CANADA TO-DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 10, 13 January 1933, Page 7

CANADA TO-DAY

A MONETARY SCHEME

MR. DARLING'S PUN

(From "The Post's" Representative.) VANCOUVER 21st December. The Press of Canada is devoting its attention at the moment to the Empire monetary scheme of Mr.J. F. Darling, director of the Midland Bank, who was at the Ottawa Conference in an advisory capacity. Briefly, the Darling plan is to establish an international medium of exchange, based partly on gold, partly on silver, and partly on wheat. The 'wheat he would have Governments buy in Jarge quantities, and store in international treasuries. Against this they v could issue paper .money, as they now issue against gold. A cross-section of editorial opinion favours the plan as raising the price of wheat and commodities and reducing the burden of debt. But it is feared that the rentier, the man with investments and loans out at interest, might suffer, as his bonds would buy perhaps a quarter as much as Mr. Darling would attach the pound to silver on a twenty to one basis, and to a dollar of wheat. LOOKING AHEAD.

. The chairman of the Bank of Montreal, Sir Charles Gordon, in his annual report, scans the future with confi-' dence. "These trying times," he says have brought us to a realisation of some of our national problems—among them the paper industry, the railway situation, wheat, unemployment extravagance in. administrative expenditure and its resultant excessive debt and taxation,- which latter is one of the great handicaps to business recovery and expansion. At the same time, it is impossible not to be struck with the strength and resiliency which this country has exhibited. We have experienced a great contraction in our export trade. We have sustained substantial rebuffs in the form of heightened tariffs against our products. We have seen our dollar go to a heavy discount in the United States. Yet with all this, we have maintained as high a level of general well-being as any other country, and we are among the few nations of the world promptly meeting every obligation, both externally and internally. These considerations should strengthen our confidence in our country and its future." ONE TAX GATHERER. «™1 t C!? nf£ ren? e. betw*en the provinces and the Dominion will shortly discuss, T la° f atter™atters' a Proposal that the Federal Government should do all the collecting of income-taxes, both for itself and the provinces. The present duplication of taxes and machinery is costly, and leads to many complaints. A province under the British North American Act has power to raise direct taxation. On the other hand, the Dominion has the widest'authority for raising revenue, directly or indirectly. Neither function would be disturbed, -the Dominion would impose, first, its own rate, and then whatever a province, having, or wishing to establish an income tax, should request The Dominion would hand over the latter share to the province, exacting a certain percentage for collections: CANADA'S TWO BACHELORS. Canada has two eligible bachelors, the Prime Minister, Mr. Bennett, and his predecessor in office, Mr. Mackenzie r* g>, Bo£ T bril»ant sons of Canada. Mr. Bennett is reputedly wealthy; ln fact, a member of hi s party publicly stated recently that Mr Bennett gave 750,000 dollars to toe Conservatives' campaign fund just prior to the. last general election. Naturally the people are interested in- their rutuie/ On one occasion, four veari ago when Mr. Mackenzie King^wa visiting his electorate in Saskatchewan, decorating a musher and his doe for saving life, he mentioned that ho might °n° <? av bJ™g a bride home to the Prame. He has been silent on 'the point since; so has Dame Eumour. But that graceless jade has been busy with Mr. Bennett's happiness, especially since his life partner, his sister, married the Canadian Minister to Wash- ? n Bt°v /", *P' Benile" was leaving for England last week a sweepstake Ottawa whether an announcement of his^ forthcoming marriage would be made before his return. Rumour added a seat in the House of Lords as his prospect When a newspaper represon.t^'AT oing t0 beat his Allows, asked Mr. Bennett at the gangway as to its truth, the Prime Minister be cam e very angry and marvelled at the impertinence" of the Press in pryine into his personal affairs. The incident brought no satisfaction to the inquisitive but it gave another illustration ot the fact, often impressed on the House of Commons, that the Prime Minister of Canada lacks a sense of humour.

The kitchen of a house situated at i Vn? SCe"fc' Lyall Bay> ana owned by William E. Setter, was slightly damaged by fire yesterday afternoon. The outbreak occurred while a painter was burning s,ome paint from, one of the doors.