N.Z. SAVINGS BANK

Grey River Argus, 24 April 1931, Page 5

N.Z. SAVINGS BANK

IS IT IN DANGER ? From the Government < (Special to “Argus.”) WELLINGTON. April 23. i I ■Mr Forbes, replying to the anxiety | in Parliament, on the second reading, or'thc Finance Bill, No. 2, said that' this Wn s an earnest attempt to reduce I ■ J the.'cost of Government. to the Acclimatisation Societies, Mr Forbes said that it was proposed to use the money s previously ( paid out on the opossum royalties for reimbursing those Societies wh«o had expended money for the destruction of deei\ This work having bee n started,! could not ’be stopped, it had been cost - ’ :ng, flic State a great deal of money. 1 It wa's decided to be- a fair thing to take the opossum royalties, particular- ■ !y, as the Acclimatisition Societies | wei'e in a healthy financial position, as i is shown by thieir balance sheets. I He quoted these. The Bill was read the second time, i nnd 1 urgency having Keen accorded, for all stages, on the motion of the Prime Minister, the House’ then considered jt ho cjommitFee stage. Mr Kyle raised the question of safe- ! guarding the Post Office Savings Bank, i He wanted an assurance l th|at this DeJ pal’tment should not be Allowed-, thri ough “steals 0 for the consolidated • fund? to get into a plight such as that, i of the New South. Wales Savings Bank. I M r . Forbes said there was. no such l possibility,. a.s,.our Savings Bank was in .a good position. It. was backed, by the State anil was 'Operating freely i without the fear of embarrasoment. of an>’ kind. 1 Mr Howard: “Could we stand? a Hufi of fouf millions on ont Savings Bajiks)? Where would the Government gH it. from if* thjsr.happened? The “tine thing" w6 tfl?T happen here. a s had happened i n Australia. The Government. kteows.lt cotild not meet a fun-” Mr Howard said that in th|s Bill there-’ was a suggestion that Hie Savings Bank bc ! raided’. Why, if Labour were in Goventtnent’ now all the Chambers of Commerce and all the Banks in'the country would be after us if we such a clause' in the Bill as that’ <rhhc)i allowed a raid to be made on the profits of the Post Office. Mr Downie Stewart said that a statement.; such as Mr Howard's was very unwise, and unless • it were calculated to raise alarm throughout the country, should be carefully consider- . ed before being 'uttered; There was ' ample reserve' in, the State. Savings ’ Bank. 1 M r Parry; “What d-id vou do jin 1 1913!” Mr Stewart: “I had nothing to do with the Post*..Office in 1913.” Mr Parry: “Youf £ Government did!” * : < Mr Holland said that if the Reform j members now thought there wa s no danger it avAs strange that they in i 1913 Jnought- down legislation by stop- : ping the working men from drawing his savings when the 'Government want , o<l 'his money. If there were plenty ' of Teserve the only other object was to prevent the working men from draw- . ing funds to feed their families, and i so breik down the strike- < Mr Forbes said that the Minister f must be quite satisfied, that profit had actually before taking th 6 money, then he could take, say, half a 1 year’s profits on the basis of the cal- ’ culatcd assumed annual profit. M r J. O’Brien sa.id that if this { clause meant what the Prime Minister said that it meanf, if, was surprising , that if was written into the Bill at ! ejl. The Minister of Finance was sole c judge according to th? Bill. I am nor giving this power to any Minister of ( Finance to juggle with, he said. He 1 suggested the amendment or the with- j drawal of the clause, and preferably its withdrawal. Mr Rush-worth moved to have the . Minister’s powers curtailed to taking only the profits that had actually been made the restricting the amount he could take to these profits. Mr. Forbes said that; if the clause t were uncertain, he would have it in- • vestigated. He would hhve it held over in the meantime*. v