REPLY TO MR H. S. S. KYLE.

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LVI, Issue 89, 22 November 1935, Page 4

REPLY TO MR H. S. S. KYLE.

Sir,—ln Mr Kyle's political address at Greenpark, published in the Guardian, reference was made to the progress towards recovery in Australia, but no mention was made of the large amount of interest which is being paid by that country. Two years ago Australia was paying £6600 per minute, and as they have raised further loans since, the interest has probably been increased. As for Dr. Copland, he has been quoted as having said that to be prosperous meant going further into debt. Mr Kyle gave a doleful account of what happened in New South Wales when that State had a Labour Government. The fact is, of course, that the Australian Labour Party tried to carry on much on the usual lines, and received no help from the Opposition. Mr Lang was hampered on all sides, and although he might have stumbled on to something, he was not given much chance. Taxes in Queensland are high because the Labour Party does not understand where the trouble rightly belongs. The Labour Party here has learnt a lesson by the mistakes of the others, and intends to proceed on much different lines. Mr Kyle throws doubt on the possibility of paying £1 10s per week to all those over 60; this is little enough and as it is proposed to do this and to proceed with other schemes of like nature, without incurring- a debt, and without more taxation, the proposition is not so difficult or dangerous as Mr Kyle would have us believe. Mr Kyle said the workers I would suffer if the Labour Party's plans failed. If the Labour Party gets into power and the people stand firm and back it up in its endeavour to make New Zealand a prosperous and free country, the party can do as it says. Mr Kyle tries to defend the high exchange, without much success: in fact, this is where the workers are hit. The small working farmers and business men can also tell of considerable losses through the exchange and sales tax.

Labour's contention that the people should be given the chance to consume more of our local products is no doubt in the right direction, and economic nationalism is by no means any contributory cause of the world's

troubles. Each country must first put its own people in an economic position to consume to the best of their ability. The point is that if we cannot consume our proper share of our own products, we have not the means to consume imports, as the cost of transport must be added to the cost of the imported goods, whereby they carry a heavier charge. The same applies to the imports of other countries.

The Democrat Party has come into existence no doubt to try and catch the voters who are dissatisfied with the present Government, and, of course, to keep Labour out at all costs. —I am, etc., A.B.