STRAIGHT TO WORK

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 132, 1 December 1936, Page 11

STRAIGHT TO WORK

MR. WALTER NASH

ARRIVAL IN LONDON

PRESS INTERVIEW.

(From "The PostV Representative.) LONDON, November 11. Mr. Walter Nash, New Zealand's Minister of Finance and Marketing, started work immediately he arrived in London. Waterloo Station was thronged with New Zealanders to greet him, and Mr. W. J. Jordan, High Commissioner, was there to extend an official welcome. A few hours later at the Savoy Hotel, Mr. Nash gave a Press interview at which were represented probably the ■greatest number of newspapers that it has ever been the lot of a New Zealand Minister to address at one time in England. Immediately after the interview Mr. Nash hurraed off to see Mr. Malcolm Mac Donald, Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs. The Press interview was a rapid quick-fire of questions and answers. •Those who realised that Mr. Nash had been without sleep for a lengthy period, due to the delay of the liner Queen Mary, were amazed at the Minister's vitality. He slapped back answers, clearly and decisively, with never a moment's hesitation, and when on occasions two questions were addressed to him at once, he replied to the first and then invariably answered the second without asking for the question to be repeated. Some of the questions and answers w6re:— Had Mr. Nash come to make negotia.tioits concerning loans?—No, there was nothing on the programme so far, but he would probably have some discussions with the Government's agent. Would not New Zealand's intention to expand her butter and cheese markets in England clash with similar intentions entertained by the other Dominions and Denmark?— Mr. Nash "did not see why New Zealand's •plans should compete with any country so long as there were, 'people who were hungry. If people I 'consumed as much butter in England as they did in New Zealand Britain's supply would have to increase by half as much again. Saturation point was •a long way off. Did he think the people could pay ,for the butter?—lf your people want butter, Great Britain cannot afford not -to pay. ; SHIPPING AND DEFENCE. Could he say anything about shipping?—At the moment he had nothing "to say. New Zealand would do what was necessary to ensure the continuance of British interests, and if the terms of any agreement were reasonable to New Zealand, she would certainly participate. Could he say whether New Zealand was prepared to courage immigration?— Until there was some reduction in the number of New Zealand's 30,000 unemployed he did not think that active steps would be taken. But he could not see that barriers could be put up round a wonderful little coun"try like New Zealand. . What was New Zealand's attitude to,wards defence?— The Dominion be•lieved in collective security within the League of Nations, not necessarily Imperial collective security. When was Mr. Nash first attracted to Socialism? —He did not remember when j he did not have a Socialist or co-opera-tive mind. Had New Zealand enough money?— As far as he knew they had until he got back. TRADE MANAGEMENT rOLICY. Asked what was the main subject for discussion during his visit, Mr. Nash said: "Trade." He would discuss with , the Home Government the possibility ;of extending the market in the United -Kingdom for New Zealand products ,to its maximum. In return for this .maximum market, Mr. Nash said he would offer to utilise the credits obstained from the sale of New Zealand products, first, to provide the necessary •service for New Zealand's overseas -debt, and, second, to arrange for the allocation of the balance for the payment of shipping and other services, and for the purchase of British-manufactured commodities or raw materials. This might be slightly qualified by multilateral arrangements for imports into '.New Zealand from countries which could not take her products but could take goods from the United Kingdom in exchange for goods which New Zealand took from them. The policy of his Government, said Mr. Nash, was "regulated expansion of external trade" through bilateral agreements. Free Trade, the pei-fect theory for international trade, presuming the world as an economic entity, was at present hopelessly impracticable. "Protection" inevitably led to higher prices, and there was a case for those who stated that the "consumer had to pay." But as it led to every country following suit, the last state was no better than the first. The principle of "regulated expansion" was to offer the •surplus products of New Zealand to .all countries in quantities determined j .by agreement, and, in turn, to undertake to utilise the credits obtained from the sales of N/jw Zealand products to .pay for commodities from the country to whom the Dominion's goods were sold. , Among those present at Waterloo .Station to meet Mr. Nash were:—Rear- j Admiral A. Bromley (representing the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs), Mr. C. E. E. Brocklebank, M.P. (Mr. Malcolm Mac Donald's P.arliamen-! tary Private Secretary), Sir Harry Batterbee (Acting Permanent Under-Secre-tary of State for Dominion Affairs), Mr. E. G. Machtig (Assistant Under-Secre-tary of State), Mr. W. J. Jordan (High Commissioner for New Zealand) and Mrs. Jordan, and Sir Howard d'Egville (representing the Empire Parliamentary Association, United Kingdom Branch). Mr. Cecil Wray brought a bouquet of ■red and pink carnations for Mrs. Nash.