LABOUR’S ADMINISTRATION.

Evening Star, Issue 22989, 21 June 1938, Page 1

LABOUR’S ADMINISTRATION.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —The desperate efforts that are being made by Labour Socialist Ministers in their travels over New Zealand to stem the tide of public feeling that is running against the Government, show that they realise the difficult position it is in because of certain unwise legislation and profligate expenditure, not to mention unsound methods of finance, and the breaking of some of their electioneering pledges. Recognising that the public was not so simple aud so ignorant as to accept the grotesque statements made by Labour Ministers that the last Government was responsible for the depression, which, as a matter Of fact, was world-wide and caused every Government to retrench, they have discontinued such unfair; mean-spirited party tactics. They now: say that the last Government went too far in its retrenchments. This may bo true, and, while the Government has passed some good legislation in certain directions, it has gone to the extremes. It has also given rise to criticism, reasonably made, that the present-Go-vernment lacks the political honesty to admit that, by reason of the great increase of prices obtained by the farmers in overseas markets, with the lifting of the world-wide depression, the tremendous loss in the national income of this country was more than made up. This great increase in State funds, with the increases in taxation, provided the present Government with a very large sura of money to spend on various services. For the Government to claim all the credit for the improvement in economic conditions is most ridiculous. Now what many wage earners, and others who think for themselves, are anxious to know and have a right to be told, is in what way does the Government propose to “ insulate New Zealand ” and to prevent further depressions. If it has a scheme why keep it dark, concealing it from the public? Another question upon which the public has an undoubted right to be informed is whether the Government intends to put into operation the Douglas Credit scheme, for which it certainly received no mandate at the last General Election. The serious drop in the value of our exports and the disturbing increase of imports, with the grave depletion of the London, funds, is also a subject of much public concern, because of the. serious effects' that are consequent. What have the Ministers to say about these questions when they are on the platform, and also about their failure to carry out their policy pledges to abolish the sales tax and the exchange?' No plausible excuses for failure to do this: when a Minister is on the platform can be considered adequate by any thoughtful audience.—l am, etc., Reflection. June 20.