BOOKS OR ECONOMICS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 122, 16 February 1935, Page 19

BOOKS OR ECONOMICS

Money, Foreign Trade and Exchange (By Professor B. E. Murphy.) “Money, Foreign Trade and Exchange,” from a national point of view, by H. J. Welsh (London: Allen and Unwin) ; “The Future of Gold,” by Paul Einzig (London: McMillan and Co.) The first of these is one of a numerous class of books at the present time, a work on money and allied problems, written by a layman for other laymen. In this instance the author is a man of considerable business experience and some versatility; but while his discussion is spirited and vigorous; he breaks no new ground, nor does he completely cover his field. He deals rather with a number of selected topics, such as the nature of money, the significance of bank deposits, the nature of international lending, and the gold, standard. He is bold enough to attack the doctrine generally accepted by economists, and endorsed by the McMillan Committee, and generally rejected by bankers and other “practical” men, that the advances of one bank may constitute the deposits of another. He denies that banks can create credit or expand the currency, being restricted to lending but what has already been deposited with them. It seems a plain fact of observation, however, that within wide limits banks can at least vary the amount of available purchasing power, and this controversy is largely a misunderstanding of a verbal nature. The longest single section is that devoted to the .international debt problem. On the whole, the author considers that the international lending system which has now broken down was productive of more evil than good to both lenders and borrowers, and a growing body of moderate opinion now agrees with him. Except in the case of loans for works so productive that they will provide their own service out of this increased production, he sees no ease for international lending. With this view .ve have a good deal of sympathy. A system of trade that can be carried on only as long as the sellers will advance money to the buyers to pay for their purchases, seems neither desirable nor permanent. The author does not believe in the gold standard, . but while his discussion is interesting, it will not convince those who still believe that gold is on the whole the best form of money. Though gold standards have gone by the board in recent years, 1 the preference of mankind for gold as a store of treasure is greater than ever. Some of the author’s views, if carried out, would deprive London of her place as a world money market, and largely destroy the value of gold, of which the Empire is the greatest producer. It is a useful and stimulating little book. In -recent years Dr. Einzig has acquired considerable recognition as an explorer, in a practical way, of the debatable margin' between practical finance and international politics on the one hand, and economic theory and fact on the other, and he writes in a popular style mainly for a lay publie. One of his most recent contributions in this is this work on the present and future of gold as a monetary basis, a problem the importance of which cannot be exaggerated, intimately bound up as it is with the world price-level for primary produce, the weight of external and internal debt, the future of international trade, and every other problem of practical interest to us iu New Zealand. The price of gold he expects to rise a little, than to recede somewhat, but finally to stabilise at much higher levels than those prevailing to-day, And the reasons on which this opinion is based are given at some length. In arriving at his conclusions he discusses the major influences that will affect, sometimes in contradictory senses, the value of the metal, such as the probable future franc, which he considers cannot 6e maintained much longer at its present gold parity, the possibility of a further devaluation of the dollar, which he thinks likely, and which would bring the London price of gold up. to about 170/- per ounce, the hoarding of gold on the Continent and elsewhere, which seems to have attained unprecedented dimensions, the policy of central banks, demand factors, and condition of production. ■ The treatment in some places is necessarily cursory and sketchy, for adequately to go into the various problems raised would take a large volume. As it is, an astonishing amount of tabloid information is packed into quite small compass. He considers that, in some form gold will maintain its supremacy as the world’s money. Those who hold otherwise, he considers, omit the human factor, the historical and invincible preference of man for gold as a tangible store of treasure. Moreover, countries with large stocks of gold, and they are the principal countries, will not lightly undertake a policy that will destroy a great portion of its value, nor is sober opinion in the British Empire likely to acquiesce in a policy that would destroy the world value of one of its principal products. The book can be recommended as a timely and interesting account of the world position of gold at the present time. COMING OF THE MAORI “The Coming of the Maori to Ao-Tea-Roa,” by A. W. Reed. (Dunedin: A. H. and A. W. Reed). Mr. Reed has written this splendid little booklet as a simple account of the first settlement of our country, as a tribute to the hardy pioneers of olden days, and as a story which will bring enjoyment to the reader. The much disputed question of the former home of the Maori people is briefly discussed, followed by a valuable paragraph on the Maori canoes. The account of the wonderful voyage of Kupe and Ngahue to this land, of their investigations, and joyful return to proclaim the discovery to their own people, is vivid and telling. Later we read of the Great Migration, 1350, A.D., and the voyage of the storm-tossed canoe, the Arawa, the “Mayflower” of the Maori people, and the landing at last in the new country. This story of the discovery and later, the occupation of Ao-Tea-Roa by the Maori people, of the many tribal battles, the wonderful bravery and prowess of these hardy chiefs, is fascinating and intensely interesting. Its swift survey of a romantic history going back hundreds of years makes it of interest both to the student and the casual reader.

The annual report of the Bristol Public Library, whose lending department circulated 1.724,268 books in the year, records as the most popular novels to-day those of Buchan, Deeping, Farnol, Galsworthy, • Sir Philip Gibbs, Kipling, Sinclair Lewis, Oppenheim, Priestley, Vachell, Wallace, Walpole, Wodehouse and Brett Young.