Greymouth Evening Star. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1948. Will Inheritance Right Go?

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 October 1948, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1948. Will Inheritance Right Go?

IT is unlikely that the last has been heard of * the indiscretion committed in. the House of Representatives last week by Mr 11. E. Combs. This prominent Socialist M.P., who is Parliamentary Under-Sccretary to the Minister of Finance, Mr Nash, and therefore ranks high in Government circles, was speaking in the debate on the Land Valuation Court Bill; a measure that extends Government control over property, be it a house, business;‘or farm. Evidently, Mr Combs was moved to a blunt answer to’ the Opposition criticism, amply justified, that the bill was one,more step on the path to Socialism. He declared that those “who held land tenures today and thought that those tenures could be passed on to their heirs, must readjust their ideas.” The implication is plain. In effect, Mr Combs served notice that the Government intends to trample on the rights of property —in other words,, it- intends ultimately to take away the right of inheritance. •It. is true that in two subsequent statements Mr Combs argued that he was misunderstood. For him second thoughts seem to have been wiser. ' But the conclusion is inescapable that, having committed an indiscretion,- he deemed it politically expedient to attempt to explain away what he really thinks —and what others like him also think. His words were too uncompromising, however, to be washed out by a. stream of assurances. All the reports on his speech that can be checked agree as to the terms of his utterance. °There need be no surprise about Mr Combs’s blunt, if indiscreet warning. There can be no right of inheritance in Socialism —and Socialism is the objective of the Government, in spite of what, some of the leaders of the party say. Mr McLagan, former Communist Party member, who is now Minister of Labour, was frank about it at the last Federation of Labour conference, and a list of similar declarations, as well as Government party resolutions on the subject, can be quoted. The Postmaster-General, Mr Hackett, exposed the motivating principle of Socialist tactics when, in a recent speech, he said it was no use the Government socialising an industry this November and finding itself rejected at the general election next November. In other words, the aim is to disguise the real objective in the meantime, so as to take every means of ensuring, if possible, the retention of «power. Mr Combs’s remarks must be taken as an expression of views which many in his party share. In any ease, even if some of the leaders find it convenient to disagree at the moment, the history of the party offers ample precedents for their succumbing to pressure from the ranks —which are growing more powerful in their shaping ol policy. The capitulation of Mr Nash on the Bank of New Zealand purchase is an example in point. Actually, the right of inheritance, has already been well whittled down under the Socialist administration, in the sense that in most cases there is little left to inherit. By pursuing its policy of high taxation and innumerable controls, the Government has put a strong curb on enterprise. In addition,, it- builds homes, but refuses to allow the occupants to own them. A't the same time it has made home-building on sound terms a process beyond the means of the average man. As a result, it is well on the way to extinguishing the finest traditions in ‘family life. It is sapping the qualities of initiative, hard work, and independence which can make a nation great. If there is no goal for which a man may work, except the glorification of the State, how then can it be argued that he can build for his family—his heirs? There can be no right of inheritance in Socialism.