Bank of New Zealand

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VIII, Issue 313, 6 December 1918, Page 2

Bank of New Zealand

' ] L ; LF -yEAIILY M EET IN G. CHAIRM YN’S ADDRESS. WORLD SITUATION SURVEYED The half-yearly meeting of the Bank of New Zealand was held at tne Head Office of tne bank, Wellington, 100-day. Air. Harold Beaucmimp, Chairman of Directors, piwsiaing. The i.iiainnan said: ’■j’his being the half-yearly meeting of the Bank, the business is confined merely to th? declaration of an inti rim dividriid and tiie 1 lection of a director. Mr. VV. YVatson retires by rotation on 31st Alarch next; he seeks reelection lor a iurt.iiT term, ami taero being no other candidate, 1 have much pleasure in declaring him duly elect, d. Air. Vvatson has been connected with the bank lor ovei twr-niy-four years, for twenty oi which" b.-> has bad the honour of representing the shareholders continuously. and during that period ha;rendered eminent services to th. bail!.'. N.Z. LOCAL CONDITIONS. Th past viinter was an exceptionally severe on,.' and the spring months were cold and wet. I arming operations, in eciiseci uence. ar. «om-what backward. Lambing p.n. rally has suffered, _ and it n. fiared that in some of the higi country in tiie South Island a sene.of jale snowfalls have caused lusse; of stock. The dairying industry ha: also U?en adversely affected. Bcttei weather, however, is now being experienced, and having regard t< the high prices ruling for cur stapu products, th,e season gives promisi of being on the whole a good one. '* THE EPIDEMIC. It is unfortunate that at the turn wuen the glad tidings of the signing of the arnustice reached the Do minion, we should have been sin feriiig from one of the worst anu most far-reaching epidemics that th', country has ever' experienced. Th< disease —influenza, in many cases at unded by complications —was, men is little "doubt, introduced by returned soldiers and visitors iron Unhappily, a large num l>er of d<nths have taken yhwe. ana business has iiceii moic or less disorganized throughout tbe Length anu breadth of the Dominion by l ie uni versti] -ickness. Tn? 51 mister fol .Public Hoaltb.. ably seconded by th’ Mayors of tho various cities am; towns and by a host of voluntary workers, has been doing ail he car to grapple with the epidemic : and it i-. io b-‘ hoped Unit by thy prompt ei'fcw. measures which have been Uik'.u. it will be stamped out ai no oisltliii oate. THE WAR. Miiin I hist addressed you. lat threat M ar v. a» still in progress, ant ill'.' oullo'.K ti.i' ii iva> one 01 anxiety to the- -Lilies. Tic? German oftetisive. which began towards the end o. March, wis '.whig prosecuted will vigriiir. and .Mai.-iml Tech, who had a week or two previously, been ap point cd l.'w'G’iandc’ -iri-Chi' f of th' Allied , had scarcely' macit his dispositions lor meeting ?t. 'ln British Army w ; .s being pushet buck bv overwh.Mmirm' Lumbers, an the Channel-ports were m tiangw Paris was for the second tun? ii danger. Anxiety continued until to wards the middle of July, when Mar sh.il FocL iaum-lisd his attack dear

