DOMINION TOPICS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 287, 31 August 1935, Page 18

DOMINION TOPICS

Trade With the East. The question of sending a wellequipped mission to Japan by the Do minion Is worthy of serious consideration There can be no question but the East affords great opportunity in this connection The requirements of the teeming millions of that vast and largely unexplored region, as far as trade is concerned, are little realised by the people it is essential that we should have more than one string qn our trade bow. The Home market may not long remain as open as it is to-day ; there are premonitions that such will be the case, and consequently no time should be lost in seeking alternative outlets for our surplus production At the moment it appears that the most hopeful alternative market is in ‘he East, where millions can be catered for.—"Timaru Post.” The Cloven Hoof.

The National Unemployed Workers' Movement it will be remembered, has shown more positive militancy, and there is unmistakable evidence that members of the Communist Party have an active interest in this body In fact it is not going top far to say that members of the Communist Party occupy many of the important positions in the organisation and it as well that those members of the Relief Workers' Association who are asked to join the National Unemployed Workers’ Union should be aware of this fact. With the general improvement in conditions members of the Relief Workers’ Asso elation should ask themselves whether at this stage a change is desirable, and whether, at the onset of a general election, they should tie themselves to an organisation which approaches very close to being an organisation controlled by the Communist Party in this country.—“ Southland Times.”

Toll of the Crossing. It is estimated by statisticians that the average family normally requires £2OOO to bring a child to the wage-pro-ducing age. Estimating the average future income and the chances of dying, the value of the human life at the beginning of its earning years is approximately £6OOO. At older ages life-values vary from 20 times the income at age 30 to 12 times the income at age 50. New Zealand since 1922 has lost an average of 14 persons annually at level crossings, the death roll reaching 34 in 1930. In the same period there have been 42 serious accidents at level crossings annually. For the amount that the Government: proposes to spend on the elimination of level crossings—£l2o,ooo a year for three years—insurance companies would not insure , the victims against death and accident. The allocation is hopelessly inadequate. —Christchurch “Star-Sun.”

“Our Road.” The Te Anau-MUford Road is practically “our” road, and we should make it so by publishing at home and abroad the fact that all the points of interest in the southern lake and sounds district are a hundred miles nearer Invercargill than they are to any other town within easy distance of a seaport. If these measures are not taken quickly we shall find that others have anticipated our action and are already firmiy installed in popularity. It is distinctly the part of Southland to establish the vogue for the tourist traffic along the great motor road through the northwestern portion of this provincial‘district, and this cannot be done without money. It is fitting that the “coming of age” of the League should be marked by a resolution to increase materially the fighting fund. It should be demonstrated in every way possible that this is a Southland possession a’nd that the most direct route is via Bluff and the Invercarglll-Te Anau Road, along the Eglinton and Hollyford Valleys, to the destination on the sea coast. —“Southland Daily News." One-Way or Two-Way Trade?

If there is to be one door and one only for the entry of Dominion pr> ducts into Britain, while every foreign country is to be free to negotiate and obtain terms, New Zealand will be compelled to alter the whole course of its economic development to bring it more in line with its Empire competitors, and particularly Australia. New Zealand does not desire to force the change, as its tariff history shows, hut if Britain is to treat our tariff level as a matter of no concern when considering our rights in the Home market, it is useless to open up more of our marker to British manufactured goods. The posit’on as at present understood is that New Zealand could tear down all tariffs and become completely freetrade, or it coulfd raise its tariff to the skies, and neither movement would be of the slightest interest to the British Government. From the point of view of those actually engaged in trade nothing could be more illogical, yet that is what Mr. Baldwin’s statement means. Is such a statement or such a policy likely to stand for long? The only path toward freer trade wilhin the Empire, as outside it. is to offer every Dominion some inducement to scale down its tariff.—“ Auckland Star.” A Ballad for the Democrats.

X ballad that racked as humorous with an earlier generation recalled how “Hans Breltmann glfe a barty.“ and went on to ask “There Is dat bartv now’” A resigned, if hardly a joyful answer can be given fo the question if it is applied to the new Democrat Party that has been holding its firs; Dominion conference In Wellington. Following' the example of religious courtesies, the'first business of the conference might very well have been to receive a deputation from- the Labour Party congratulating It on its promise of splitting votes. The conference has ended after three days’ discussions, but no report oh the business transacted has yet been made public. There will be no ’ impatience for it. After first “attempts to sabotage” the hopeful movement, there was nothing wrong with the conference, according to Mr. Davy, the party’s professional organiser. That may have been so, but the glamour of the Democrat Party, if it eve. possessed«any. ,-iil have faded for a considerable number of the public now that they have had a clearer view of it. « Vhere ish de lofely golden cloud Dat float on de moundains’ prow? The familiar forms of Mr. Veitch. Mr. Stallworthy, Colonel McDonald and Mr. J. B. Donald, emerging as possible saviours of the State, do not blend with it.—Dunedin “Star.”

