TO RESTORE SECURITY

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 32, 7 February 1935, Page 12

TO RESTORE SECURITY

GOVERNMENT'S AIM

"SAVE SHIP AND CREW"

•MR. COATES AT FEILDING

(Special to the "Evening Post.")

FEILDING, This Day.

. That the Government was doing its very best to guide the destinies of the country into channels which were calculated to restore security and to bring back happiness and prosperity to the Dominion, was the opinion expressed by the Minister of Finance (the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) when speaking at a complimentary luncheon tendered him at the Feilding A. and P. Show yesterday.

The Dominion had to recognise, said Mr. Coates, that its make-up was primary production. He often wondered what would have happened had. New Zealand adopted the policy of making its own goods and not exporting anything. Such a policy would lead to the lowering of the general standard of living, and those who advocated such a scheme of living within ourselves overlooked the fact that New Zealand was the greatest exporting country per head" of population in the world. Therefore, as the Dominion was subject to world conditions so much more than any other land, it was for the Government to watch everything that made for prosperity. All could not agree as to the method, but if .the Government was to "wait for public approval of this policy or that all the horses would be out of the stable. "Our policy is to save the ship and the crew, not to save the crew when the ship is sinking," he said. One matter of'great importance was the policy adopted following the Ottawa Agreement. Every effort had been made to comply with the Agreement, including the giving of tariff preferences. If world surpluses were allowed to go unrestricted' on to the world's markets, then New Zealand's outlook must be limited, but world surpluses were not now being admitted to the world's markets. Another point to be considered was what was to happen on August 20 when Dominion production would come up for review. Was New Zealand to have quantitative regulation? Was it ,to have levies? And in considering these questions it had to be realised that the levies would be paid to the British farmer. The Dominion must turn its mind to these difficult questions and arrive at a decision. A further matter was the adjusting of costs and the complete reorganisation of the whole of the rural finance of the country. This would be freely discussed within the next few weeks. The Minister declared that many did not realise the parlous plight of many of our citizens as the result of heavy commitments which present prices were unable to meet.