MINISTERIAL CAMPAIGN

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 August 1935, Page 2

MINISTERIAL CAMPAIGN

MORTGAGES AND PRICES

[FEB PBESB ASSOCIATION.]

PALMERSTON N., August 9. Last evening, at Ashhurst, t Minister of Defence (Mr. Cobbel deivered a lengthy addres % a JL e £tition of the provisions ° f the M °U -agors and Tenants Relief Act, the Mortgagers Final Adjustment Act and the Mortgage Corporation Act. . He praised the work of the Moi t ? a gors’ Relief Commissions, statin n Lt to the end ot last month upwards . of 15,000 applications foi relief been filed, and of these, 14,438 had been referred to the Commissioner . while 13,673 cases had been gated by the commissions, and tue value of property concerned totall^ d thirty million. He Had been mfoi med bv the Department that for every case settled by eommissions and Courts, two were settled P rivat ®^J} e tween mortgagor and “^f.^^egi^la-I mortgagors and relief legisla tion was but a temporary measure designed in the hope for it w'ould be removed by substan tial improvement in overseas price.. Unfortunately, that improvement < not materialised, and the. Government was finally forced to the opinion that it was unwise to delay the attempt to effect a permanent adjustment ot es Sve liabilities, in antic pat.on ot a substantial rise m world P nc ® s - Tho result was the passing o Rural Mortgagors Final Adjustment Act and the Mortgage Corporation A The Minister replied that criticism levelled at the Government ieg aid i g the latter measure, and defending the steps taken by the Government,.said | that agricultural industries weie th most important in the Dominion, an until they returned to a state .of pios Sty, the rest of the community will suffer. He said that farmers liabilities must be reduced to a !eveli avlucli was within the capacity of the efficient farmer to pay. To repea^„ t existing legislation and leave adjust ment to voluntary action, would precipitate chaos. He admitted the Act constituted interference with individual contracts, and he quoted the Mm iSer of Finance’s view that there are considerations which outweigh even the objection to interference with contractual rights. The Minister replied to the La hour Party’s plank of guaranteed prices, claiming that inflation had won such a bad name that those supporting it had to find a new .name, which was that of guaranteed prices. He illustrated what would result fiom the application of the proposal ot Vr Savage, stating a. farmer would be no better off in receiving a guar-

anteed price when he knew he would be required to pay it away again in increased cost, which would follow, ot the goods he needed. Assuming guaianteed prices were introduced, the

Minister said that taking last years export figures, the increased money required would approximate 31 mil’ion, and there was no way of finding this unless the Government resorted to the printing press. All knew- what happened when Germany and Russia] resorted to the printing press, and history told the experience of America in the Civil War when greenbacks became w-orthless. The Ministei likened the idea of guaranteed, prices to the hallucination of opium eater, too fantastic for words.

A GENERAL DEFENCE MASTERTON, August 9/ A defence of the Coalition Government’s policy in meeting problems arising from depression was made by Sir Alexander Young in a political address given in Masterton to-night before an attentive audience. The Minister outlined the position of the country leading up to the Coalition, and explained various measures instituted by the Government towards assisting primary producers and unemployed. He claimed the policy had been the right one. He was accorded a vote of thanks by acclamation.