iSoissons, which proved to be the turning of the tide and tile beginning of tiie end of the military power of Germany. In about four months from the time when he was ready to take the offensive, Marshal Foch has brought the Germans to their knees and has compelled them to sign a humiliating armistice, severe in its terms, but nevertheless unquestionably just. The Kaiser, the Grown Prince, and most of the minor royal parsonages of the Geiman principalities are fugitives, seeking the protection of neutral States. The war is • practically at an end, and the fact comes as an immense relief to the whole world--firstly, because the ideals of national liberty have been preserved; secondly, because, the German thesis that “might is right” nas Iren disproved ; and thirdly, because an end has been put to the destruction of human life. Joni I till yAvfo ACHIEVEAixiNi I. .Efforts will no doubt be made to estimate toe value ot tue nets rcliueieci by tne several nines, aiil ufie taeiors tn.it have Urrecuy cuueributeu to me xi.ii-cs success, m any sticu estimate or comparison, cue anrvices oi ureat iinuuu and u--r overseas Vouiilixoiis must receive adequate recugiutiou, auu auu.c rili, ctll'j credit u.uot be- given to uu’ Mi'iU&ii .va\l. uuim lue war began, miaul navi* Hie luuol povmiui .vavy in ti«e'%jvorid —us pov, trial us me next tirreanavx'js couiuiUitt. xiie ~noie issue uliue v,ar depended upon lue -Navy's aurtutss auu viguuiice ; and it ih giduipug to imte mat at no period vi lue iour years ■si nos til ii.es v. as our *\avy ever .ouud to be v. anting, it constantly .naintai neii its supiwiuacj, iuuj justaymg the contiacnce tuat urivuns nave always placed m it, and luc Germans' uopes ot victory were eoiiscqiyentjy always impossible ol . eansauon. ihe leccrd oi its expansion and of the work it has accomplished is a marvellous one. dt „ne commencement of tne war, tue ui-itisn -'.avy represented a tonnage ji two and a half minions; now ,t .s eight millions. Every trade route m tne world has been careiuliy patrolled by its ships, and, notwithstanding tne most determined and unscrupulous efforts oi our enemies, übe sea nas beenliept open to all tne commerce of the world. .tn tne month of June last, me ships of the .vavy steamed eight million miles. The number ot men required to man and maintain tne Navy andtne mercantile -Marine during tiie close jeriod oi. the war was at past one ind a half millions, of whom from eight to nine hundred thousand were aieii of military age. \v e in New Zealand should specially appreciate the invaluable services rendered bj are British Navy. Our trade routes .vern menaced, but never blocked, the enemy ; and at no time during cue whole period of the war was our noduce held up through direct ’nemy action . It is pleasing to note ,hat the wool-growers of New Zea and, in order to show their apprenation —if only in a modest way ;0i the debt .they'owe to the ■.larine, who. like » e Navy, have •endered such magnificent- service ihrouahoui the duration of the war. save assigned hall their surplus.proits from wool for the benefit of our ’■allant sailors. EMPIFiE’S EFFORTS ON LAND, i Wb*n we turn to rent I '.’; Britain s | ‘fforts on land, tne iaci snould be j emphasised that we were never a

military nation, in the sense that the nations of the Continent—and especially Germany—were, and Britain had no recent experience of conscription. The British Army was the smallest army maintained by any Great Power in Europe; and, in any pre-war discussion on the matter, there was never any idea that Britain would ever be able to employ a greater force than six divisions. Britain however raised for her Army and Navy 6,250,000 men — most of them by voluntary recruiting. In order to give some idea of what this means, 1 may say' that if the United States of America had called to the colours the same number of men in proportion to population, it would have meant an army of very nearly 15,000,000 men. The Dominions contributed about 1,000,000. and India about 1,250,000 men, since the beginning of the war. Though admittedly not a military power at the opening of the war, it will be seen from the foregoing that Britain certainly became one shortly afterwards. The six divisions sent to France in the early days of the war, which were slightingly referred to by ■ the Kaiser as “‘General French’s contemptible little army,” punished the Huns mercilessly at Mons, Le Cateau, and on the Marne ; ami the Kaiser’s ‘“royal imperial command” to his troops to ‘“march over” them was never carried out. They now glory in the title of ‘‘The Old Conteinptibles.” Britain’s Air Service was negligible in 191-1: it is now one of toe largest, and probably the most efficient. in the world,, and British airmen have played a very prominent part m tne war. THE EMPIRE AND AMERICA. The effects of the war on the .British Empire itself have been in many ways beneficial. Its constituent Dominions and Dependencies have been drawn to the Motherland and to each other in a way that notning else could have accomplished; and a welding of interests and sympathies has taken place that will, 1 believe, endure for all time. 'lhe Dominions have been acknowledged as partners in the great britisn Empire, and they will, in the immediate future, exercise an influence in shaping its destinies. Surely we may now look for a relationship more intimate than heretofore between the Motherland and the Dominions —a relationship tnat should assist in the attainment of that era of peace, happiness and prosperity for which we all so fervently long. And in the eyes of the world, the prestige of the British Empire is greater than ever. But the development which 1 regard as of the highest importance and as the occasion for the most profound thankfulness is the rapprochement which the war has brought about between the two great_ Eng-lish-speaking peoples—the United States of America and the British Empire. I may be classed as a visionary, but I hold to the view that the destinies of’ the world will lie in the hands of these two great democracies, which will have to shoulder the responsibilities of preserving the liberties of the nations, large and small, of succouring the smaller nationalities, and of policing the world. They have not sought this leadership, but it is theirs by virtue of their ideals of liberty, justice and humanity. POSTAVAR PROBLEMS. Following the close or the war now comes the difficult task of arranging the terms of peace. In this connection it is gratifying to note that the representatives of the Dominions will have seats at the Peace Conference. One of the outstanding questions for Australia is of course the destiny of the German Colonies in the Pacific. These cannot, and must not, be returned to Germany to become in the futifre bases for submarines and aircraft, and therefore a menace to the peaceful development of the British Dominions in these seas. There are of course other matters of great moment in which we are interested, and are hound to be discussed at the Peace Conference; but the determination of the disposal of the German Colonies in the Pacific is, to us. a very important question. Australian and New Zealand statesmen are, happily, unanimous on this point. RECONSTRUCTION. The active work of repatriation, restoration, and reconstruction must now be undertaken, and the greatest intelligence a»d the greatest organising ability will have to be utilised for the purpose, for at every step complicated and serious problems are bound to present them selves for solution. It. seems to me that the transition period will be m? less trying and anxious than the war period has been ; and the best efforts of every individual in the community will he needed to maintain the economic machinery in smoothlyrunning order. NEW ZEALAND PRODUCTS. I do not anticipate any immediate variation in the prosperity’ that this Dominion has enjoyed during the four years of war. There will pro bably be for some time a pressing demand for our foodstuffs and raw TTurfaAmd« t It i» practically assured