An Important Development. So far as the Mortgage Corporation succeeds in the policy it has declared, it will be a development of the utmost importance in the financial history of New Zealand. A point that must not be overlooked is that for business to be possible on the terms outlined the security accepted for loans will have to be entirely sound. With interest cut so fine, with a difference of only $ per cent between borrowing and lending rates, there will be no margin for losses, no room for a breath of speculative risk Consequently the question of valuation will be vital, and settlement of differences when a mortgagor seeks a reduction of his interest to the new rate will be the most delicate and laborious task in the firm establishment of the Corporation on the lines laid down. How it will be attacked-and overcome only the future can show. At the moment the level on which it is proposed to do business is of chief interest, and of very deep interest at that. —“N.Z. Herald.” New Mortgage Finance.

A settler who purchases a property with the assistance of a corporation loan will pay - five per cent, for 45 years, and at the end of that period will have liquidated his debt to the lender. The benefit this arrangement will afford State mortgagors will entail a loss to the Government, which will receive in future only £3/7/6 for money borrowed by the State at a higher rate of interest. This possibility was foreseen, and apparently the acceptance of the loss by the State is regarded as the community’s contribution towards economic rehabilitation, particularly of the rural industries, and as a means of protecting the interests of the investors ryho purchase the corporation’s stock and debentures. /If the corporation’s proposals bring about fresh hope and endeavour among those now despondent, the indirect benefit derived by L he State may outweigh the losses it must accept in the shape of lowqr interest receipts and bad debts.—/‘‘Taranaki Daily News." Good Dairying Prospects.

New Zealand and Australian blitter is expected to be in short supply at the end of September . which means that the first arrivals of new season butter should meet a buoyant market. At the same time comes news of warm, dry weather, even drought conditions, in the South of England and in part of Europe. Under these conditions it is not likely that the northern production season will be an extended one. Another welcome item is that for the first dx months of 1935 British cheese imports decreased by 6500 tons, compared with the previous year, and butter imports decreased by 16.000 tons. This is the direct cause of the higher prices now ruling, for stocks have been reduced to a point lower for this time of the year than they have been for some seasons. And even a war between Italy and Abyssinia need not be feared as a disturbing factor in the primary produce markets. War in East Africa cannot affect supply and demand ni Britain, so that there is no cloud on the dairy producer’s horizon.—“Taranaki Herald.” Labour’s Nebulous Policy.

Anyone who takes the trouble to read the official text of the Labour plan and compare it with the Government’s actual record of achievement will discover that, the claim is unfounded. There is more coherence and consistency, more clarity of intention, in wbat the Government has done than in all that the Labour Party is promising to do. The Government’s plan is based on a frank recognition of the realities of the world economic situation as they affect New Zealand; it has involved no increase in State indebtedness; and it has demonstrably produced an improvement in economic conditions in New Zealand. Labour’s plan is based on the belief that New Zealand can be insulated from the effects of economic developments overseas; on its financial side it relies on credit schemes which no one has yet tried to explain; and its net result would probably be a heavy shrinkage in New Zealand’s trade without any commensurate expansion of domestic production. — “The Press,” Christchurch. Z Worthwhile Speech.

It will not do for the electors >o dismiss Mr. Forbes’s speech as an ofttold tale. It is certainly not new in the sense of making disclosures touching the Dominion’s recent political history; but it is of very great value because of the close sequence that is followed in setting down events since 1929. Causes and effects are intelligently examined; the relationship of the problem in New Zealand to the problems of other countries is discussed: and influences are traced which have complicated and impeded the free flow of international trade, vital to the well-being of any single economic unit. In short, an opportunity is presented of seeing the whole drab picture of fix. years of economic adversity in proper perspective. If that opportunity is taken, and if a thoughtful attempt is made to appreciate the unique administrative complexities of the quinquennium, then there need be little doubt that the Forbes-Coates Government will be credited with having performed a valuable constructive task.—“Otago Daily Times.” Public Works.

Expenditure by the Public Works Department fell from nearly £7.000,000 in 1921 to a little more than £2.000,000 in 1933. which was almost identical witb the annual average from 1906 up tc the war years. Between 1921 ami 1932 the average expenditure was in excess of £5.000,000. so that the drop to the 1933 level means that £3.000,000 a year has been withdrawn from circulation in this direction alone. It is probable that if the curtailment of local body and private activity of a s’milar nature is taken into consideration it would be found that the total reduction in expenditure would be not less than £5,000,000, tht greater part of which would have been paid in respect of wages. It is not suggested, of course, that the Dominion would be justified in returning to the conditions existing prior *> 1932. for there can be little doubt that the excessive acceleration of work during the 10 years preceding that date was in some measure responsible for th- necessity of reducing subsequent activity, but it is contended that there should be more scope for development to-day than there was in the pre-war period.—“ Poverty Bay Herald.”