The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1930. A GROWING AND INSISTENT DEMAND

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 11382, 6 December 1930, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1930. A GROWING AND INSISTENT DEMAND

Tho Governpjent lias to-day good reason to, regret that it rejected the proposal made last season that it should establish another Industrial Conference pn the lines of that convened by it's predecessors in office. On every hand, pressure is now being brought to bear upon-it to take drastic measures with a view to easing the burden of the economic -stress. A section of the increasing agitation may' owe its origin to the efforts of opponents of the government to discount' its methods of administration, but it is plain that that bulk of it arises from a sincere desire that matters should not be permitted to drift from bad to worse. As things now stand, the government is in a quandary The last thing that it wishes to do is to make anymore "which would lend colour to the idea that it is panicky. Some of the suggestions that are being put forward would, if adopted, assuredly have far-reaching effects, as, for example, the plea that the Court ■of Arbitration should be given a holiday or, another, that the system of a moratorium should, as was the case m war-time, be re-established. A proposal that most business people would no doubt favor is that the government should call to its aid experts in finance,'in commerce, in legal matters and in economies. Itwill he recalled that, in war-time., the Homeland adopted this particular step as an emergency measure. The Commonwealth government was, no doubt, also moved by a feeling of its • own hopelessness when it invited Sir Otto Niemeyer, the eminent English financier, to visit Australia and give it. some advice which proved as salutary as it was timely. But it was left to the South Australian government to provide a- striking lesson in this regard. When it found, some months hack, that it was; faced with a deficit of £3,000,000 or so, it took the unprecedented step of handing over the financial aclnyinJisffcration -of 1 the {State to a committee of outside experts. Mr. Young, the managing director of the Elder, Smith and Co., shipping firm was appointed chairman of this committee and lie had associated with him Professor Melville, who occupies the Chair of Economies at Adelaide University, Mr. Wainwright, a public actuary and Mr Hunter, the Public Service Commissioner. To the credit, of the various political parties in the State, they all decided to call a- truce whilst- the committee was at work. If Mr. Goodfellow and others who agree with him had their way, the Government of this Dominion would require to avail itself of tho aid of an advisory body of a like • character. We are afraid; however, thatMr Forbes anij his colleagues would prefer to grope along as they are doing. If an early session next year cannot he avoided, the governmentmay then, however, find itself forced at least ,to establish a further Industrial Conference.