THE AMENDMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 5, 6 July 1939, Page 15

THE AMENDMENT

DEPLETED RESERVES

INDUSTRIAL TROUBLE

DEFENCE FAILURE

Mr- Hamilton's no-confidence amendtient was as follows:—

"That the following addition be made £© the priginal Question, namely: cAnd that the following-words be added to Such Address: "In conclusion, we deem it our duty to represent to your Excellency that >yoizr Excellency's Ad-' ,*risers have forfeited the confidence of! ;she country and of this', House on the following grounds:-— 1. That the Government has failed to g'. "■>. adequate attention to the primary questions of providing the manpower and . training and the equipment necessary for national defence. Although the Government is spending considerable sums of mone*y in certain defence measures; and although offered, the fullest cooperation by the Opposition in dealing with-'defenee problems, it is not tajjing adequate" steps to assist in facing the precarious period through' which the Empire is now passing.

2. That^ the \ Government has pursued such' a;-sp6ndthrift policy that

itinow finds itself, after-jthxee years o|| record export production, with iiSndon [' depleted, _ with the Reserve ißank '"-■ strength exhausted, and general reserves and credits dissipated, all resulting in a shortage 0f... .money. tKat has forced interest rates up-substantially, and sent the Minister of Finance past. haste to London seeking money to carry on.

3. That-the imposition of import aad export . exchange control, to svert financial disaster, is the direct result of the Government's neglect of prudent foresight and its failure to conserve the Dominion's financial resources. That the introduction of these regulations with such severity and abruptness, 'has damaged our good name and credit, and deprived a section of the community of its livelihood, and caused acute business anfli, trade dislocation, both in Tsew Zealand and Great Britain, re* suiting in our currency being unacceptable outside our own country.

'4, That, contrary^to what might feave been anticipated under Labour administration, the Government has completely failed: to promote peace in industry, with the result that industrial troubles and disputes today have reached record proportions. That the work of the Arbitration Court has been seriously impaired, and many awards of the Court flouted,; resulting in serious trade disturbances an 4 costly hold-ups.

;S, That, while denying there is any wnemployment problem, the Government last financial year spent the rec&rd totij of £6,474,000 on the relief ot unemployment, being £950.000 greater than the revenue for the year. This ©mounts to slightly more thin £3 a week lor 40,000 unemployed men for a full year;

0, That itg policy in increasing the{■cost of living has been a betrayal of otnany wage and salary earners,.and is equivalent to a' substantial cut in their real wages and salaries, thereby reducing purchasing power, particularly of" those- y in receipt of fi&ed incomes, such <as the Public Service/

f. That the administi-ation of iSTative affai?s is unsatisfactory; that the undertaking given by the Gov ernzsent that the Native should, participate in developing his own land so that in the process of that development he himself would be given responsibility in directing and implementing that policy, has not been fulfilled; that the Government has failed to pursue steadily the Native "housing policy as it promised.

\B. That the Government's policy, Resulting in ever-rising internal costs an New Zealand, has had the disastrous consequence of placing the ex'j?ort industries —which are almost Wholly farming-—at a serious economic disadvantage; that, although export prices are not abnormally low, the farming community in general, and the high country sheep farmers in particular, find themselves unable to meet their farming costs out of revenue; that the Government's policy of high costs and of making .reUef works of one kind and another so much more attractive than productive employment, is having the direct; effect of reducing production and is forcing out of occupation, or proper production, much second" and ibirdrclasa land.*'