POLITICAL PAMPHLET AGAIN

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 257, 28 July 1939, Page 10

POLITICAL PAMPHLET AGAIN

Mr. Dickie Quotes The Lee Letter CRITIC OF FINANCIAL POLICY Some use of what is known as the Lee Letter was made by -Mr. Dickie (Opposition, Batea), in the course ol criticism of the Government’s financial policy when he was speaking in the Address-in-Reply debate in the House o£ Representatives yesterday. The Lee Letter, he said, bad spilt the bean* rather badly so far as the Government was concerned. In it, Mr. Lee pointed out that he had drawn attention to the fact that the London funds were being depleted, but no action bad been taken, and that when action was taken the horse was not' only out of the stable door but .had got into another country as well. “Mr. Leo, I suppose, is the red-blood-ed he-man of the outfit,’ said Mr Dickie. “Among his complaints Is that caucus decided that it would refund the 1937 loan at 3} per cent., and the Prime Minister and Minister ol Is iuance insisted on the loan being converted at i per cent. more. Fancy caucus deciding the rate at which the British moneylender would lend.’ Mr. Nash had also declined to take over the Bank of New Zealand, Mr. Dickie said, and the Prime Minister had threatened to resign if the Ministers were pushed too hard by- caucus. What advantage the left wingers expected to get if they took over the Bank of New Zealand he batt never heard anybody in the House state. The Government member for Eden. Mr. Anderton, had said he did not believe in borrowing, Mr. Dickie said. He quoted from the minutes of the last an mini conference of the New Zealand Labour Party a "statement by Mr. Nash that it would be necessary to borrow overseas, and that that would be difficult though not impossible. That was the position, Mr. Dickie added, into which New Zealand finances had drifted as a result of the inflationary policy' of the Government. It was a remarkable fact that speeches of members of Cabinet in the debate made no refer ence to the present terrible mess of the finances of the country. Deteriorated Land. Discussing the problem of deteriorated land, Mr. Dickie said that from the Wanganui River to Te Kniti there were approximately 1,000.090 acre-’ that had deteriorated in some way. The Minister of Agriculture said that a lor of this land should never have been settled. But it was easy to he wise after the event. During the wonderfully prosperous years there had been much settlement in the pari of the country to which he referred. Deter ioration had commenced and could not be stopped. Today that was a problem not only for the farmers on the land, but also for the Governmen' which owned a large number of the mortgages. “In my opinion the whole of rhe land tax and the whole of the rates will have to go for a start." Mr. Dickie said. Consideration might also lie given to the question of whether it would be possible to handle that land in larger areas and by settling younger men on it. It was questionable how far afforestation could go on those lands, and whether there would be any commercial value in planting pintis in signis. He did not know whether any other tree would be suitable. The problem was complicated out it must be faced.