“SHOULD COUNT OUR BLESSINGS”

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 174, 20 April 1937, Page 10

“SHOULD COUNT OUR BLESSINGS”

Hon. A. Hamilton Addresses Social Credit Movement FUNCTION OF MONEY "New Zealand is enjoying, ami has enjoyed, notwithstanding the slump, the best standard of living the world has ever known,” said Ihe Leader ol the Opposition, Hon. A. Hamilton, in an address io the Wellington branch of the Douglas Social Credit Movement last evening. Mr. Hamilton warned the people not to be led astray by the lure of easy money. Mr. G. Miller presided over the meeting. which was attended by about 60 members. Social credit, said -Mr. Hamilton, involved a study of the monetary system, and a study of anything was good. It was very difficult, however, to get a defined and exact term of social credit. British people were apt to talk about their troubles and magnify them. Very often they gave 10 times more discussion to their troubles than they did to the blessings they enjoyed. “We in New Zealaud are inclined to overlook the countless blessings we enjoy iu this favoured land of ours,” continued Mr. Hamilton. “No geheration of people anywhere in the world enjoys the standard of living we enjoy/ We are a wonderfully fortunate people, and we have a mighty lot to be thankful for. I often think of the old hymn. ‘Count your blessings, and name them one by one.’ We are not living in a perfect world by any means, but what is the cause of the things that are wrong and what is the cure? ’No country lias married any particular solution of its problems and lived happily afterward.’ ” Distribution of Wealth. Was there any country in the world where wealth was better distributed than in New Zealand? asked Mr. Hamilton. There were no millionaires in New Zealand yet. A voice: We don’t want them, either. Mr. Hamilton: I agree with you, and we don’t want any poor either. Is there any country in the world where wealth and earnings are taxed so heavily to provide services for the poor people? You people say many of pur social evils could be cured by a correction of our monetary system. Voices: Hear, hear. ■ Mr. Hamilton said that money was necessary in the world's economy. He agreed that there wore imperfections in the system, and it was the job of the people to improve it as much as possible. It had to be remembered that a study of money was a study of something that was not an exact science. The money system bad been built up over the centuries; it had grown up after long years of experience and was serving mankind reasonably well. A voice: Say unreasonably and you might be right. Mr. Hamilton:' I (bought you wouldn’t, agree with that. I repeat that the system was built up over the centuries. Gold is the metal that the Almighty has put in the world that fills the bill best. A voice: Gold itself is bought with money. Dependent on Outside World. Mr. Hamilton : Gohl is dug out of the earth. I will admit that our monetary system is not perfect. If this problem of the imperfection of gold as a standard for money could be solved and a perfect standard evolved, it would be one of the greatest boons we could confer upon the world. We are not a self-contained country. We are very dependent upon the outside world. Whatever we have as a standard must be acceptable to other nations. We don’t pay our debts in what we say: it is what the other fellow says that: counts. The Great War. said Mr. Hamilton, gave the monetary system a terrificshake. A voice: It busted if. Mr. Hamilton: We are 20 years away from the war and it is not busted yet. It may have gone a bit "wonky.” (Laughter.) Another voice: What would it look like if it were busted? Mr. Hamilton: I started off with the assumption that we are’enjoying the best standard of living the world has ever known. You magnify everything that is wrong, but you don't look upon everything that is right. We got through a mighty big war and the world is not bankrupt yet. A voice: Has anybody paid up? Mr. Hamilton: Yes, everybody is paying up. We have paid up our war debts fairly well. We have never defaulted 1/- worth of our debts. They let us off the sinking fund, but nothing has been wiped off. It is true we reduced the amount-of interest. The electors had been told that the money being used for the housing proposals was costless credit, continued Mr. Hamilton. Iu his judgment it was purely a loan which would have to be repaid. “Before you change your present system, which works passably well, notwithstanding alt the criticism levelled against it. just make sure you substitute something that is an improvement upon what has stood the British people in good stead for centuries,” said Mr. Hamilton. “If you can give us a perfect standard for money you will be performing a mighty big service to the world.” At the conclusion of his address Mr. Hamilton answered a number of questions.