IMPREST SUPPLY BILL

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 152, 30 June 1938, Page 15

IMPREST SUPPLY BILL

FIRST DEBATE OF SESSION

FINANCIAL DEALINGS EXAMINED

Some features of the Government's financial transactions, were examined in some detail By members of the Opposition "during the debate on the Imprest Supply Bill in the House of Representatives yesterday, and several aspects of the Government's policy were responsible for considerable argument. The debate lasted from early afternoon until 12,35 o'clock this morning, when the Bill was passed, and,as is usual -vrith a measure of this nature, there was little limit to'the points that could be discussed. 'The measure makes provision for the appropriation of . the sum of £12,914,000, which in distributed over the various accbunts as follows:—The Consolidated Fund: Ordinary Revenue Account £6,500,000. The Public Works Fund: General Purposes Account, £2,000,-000 Electric Supply Account, £300,000. Separate Accounts: Land for ; Settlements Account, £50,000; Main Highways Account, £900,0005 'State Coal-mines Account, £80,000; State Forests AccountjJEllOjOOO; Working Railways Account, £2,000,000; The Post Offio© 'Account, £550,000; The Public Trustee's Account, £60,000; ThelflfativevTrustee's Account, £6000; The Government Insurance £60,000; Hie Public, Service Superannuation Fund AccoubV£2ooo; The State Fire Insurance Account, £50,000; The Government; Accident Insurance Account, £4000; The Dairy Industry £10,000; The Internal Marketing Account, £10,000; The Broadcasting Account, £115,000; The Iron and Steel Industry Account, £7000. . J she Bill was passed.

ISSUE CLOUDED

RANTED

PRELIMINARY SKIRMISH i

; Declaring- that the debate on the Supply Bill was a preliminary skirmish preceding the ordinary de- ; bates, the Leader 6t the Opposition •(the Hon. Aflato Hamilton) said that, "the House was entitled to all the information possible. It was advisable that the public should be well dn-| formed on all details as to how money was collected and hbw expended. •"In 1 ' some itistaiiees the. Government is apt to cause -confusion in* some'of Its ex.'planatlons, concerning; the Public Accounts and the use of public money," •vaaid Mr.' Hamilton. "This confusion is ' apt to tte used as a means of miking ;it difficult- rather than easy foi; the i public to understand the correct position." ' -

i : Mr. Hamilton likened Ministers to a JRsh that switched- its tail and stirred ;«p ftie mud order to obliterate it- • «elf.i Hedidnot mean that offensively. ,It waspterhaps good tactics when f,here was a difficult subject under- discussion ;'io cJaud'the issue arid leave the public ibewileHSWd ai' tb the correct position. ■' Dealinpwith thfe National Debt, Mr. } Prime Minister ' had Mli'tftat the-salient feature of the estate fi&anc«k'far the year aided jCMarch Surplus or£80t),000 ;:'and thafcthe public Debt would be less t -at the ffidd Of the year, than at the be-. .V*liaiin». ! » : - Hamilton) '.haa* Ss--4 teaed * jmfla"«hafenge concerning that 1838 Year Book showed that.the Kjtiohfd Debt i>n .March .31, |aiS7, w&m the -challenge, figures indicating that the Unanr • rial figures at the end of last financial |year tfould be £290,201,000. v Thai *howed that the National Debt Siwoold be Increased from the beginning |«f 4iw AaancUl year to its end by **bont£2,s«MM. There was no reason why any attempt should be made to confuse, The ;3Jatib»al Debt could be increased or decreased by the sale of assets, but from the statement "made by the Minister of Fiftanee there had been merely « transfer of assets from one account to another rather, than a sale of assets. ■Mr. 'Nash, at Lower Hutt, had said that new borrowings ■i amounted to £7,492,000 and debt xe- ~ Auctions to less than £2,000,000. That ( left £5,468,000 as an addition to the i National Debt. "If I am wrong I will v be pleased to have the Minister's explanation," he added. There had been : j»o loan issues and the public were interested to know the source of the 1 money. ."Some > people think it is in- ) terest-jtree, but I do not think - so," ;he said.. - -v--' • • ' \ INFLATION APPARENT. ' Mr. Hamilton presumed that State ■> Departments such as" the Post Office • had provided the money. "If so, the \ Government has struck a lucky patch," ;he continued.' He asked feow much had been used'for housing. It was ap- ■ parent, despite the statement made by the Minister, that'there had been! inflation. ■ • .

