in the way of calamities have never deterred the bravehearted from making the best of every circumstance favourable to their enterprises, and forging steadily ahead. People in this country are still inclined to worry themselves .over the question: When will the bottom of the depression be reached ? T hat question might have been justified a year ago. It is no longer justified. We have not only touched the bottom. We have passed it. Even in this country there is evidence that the upward rise has commenced. Those whose business it is to read the trade barometer have noticed the movement and felt justified in proclaiming the fact. “We are meeting to-day in better heart than we have done for the past three years,” declared the president of the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation earlier in the week. There can be no question that he had sound reasons for the statement. What is now required is a tremendous united effort on the part of all classes, and especially the business community, to accelerate the upward movement. The public can face the future with a greater measure of confidence than has been possible for many months past. There should be a loosening of purse-strings; the hoarding tendency is now hampering the rate of recovery; the spirit of enterprise should be given full ’sway. We may be confident that zero hour has been passed.