CORRESPONDENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 20, 24 July 1934, Page 8

CORRESPONDENCE

RESTORATION OF CONFIDENCE

(To the Editor.) : Sir > —In reply to ."Coalitionist" in the "Evening Post" on Friday as to whether Mr. Downie Stewart would re-enter the present Cabinet, this, of course, is known only to Mr. Stewart himself. It only requires an alert mind and a reasonable education to discern the causes responsible Tor the growing dissatisfaction with the present policy of tho Coalition. Tho writer is in full accord with " Coalitionist" that in so far as the general welfare of this Dominion is concerned the right placo for. Mr. Stewart is at the head of the reconstructed Coalition pledged to tho infusion of new blood into a full-strength Cabinet and' to have all portfolios administered solely by elected representatives of tho people. Personal feelings and individual aspirations. must go by the board if hope*and confidence in the Coalition are to be restored and.be consolidated by a future policy embodying orthodox principles of sound administration and. finance. Xn Australia this year it will absorb the whole of income tax derived from ■ Queensland,, New South Wales, and Victoria to meet the charges on exchange commitments. Ono- fears to calculate what •is involved, directly and indirectly, to meet, the cost of the present artificial rate of exchange in this Dominion—witli our comparatively slender, resources. -, With a 41b .loaf of bread selling in England at' 7A it will not be out "o£ place to trausgrcss and ask, what, if any, is the relationship between our present rate of exchange and the 'subsidy being \paid to favoured wheat growers.- 'Where, is the united voice of- the Labour Party pleadihg for the recognition of the natural rights of every breadwinner in this .Dominion? As what is morally wrong cannot be' economically right' the attitudo of the Labour Party concerning the question of wheat and 'flour must convince all true New Zealanders how imperative it is to bring about a reconstructed Coalition Government that will honour the needs of the majority. Tho adoption of artificial measures in connection with either currency or. bolstering up an over-capitalised primary industry shatters confidence and will take years to correct. Any elector with an,observant mind will have no .difficulty in arriving at the reason why Mr. Downio Stewart surrendered his position in the Cabinet. For whatevej may bo Mr. Stewart's faults, lack of political integrity is not one of them. '• , ■There is v tendency .to be misled by, rhetorical nonsense and well-worn platitudes, but tho blunt truth is, the democratic basis of* our national lifo is in jeopardy. This Dominion is steadily being ensnared in a policy that is setting glass against class. With breakers v ahead, tho steering; gear and tailshaft of the "ship' of State" have' broken down, -and it behoves all.members.of -the "Coalition crow" to fully realise what is b<jing t imperilled by "cliifting on a dangeroni course. ' It is futile to expect elretOTS to foster a falsely-founded spirit of optimism for the reason this Dominion has been in an extremely unsatisfactory financial position for some years, and the writer ventures'to state that nobody knew this better than Mr. Downie- 'Stewart when he Sacrificed Cabinet "rank rather than be a "party to attempting to rolmbilitate"onr, pconomic structure on unsound foundations. A reconstructed Coalition will have to 'bend its energies to adjust errors and thus restore freedom and security to all sections of tho community.—l am etc., ANOTHER COALITIONIST.