1 Referring to the Employment Pru- _ motion Fund, Mr. Hamilton said that ~ the Minister of Labour had . said that ■ unemployment had been cured. For i the year end&d March 31 last the income derived for the Employmeht Promotion Fund "was £5,398,346 compared ' with £4,492,256.i0r the previous .year >. —an ina^btee'ol £906,090. The 'tax was a personal one which affected j? large number of people, and in view v of the employment position which the: . Minister said was better than at any 5 other time in the history of New Zea- /, land, the Government should make it clear as to where the money had gone.

The final subject dealt with by Mr. i \ Hamilton concerned the funds held f in London. "I said that there had • been drop during the last two years | of £17,500,000," he said. Of that sum . over £5,000,000 had been accounted for-jn 1 trade balances and transactions, and it was not to the Government's -4 credit to have a surplus of only ; £7,000,000 in London when there should t be £11,000,000 i The position TM that there was an ; unexplained shortage overseas of over > £11,000,000. He felt that a great deal ot the shortage could be accounted for ! by the flifht of capital. He suggested • that the Government would be forced to take control of overseas credit in- ■ eluding the rationing ot Imports in the I. event of a national emergency such as } a.tndo depression. NEW POINT OF VIEW .DOMINION'S PROGRESS Replying to the Leader of the Oppositipn, Mr. J. A. Lee (Government, Grejy Ljmn) said New Zealand had progressed a long way since the day 1 when Mr. Hamilton and his party were in power. In their time the , people of the Domnion had been "up : to their necks in butter, but few of ] them could afford to put it on their • bread." In Mr. Hamilton's time it .regarded as safe economy to pile 411} a surplus in London while half . fhe peopU of New Zealand starved. 7 All fhat the present Government had dotifr was to change the order , of : things and'the people today had been iUten the means of consuming the goods which they produced. The viewpoint of New Zealand's past administrators was that It did

not matter if the people starved and produce rotted .so long as the financier was able to produce a cash balance. A new point of view had been established under the present regime and under, this everyone was entitled to his.share.

"The Leader of . the Opposition is raising the' cry that We are spending too much," added 'Mf. Lee., "Has he forgotten that he spent £420.000 on the construction of a golf course in my electorate? I do not know that the people there are greatly concerned with playing golf either, but the, man who built tKat golf course is now showing concern because the Government is spending -money on building roads and extending its hydro-electric schemes and other public utilities of real and universal value."

Mr. Lee added that the Opposition had made a loud cry against rising .costs and wanted these brought down. The Government had shown the National Party how this could be done. By the employment of modern machinery on publie works it had been possible to reduce costs without reducing wages. But, in the face of thisevidence, the Opposition was still anxious ,to go back to the pick and shovel and the wheelbarrow. . ; INTEREST REDUCED. Through reduction of interest the Government had shown the Opposition another method ol keeping the costs down. The alternative; to the Government's policy.rested in the cutting iof wages and the extension of working hours, and the hope of the National Party of gaining • the Government benches was born out of a desire to revenge themselves upon the people who turned them- out of office at the last election and plaeed a constructive Government ia power in their stead, Mr. Lee said the Government had niiibsolute control- • of-prices -over* seas and it could not contr&l the London market, bat by a policy ,of intelligent marketing it had been able, to protect itself against the rapacity - of certain speculators.

