The Dominion TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1941. AN IMPORTANT POSITION

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 111, 4 February 1941, Page 6

The Dominion TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1941. AN IMPORTANT POSITION

When the Governor of the Reserve Bank recently completed die term of his appointment, the Minister of Finance stated that the Deputy-Governor would act, for the time being, as Governor. Apparently, however, this is merely a temporary arrangement, as the DeputyGovernor’s term of appointment also expires shortly. What, then, a e the intentions of the Government regarding the future. Ihe need for the central bank of the country to-be under highest available expert direction was never greater than it is now. It is t e v er y P ie ing nature of the problems presented today, together with the certainty that matters financial will become more involved and difficult as the weeks pass, that makes many people hope for an early announcement of the reappointment of Mr. L. Lefeaux to the position.. rere is no one in the Dominion with his experience of central banking, and there can be no one more closely acquainted with the financial trend in the Dominion. Ths country, and the Government, have need ot the expert advice which Mr. Lefeaux is m a position to give, and there is no Administration in the Empire, at this particular time, that could afford to set aside the best advice it could command, there is no reason at all why New Zealand should do so. It is essential that the person holding this key position should enjoy the full confidence of the directing authorities of the tradingbanks, and of the business world generally, and it can be said that Mr. Lefeaux, since his arrival in the Dominion, has won it. The appointment of a successor from overseas might entail some further temporary adjustments at the Reserve Bank, and it would. then take some time for the new Governor to get a grasp of the position and of the peculiar difficulties to be faced here. These drawbacks would be obviated if the banker who has directed the course of the Reserve Bank from its inception were asked to accept a further term, one likely to cover the course of the war and the years of adjustment and readjustment that must come after the return of peace. Theie should be no further uncertainty in this matter. Temporary arrangements with resoect to very important positions cannot be satisfactory to anyone, and the best interests of the Dominion require that the position of Governor of the Reserve Bank should be filled by the best qualified person available.