A CHEERFUL NOTE

Evening Star, Issue 21005, 20 January 1932, Page 14

A CHEERFUL NOTE

TRADE RECOVERY

BY THE END OF THE YEAR

Interesting opinions regarding Australian and world affairs were expressed by/Sir Mark Sheldon, the prominent Australian commercial authority, in an interview with the Wellington ‘ Post ’ on Saturday. Sir Mark predicted that the end of the year would see the beginning of a steady recovery in Australia and New Zealand. " There is an interesting evolution which is likely to take place in Australia in regard to the power of the Senate,” said Sir Mark. “ The Senate is elected on the whole suffrage of each State for a period of six years. During the last Parliament the Senate for time asserted itself and rosisteorary effectively the overwhelming majority in the lower House. The Senate undoubtedly felt that it had public opinion behind it. It threw out or postponed measures which it thought the public would not approve of. In my opinion the Senate, once having tasted blood in this manner, is likely in the future to assert its power and its right of control, and I would be surprised if in the next decade the relationship between the two Houses is not brought more into lino with what happens in the United States, where the Senate is the all-powerful body. In fact, the House of Representatives in the United States is quite a subordinate body. It looks very much as if a similar position is going to arise in Australia.” “ THE ARBITRATION SYSTEM. Referring to the'new Government in Australia, Sir Mark Sheldon said he saw no reason why the Lyons-Latham combination should not run its full time of three years. Probably there would be some reshuffle which would bring the Country Party more into line with the new Government. He anticipated that legislation would be introduced to overcome the frightful impasse which had been reached in so far as the Conciliation and Arbitration Courts were concerned. The overlapping of the State and Federal arbitration systems had got to be an absurdity. The wageearner was beginning to realise that the Arbitration Court did not create work; in fact, it had been painfully brought homo to the great body of unemploye, that but for the restrictions placed on employment by the Arbitration Courts there would bo a good deal more emhoymeut available. Personally he looked for a change of opinion in regard to the Arbitration .Courts. Sir Mark said that New Zealanders should be patient in regard to what was happening in Australia, as they were working on a different political system there compared with New Zealand. Under .the Constitution the Federal Government derived its powers from the States, and as- a result many thin; happened in Australia which could not appen in New_ Zealand, where there was one controlling authority. REDUCED INTEREST RATES. Sir Mark went on to refer to the Premiers’ plan under which there had been a reduction in. the rate of interest and the conversion rates on Government bonds. A natural corollary oj the reduction in interest was a reduction in the deposit rates. The banks had lowered the rates they were paying for deposit money, and he anticipated that those rates would be even further lowered. That would help more than anything else to maintain values. These factors and the compulsory cessation of Government borrowing would, he believed, lead to greater private enterprise in the way of developmental works. In countries like Australia and New Zealand the reduction of interest and deposit rates was the best thiiv that could happen, as nothing would bring down the cost of living more quickly than the lowering of these rates. Of course, unfortunately, what was bringing down the rates was the want of facilities for employing money and the low prices of our primary products. AN OPTIMISTIC NOTE. “ I don’t think we in Australia and you in New Zealand will be long before wo are making our recovery,” said Sir Mark. “I am not saying wo are going to get the figures we had a a few years ago, but there -will be a steady recovery, in ray opinion, beginning at the end of this year.” One of the big problems facing the world ■was the fact that there had been no real adjustment in the cost of manufactured goods. Whereas primary products had fallen very considerably, there had only been the slightest fall in the cost of manufactured goods. There either had to bo an increase in the price of primary products or a decrease in the price of manufactured goods, and of the two ho thought the latter was the most probable.