Under the system of marketing to- 'r stituted by the Minister of Finance c speculation had been curbed and s New Zealand had been able to obtain c a better price for her butter than she would have done under the old system, s The method adopted by the Govern- I ment was the best means of avoiding f inflation, concerrfing which there had | been a great deal of loud talk by the t Opposition. t PENSIONS SCHEME 1 INCENTIVE TO SPENDING ] What he described as a slander on 1 the youth of New Zealand by implying 1 through the social security legislation that the average young New Zealander was willing to depend upon the State ' for provision against old age, was vigorously replied to by the Hon. Sir ' E. A. Ransom (National, Pahiatua). 1 He also devoted some time to comment x on the Government's land settlement 1 policy. 1 So far as the Pahiatua electorate was : concerned, the Prime Minister's recent 1 visit was an out-and-out political ; campaign, Sir Alfred declared. In : one of his speeches Mr. Savage had ! given the average Post Office Savings Bank account at about £20, "not sufficient to get a decent headache on," and had said that something better than that would have to be done in providing for old age and invalidity pensions. It was absurd in the extreme to suggest that the average savings bank account was any indication of what was required for pensions. Sir Alfred contended, and he would suggest that most of the accounts under £20 would be found to belong to-children who had been encouraged in thrift by their elders. In effect, what the Government was now saying was, "Spend to the limit and the State will look after you in your old age." "I am one of those who believe that the yonng New Zealander is ■ degenerate, and yet all the legislation is in the direction of implying that he is not as good today as the young New Zealander of fifty years ago," said Sir 1 Alfred. "I am not going to Stand for | that. I Say that the young New Zea- ' lander has no ambition to bccome dependent on the State after he reaches L 60. I for one will not stand for that , slander being put on the young people I of this country, and the young people . themselves are not going to stand for I the suggestion that they should spend i all they earn and the Government will look after them." RELIEF FOR FARMERS. • Sir Alfred said that he regretted having to refer to what, to his mind, was a very serious statement in tone of Mr. Savage's speeches on the tour. It was that the Government's policy of cheap money had been of immense benefit to the farmers. Mr. Savage 'had given a long list of benefits derived through the various ' mortgage commissions and the Court of Review, - and he did not for : a moment doubt , ihat the figures quoted were correct. Thero was ample money awaiting investment in New Zealand, bui It was not available because of lack of confidence in the Government, and many millions had gone out of the country, Sir Alfred declared. He had been assured by men prominent in the financial world that after the election of the National Government the money would be released for investment, and prosperity would follow naturally. The Minister of Lands tthe Horn F. LangstonC): They arc pulling your leg. Sir Alfred charged the Government with having done nothing to remove the financial yoke from around the,

necks of farmers. Mr. Savage had endeavoured to create the idea that the past Government was responsible for raising the rate of interest to the State Advances Department and that his Government had brought it down. "If I expressed myself just as I feel in connection with that statement, you, Mr. Speaker, would pull me up, because it would be un-Parliamen-tary," said Sir Alfred. "It is absolutely contrary to fact, and I defy the Government to substantiate it." "GETTING THE WIND UP." Commenting that Ministers of the Crown seemed to be "getting the wind up pretty badly," Sir Alfred recalled that at Dunedin the Minister of Lands had declared that so far as he was concerned no one would ever get the freehold of the land, and later at Hastings he had said that Labour would not confiscate anybody's land. Mr. Savage had described as ridiculous the suggestion that the Government intended to socialise the land. Surely the Prime Minister was shifting his ground. Again, Mr._ Nash, Writing on land settlement in the "Standard," had said that the Soviet system of economic planning was better than any other form, of government he knew of, and, that the problems were greatly simplified by the fact that the State owned all the land, of which it had obtained possession by the simple process of killing oft the owners during the Revolution. The Government was soft-pedalling on land nationalisation, Sir Alfred added, but the country knew that it would adopt those principles in land settlement that had applied in the past to Kussia.

FLIGHT OF MONEY

I NO DICTATION | PAST POLICY GONE ! PRIME MINISTER EMPHATIC' •MI do not see any reason for taking back anything I. said while I was in the Pahiatua electorate," said the prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage 1 ), in reply to Sir Alfred Ransom. "The receptions I received were the greatest inspiration of jny life.; I wonder would the hon. member deny that. He suggested that my tour, was a political campaign. Well, it is pretty difficult for a Prime Minister to separate himself altogether from politics, but I did not say half in the hon. member's electorate that I could have said. Sir Alfred Ransom: Say it now. ; Th«; Prime Minister said he . wondered whether the hon. member was the same gentleman who had denounced with bell, book, and candle the friends he was now sitting with. It seemed to him that they were ell brothers in disaster now.

The member for Pahiatua said that money was leaving, the country, Mid would come back again when the Opposition was the Government again. "If what he says Is correct," said Mr. Savage, "that means that the people who are controlling the funds will go on in the future as they have done In the past, and dictate the legislation of this country. I want to say very frankly that money interests are not going to be allowed to dictate the policy of this country. I think the people will understand that. I have said it many times, and I say it again.

Referring to Post Office accounts, the Prime Minister said thai there ; were 900,000 accounts, and two-thirds of thfeftl'hai!-Tinder £20 in them.- ' 'Sir Alfred Ransom: How many are children? _' ' ' , , ' The Prime Minister: I-do not know, and I don't think tf.e hon. .gentleman knows, but 1 can find out, Certainly 'not twO'thirds. The average man cannot do much better, and he needs something more. "Vou could not get a decent headache out of £20. Coming to the Leader of the Opposition. the Prime Minister said Mr. Hamilton was concerned with the welfare of democracy. "That is a newj philosophy coming from the hon. member," said Mr. Savage. "There , was a time when a substantial portion of democracy was not allowed to participate in politics, and it was the action of the present Government that made it possible for them to enjoy civil rights. They can exercise those rights either for or against the Government. I should think that It would be better for them to vote for this Government than to vote for those who cut their wages."