that the Imperial authorities will take the output of wool for a period 1 of twelve months from June following the declaration of peace ; and ; arrangements have now been concluded with them to take our out--1 put of cheese and butter for this and the following season, at satisfactory p- ices. This places the wool and dairying industries upon an assured footing for a considerable period. As to meat, however, which bulks so largely’ in our exports, the present term of the commandeer is for only thr«e months after termination of the war. If this be no,- altered, it is conceivable that in March or April next the refrigerated stores will be I full to the doors, and transportation | and realisation of the meat in store i would probably occupy no less than I eighteen months. | It is, I consider, highly beneficial I to New Zealand that these forward I contracts have been made with tne i 1 Imperial Government in regard to | 1 wool and dairy produce ; and in my ; opinion it would be to the advan- i tage of the Dominion if the principle j were also extended to meat. The j •war prosperity of the Dominion has | been largely due to the operations | in produce by the Imperial Government ; and until, at any rate, normal | business conditions prevail and the j shipping position improves con- j siderably, the advantages of a coniinuance of these operations are to j my mind obvious. j ■ STOCKS ON HAND. 1 ; There is now in cold-store of j frozen meat .alone a quantity equal | to anoui -1; million 6010. treignt ear- | cases; tnere are also consideable i quantities of cheese and butter and 1 a large amount of wool. In addi- j tion, there are heavy stocks of tallow, pelts, and o..her pro- ; i ducts, which have not been comman- J Peered by the imperial Government. ' Tne present season, for reasons 1 I have already given, is a backward ■ ' one, so tha„ not much of the 'year’s yield has yet got into store, j it must be borne in mind that all the Imperially-requisitioned pro- j • luce will have to be lifted in priority ! co purchases on private account; •’ and as the British comniun’eei i* shipping will probably not he re- ; taxed for some considerable time, it j is clear that private purchasers i would in that ease have to lake ■ heavy risks. It is easy to under- ! stand that if the bulk of next season’s meat has to be held m the ' refrigerated stores pending t n ik<l ; being found for it, a difficult, and m j some cases, unsatisfactoi sit tation I would arise. THE SHIPPING PRui Lf M The scarcity of tonnage is likely to continue —indeed is certain to continue- —for several montns. no>.-1 withstanding the tact that a tan apiount of shipping will bt it oi through there being no longer any ' necessity to transport munitu ns an t men. it may not be out of place to remind farmers and others who have accused the shipowners of exploiting the public, and so profiteering, that ail ships on the .British Register ’.ere requisitioned duriim tl early ! part of 1917 at Blue Book rates, ! these rates being appuxiniat i one-third of those then ootamuble I in the open market. The difference between the Blue Book iitts mt' those now current benefits, not tne shipowners, but the Imperial Go.eminent. So long as the British authorities continue their control of shipping, so long will it be diiiivult to know just what number of vessels will be available for our pi educe trade. It is moreover of the utmers-j importance to us that the income fio.n the sale of produce should ue as !.-irate during the next tvo veais as it is this year, to enable us to meet our obligations in the meantime whilst we are making provision for the readjustment of our affairs to meet the changed conditions. Had we been able to foretell a y eai ago just exactly when the war would | end. we could have made some picparation to meet the situation: but the end has come suddenly, and the post-war problems have yet to be grappled with. N.Z. FINANCIAL BURDEN. One great burden that the war has forced upon us is a huge public debt. I The Minister of Finance has rei peatedlv stated, since his return from England, that the public debt is about £200,000,000. This at 4./ | per cent, means an interest bill of I £9.000.000 per annum, or say £750.000 a month ; and there will be. in '■addition, the heavy pension bill to i meet. These two items will absorb about eleven millions to twelve I millions a year. This is a very heavy ! load for the country to carry, and it necessarily’ means that taxation must for some time be heavy. There is. however, one feature about, the debt that redound# to the credit of the people. A large proportion of the money- required for the prosecu- ' tion of the war was obtained within i New Zealand. It was recently stat- | ed officially that the amount of the war loans raised in the Dominion , was equal to about £lO per head or the population, a truly magnificent achievement. THE MOTHERLAND’S BURDEN. IWell as the people of New Zealand ha>vg done> the people in th®

