NEW ZEALAND LOANS

Evening Star, Issue 22379, 1 July 1936, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND LOANS

OVERSE/V INTEREST COMMITMENTS MORE EQUITABLE BASIC DESIRED THE GOVERNMENT’S INTENTIONS [Special so thb * Stak.’J WELLINGTON, July 1. A definite announcement that the Government intended in the near future to mate representations to money interests abroad) with a view to securing New Zealand’s overseas interest commitments being placed on a more equitable basis was made by the Prime Minister (Right Hon. M. J. Savage) in an interview to-day. “ The rates of interest we are paying to-day,” he said, “ belong to a bygone age. The whole economic structure has changed since the days when our loans were made. The relationship of money to other things lhas changed altogether, and it is not an unreasonable thing for the Government, through perhaps the British Government, to be able to meet its creditors and see if they cannot use something like common sense—bringing equity to bear on our liabilities abroad.

“ We do not want to repudiate anything,”, said Mr Savage, “We want to pay those to whom we are indebted in a fair and square way. I do not think the British bondholder has been treated badly and he will not be treated badly by us. We want to pay 20s in the £, but we do not want to pay 21s or 255. “ I would say this, at the present time we are paying more than it was intended we should pay when the agreements were made between this Dominion and the bondholders. There is no getting away from that, and there is no reply to that statement. They have to admit it is true. While we are talking about agreements abroad we must not forget that we have some at home as well, and we are breaking them to satisfy our creditors I say that we must satisfy our creditors everywhere.” , Asked whether ■ the Minister of Finance would open negotiations on his arrival in England this year the Prime Minister said: “The Hon. W. Nash will bounce the ■ ball when he gets Home. Whatever way you analyse it you will soon discover that we can only pay for things abroad with our exports. There was only one reason for borrowing money abroad, that was because there were not enough exports to pay for the things we needed to purchase from there, but if we cannot pay' this year or next year, when are we going to pay? Many people do not appreciate the principle involved. We can only pay our debts by ceasing to increase them. We talk about paying our debts, and for every pound we pay it is perhaps reasonable to say that we add £SO to the defy.” .