The Prime Minister replied to the charge made by Mr. Hamilton that the Government was trying to j things in order to make it difficult for the people to understand. Then he set out to make a Budget speech. not going to make a Budget speech j here today,'.' declared the Prime Mln- ( ister "It is unreasonable to ask that on the second day of the session the i Government should produce a BudgetI have promised that the Budget. will come down as soon as the Address-In- . Reply debate is over. The Opposition i then will have an opportunity to analyse the whole position. EFFECT OF REDUCTION. How did the Leader of the Opposition propose to reduce costs? asked the Prime Minister. He must cut someone's income when he reduced costs. "If he does not reduce wages, then he will reduce the number of ■people getting wages.' Mr. Hamilton: Do you say that all costs are wages? The Prime Minister: All costs are someone else's income, and I want to know whose income you are going to cut. The Prime Minister said he was not advocating spending money foolishly. He was advocating getting something for the money that was spent, and the statements that would be made from time to time by the Government would show that they had got something for ' the money spent. He mentioned that he intended to go down south in a week or two, and ■ he said he would be glad to take the 1 member for Pahiatua and the member ; for Stratford with him. ■ Reverting to the question of interest ■ rates, Mr; Savage said that the day of " high interest rates had gone. The ' people sitting opposite were more con- ' cerned with the big financial interests than with the rank and file. Mr. W. J. Poison (National, Strat- , ford): There is no justification ; for that. , ; Mr. Savage: No justification? All we have to do is to look at your record. ; There is nothing we are trying to do , that will strike a blow at the people s I welfare. Our job .is to make it better [ for all the people. t TAXATION AND COSTS t READJUSTMENT OVERDUE [ Mr. W. J. Poison (National, Stratford) , oaid that nobody could say that the * Prime Minister was not sincere. The " Opposition, however, thought he was * often misguided. Referring to Mr. , Savage's contentions concerning the reduction of costs, he suggested that one way to carry that into effect would . be to reduce taxation. The Prime r Minister Would agree with that, he thought. Did the Government contend t that it was impossible to reduce taxas tion? he asked. Was it not better to s, have low taxation with the people

having more money to spend? Recently the Prime Minister had said that readjustment of taxation was long overdue, while in 1935 he said that taxation must be reduced.

He asked why the Prime Minister did not give details of Labour's plan for the financial insulation of New Zealand in the event of another slump. He did not think the people had fallen for that announcement. He also wondered why Mr. Savage had not thrown more light on the question of socialisation. Mr. Savage, when visiting Taranaki, said he would not socialise the farms. "But Socialism is the objective of the Government," continued Mr. Poison. "How can it be achieved without touching the farms?" LONDON FUNDS NEWSPAPER WARNING A "significant warning" given to the New Zealand Government by the editor of the London "Daily Herald" was quoted by Mr. W, A. Bodkin (National, Central Otago) when replying to remarks -made by Mr. Lee.

Mr. Lee had ridiculed the suggestion of the Leader of the Opposition that the time would arrive when the Minister of Finance would have to take over the London funds and ration imports, said Mr. Bodkin. Would he include in > his denunciation of people who made such statements the editor of the "Daily Herald," one of the most influential of Socialists, and whose paper lost no opportunity of extolling the virtues of the New Zealand Labour Government? That paper had pointed out that part of the Government's success was, of course, due to the boom in the world demand for its exports, particularly butter, which had so far insulated New Zealand from the effects. of the new world depression. No doubt the editor of the "Dally Herald" would be Included among those people Mr. Savage had recently castigated for talking of another slump, said Mr. Bodkin. He had stated that the New Zealand Government's choice might be between drastically controlling imports and devaluing the New Zealand pound. i "There is a significant warning issued no doubt for the benefit of the New Zealand Government," Mr. Bodkin continued. In 1928 £100 worth of New Zealand produce purchased overseas £100 of manufactured goods; in 1932

