A QUESTION OR TWO FOR MR. ARMSTRONG

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 206, 28 May 1938, Page 10

A QUESTION OR TWO FOR MR. ARMSTRONG

Apart from his threat to “poke in the nose” an interjector, and the customary Ministerial intimation of the dreadful things that are going to happen to newspaper editors who disagree with the Government’s idea of things, the Minister of Labour appeared to lack some of his customary enthusiasm at his Northland meeting on Thursday evening. Mr. Armstrong is of the plain-blunt-man type who calls a spade by whatever name is at the moment, most likely to. appeal to his particular audience, and most people like him for his outspokenness. But when he gets into the field of high finance, and the larger issues of public policy he is not always as helpful as he might be to his colleagues. For instance, Mr. Armstrong ventured on Thursday evemyg to attempt to explain away the inconsistency between his party’s prelection professions in respect of the exchange rate and its after-election , attitude in failing to caf*ry out its pledges. In his simple way. the Minister said that the raising of the exchange rate by the previous Government had been opposed by his party because they thought it was going to bankrupt hundreds of good people in New 'Zealand. Now they thought it would bankrupt another lot of people if they attempted suddenly to reduce it again. So, of course, nothing has been done. If this is the view of the Government to-day then the Socialist Party when it promised to reduce the rate of exchange in.its election campaign of 1935 either (1) did not know what.it was talking about or (2) deliberately deceived the electors by making a promise it knew it could not honour. Mr. Armstrong might consult his colleague, the Minister of Finance, and ask of these alternatives he would prefer to have the Government adopt:, an admission of financial ignorance or a confession of political deception., Another matter which Mr. Armstrong might discuss with his colleagues is a suitable answer to a question submitted a day or two ago by a correspondent. At his Northland meeting the Minister enlarged with some eloquence on the shortcomings of the previous Government during the depression period and incidentally touched on the deep concern of the present Government for the welfare of the people. Mr. Armstrong knows that his party claims to have a to insulate New Zealand against such economic disturbances as inflicted* hardship on the people of the Dominion in the depression period. If that claim is warranted will Mr. Armstrong explain why the plan was never brought forward by his party in those trying days to assist those in misfortune, and tide them over their troubles. Did the Socialist Party prefer to allow the people to suffer in order to make political capital against its opponents, rather than disclose its plan ? Or is the claim that the party has such a plan the humbug mostpeople believe it to be?