it took £118 of New, Zealand produce to buy £75 worth of goods overseas. A Government member: The exchange premium. Mr. Bodkin: That has nothing to do with the exchange at all. The price of manufactured goods did not fall in the same proportion as the value of raw material or primary produce. "We know perfectly well that the Minister of Lands has all sorts of theories of his own," retorted Mr. Bodkin to an interjection by Mr. Langstone.' "He would insulate New Zealand by what he terms costless credit, but he is strangely at variance with the Minister of Finance. When Government members speak of insulating New Zealand and restoring the purchasing power of the people, they have got to show from what source they will draw the money to bridge the gap." ' Mr. Lee had spoken contemptuously of orthodox finance and suggested that the problem could be settled quite readily, thinking, of course, of costless credit. Did he realise that he must include in his sweeping denunciation the Minister of Finance, who, writing in the "Economist," had indignantly repudiated any suggestion that the Government intended to do anything savouring of the use of costless credit? The Minister of Education Was another who spoke with a sense of responsibility in pointing out that Money could not be conjured down from the clouds.' The surpluses in London represented the capital of the' banking institutions of the Dominion built up in the process of national trade, and would have to be drawn upon by the banks if they were suddenly called Upon to pay their depositors, Mr, Bodkin contended. They were trust funds and there was no mystery or magic about them. LONDON RESERVES NOT DEPLETED. The Rev. A. H. Nordmeyer (Government, Oamaru) said that it had been suggested that the reserves in London were being seriously depleted, but that was not so. There was, including the Reserve Bank funds, £30,000,000 standing to the credit of New Zealand in London. During the last four months there had been a progressive increase in the London fundß. When the Opposition was in office the funds in London were not as great as at the present time. The Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates (National, Kaipara): Oh, what nonsense! Mr. Nordmeyer said that if the London funds had been greater in the past he could not understand why the past Government had borrowed on London. The Labour Government had reduced ' the National Debt instead of increasing , it.

Sir Alfred Ransom had twitted the Minister of Lands about his lack of ( policy on land settlement. The member for Pahiatua should be the last member of the House to refer to land settlement, for he was now supporting a Party that- he had formerly condemned because of its land policy. The policy of the Reform Government had led to £12,000,000 being written off lands lor soldier settlement and lands for Crown settlement. OTHER SPEAKERS DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS "We hear a lot about freedom and democratic rights. Well, I know ithe position of farmers, the unemployed, and civil servants, and I know that they have a hundred times more freedom than they had a few years ago," Said Mr. J. G. Barclay (Government, Marsden). The Opposition maintained that the present time was the wrong time to undertake large public works, but if it was wrong to start them in .a depression and wrong to start them in good times, when should they be put I in hand? No matter what the Government did, it was always wrong, according to its opponents. He had looked in vain during the past few months for favourable mention in the metropolitan newspapers of one thing the Government had done; it was always "Oppose, oppose, oppose!" (Opposition laughter.) Referring to the question .of London funds, Mr. Barclay gaid that it was true that there had been a drop in them, but there were a lot of funds left lying in New Zealand before 1935 to the credit of commercial houses overseas which were waiting for the exchange rate to be lowered. Some of those funds had been lifted now. That, to some extent, explained the large accumulation of London funds in 1935. "MANTLE DYED BED." 1 Irrespective of who was in power, if an economic crisis came upon the Dominion again, there would be the same distress as had been experienced in the past, even in Australia under Labour Governments, declared Mr. H. Si S. Kyle (National, Riccarton). The whole world had been searching for a panacea for economic ills such as, the New Zealand Government claimed to possess. He alleged that Mr. Savage had repudiated most of the late Mr. Holi land's policy. "Does he stand for the t usehold policy?. Does he stand for the

abolition of the Upper House? asked Mr. Kyle. 1 "Not a word from the Government benches, and yet they talk of past Governments and past Ministers and past members. They might be carrying the mantle of Seddon, but it has been dyed red." Mr. Kyle said the British market for New Zealand's produce was partly dependent on the loans raised in London. If it were not for the interest that had to be paid in London the British consumers might say. "We don't want | your produce." The lamb taken from New Zealand could be secured in the I Argentine if interest did not have to be paid on loans to New Zealand.

PEOPLE'S WELFARE.

"I am not concerned about Socialism or what 'ism' you call it, but I do know the Government is concerned about the -welfare of the people," said Mr. D. Barnes (Government, Waitaki). He referred to the losses that had been incurred by the last Government's land policy. The Opposition complained about the lack of settlers, he said, but the previous Government had "Settled" those it had put on the land. J The Government was helping the country people and was making cou'*try life more attractive. The national income had increased from £103,000.000 to £165,000,000 in the last three years. Opposition members: Where did you get that? Mr. Barnes: Those are not Mr. Clark's figures. The increase-in the national income was not all due to increased price for primary products, he said. The value of exports had increased, but the national income had increased a great deal more. The community had benefited by the redistribution of the national income by tlie Government. PRESENT PROSPERITY. Mr. S. G. Smith (National, New Plymouth) said the Government had helped the present prosperity on, but it I was ridiculous to say that the whole responsibility for prosperity was on the Government's shoulders. There was talk about the mess left by the previous Government, but what about the mess the present Government was | making? There were people prepared to get rid of the Government because of the way the cost of living had been allowed to go up.

When the National Government came into office there would be no redaction In wages and salaries. "It would be criminal to make any reduction in face of the present high cost of living," he said.

Time and again he had been told j, by men in the employ of the Govern- t ment that they dared not say one word c in condemnation of the Government's policy, said Mr; Smith. He alleged j that there been a slackening of v discipline in sorne Government Depart- f ments. \ "LITTLE TO ANSWER" ] MR. NASH IN REPLY « £ . I The Minister of Finance (the Hon. j W.,Nash), in replying to the discussion, I suggested that there was little to | answer. The Leader of the Opposition j had spoken of the repayments of loans f by the former Government, but as this £ took place at a time when people were J going hungry and without decent cloth- j ing it was nothing to boast about. i Mr. Hamilton: I . did not boast about I it." » Mr. Nash: I imagine he cited it because he wanted'some credit. I think < a Government should never endeavour to pay off debts' 1 while people are hungry and without clothes. . Niw the ] Opposition is trying ;to organise the i need for clothes drives again. •; Mr. Bodkin: What about the art ' unions now? ! , The Minister replied that the proceeds were used better than before, for the Mayors' Funds and the Smith Family. Where there were individual cases justifying help it was given. ] POST OFFICE ACCOUNTS. Thp Minister said that the Leader j of the Opposition had' rather aston- , ished him by his suggestion that in j connection with the Post Office Savings Bank deposits the Government had struck a lucky patch. Of course, he meant that, becatise of these deposits, i the Government, did not find it necessary to go outside, New Zealand for loans- The deposits were.good because . the income of the country was better distributed, and where a man previ- ; ously could not save a shilling a week he was now putting by a pound. Mr. Hamilton: How much of that excess is business money lying there? The Minister .replied that he would be glad to give all the details of the accounts below £50 and those above £2000, on which no interest was payable. Reference had been made to the ; time when the English Government decided that no loans could be made overseas. If the English Government at any time thought that the savings ' of England should be used for devel--1 opment in that country, it had a per--1 feet right to do so. The position was ' that there were £300,000,000 of over--1 seas investments made by Britain, and ' on a 5 per cent, basis this returned 1 £15,000,000, which was usually available for investment in other countries, mostly where British goods were sold. The Leader of the Opposition had discussed the question of the £906,000 increase in unemployment taxation, but the fact was that nearly £1,000,0001 more.had been collected from people! in work, said Mr. Nash. Sir Alfred Ransom had emphasised that the Naj tio&al Party would not cut wages or a pensions, but the people knew who had f, cut wages before. The Government y would accept opprobrium for anything i that it did so long as the Opposition 3 took the responsibility for its actions - in the past. 1 HELD TO RANSOM? | It had been contended that there was ample money awaiting a change n of Government before becoming availt able for Investment. Did that mean that because the people of the Domln- . ion selected one form of Government i the credit of the country was to be r held to ransom? asked Mr. Nash. If that was correct, it was about time - that the Government of the country i. was still more powerful. If the inn vestors were awaiting until there was a change of Government they would n have to wait a long time, but he did s not think they would wait for a long n time, because money Bad a habit of s earning interest. .

"I have never heard more unfair criticism," declared Mr. Nash, in , referring to the working of the railways. He emphasised that the present Government had devoted expenditure to bringing the railways up to requirements and to ensure the safety of the public. One day, he said, the figures would come out, and he did not think they would be to the credit of the Government in office between 1931 and 1935.

It was quite possible that New Zealand wsts Importing too much, and in that respect the Government would be glad to have the help of the Opposition, Mr. Nash added. He had never said anything about rationing imports. The Government would have a policy if necessary.

The Bill was passed, and the House adjourned until 2,30 p.m. today,