British Isles have done infinitely Better. The Chancellor of the Exchequer the other day- obtained a < rc-dit vote of £700,000.000, which does not represent the end of such votes. With this vote, the total is brought up to the huge sum of £3,742,006,000, made up as under :— Year. £ 362,000,000 IIHS-16 1,420,000,000 1916- 2,010,000,000 1917- 2,450,000,000 1018-19 2,500.000,000 £8,742,000,000 The debt due to Great Britain. i;om the Allies on August Ist. was .'.1,402,000,000, and from, the Dominions £208,500,000; and both amounts would be consideraDly i irger now. It was officially stated id tne House of Commons chat the A ational War Debt on September last amounted to £6,875,000,900; and there is the recent credit ote to be added, which would bring i :ie total to £7,575,000,000. It will probably take another £500,000,000 .■) repatriate the troops and for restoration, compensation, etc., which would make the National War, Oebt about £8,000,000,000. Of the amount due to Britain from the .' Hies and Dominions, £1,000,000,000 ’; regarded as good, and this would • ave the debt at £7,000,000,000. i he interest bill would probably ■ >tal £315,000,000, which, with the a mount required for the normal peace expenditure, would mean ..lising a revenue of £600,000,000— r three times the amount raised in he peace year 1913-14. The people i Britain will be unable to indulge u any extravagances anti will be unPole to afford any fancy prices for ■ jodstiiffs or for anything else. And his state of affairs is likely’ to con.:nue for some time. But there will, i anticipate, be no sharp or sudden f scline in the prices of our produce ■ r, on the other hand, of the commo•lities we import. N.Z. IMPORTS. As regards imports, there is more likely to be an upward rather than rlc.wnw.-ird tendenev. for a time at ■ 'ast. m the cost ot commodities . iiat « r e imported into this country. Ki is ti otld wide ortage of ■ tandard goods and of raw niate- . •■ils. and tnese cannot be produced i sufficient quantities to meet all < omands for a long time., so that alues. when tiiey do recede, will do > gradually furthermore, so far s New Zealand is concerned, there pi li i lonsidu bn d fficulty in nporting goods from Britain beausn a large proportion, if not the nol ot out *< nneis ' dl be needd for tlm repatriation of troops. Merchants and importers are -eriouslv urged to study the posiion caretullv. and ihev will realise “nt ’■her-- is no reason whatever for nvth 1-, in t c Aiipt < f a panic, is .tn unfortunate one or the general public, for it means ■ hat the cost of living will continue ■ i" 1 ’ thongn perhaps nut quite so ; ’igh ’is nt pieseiit. Ilifji rates of • reig.-.t as compared with pre-war .i-ivs ineriuise in prime cost, and 'liffic'ilt v in procuring, will still lente n it ptot of imported goods ■md help to maintain values while • he prices of tile foodstuffs which we ourselves produce are unlikely to Ail! for some time owing to the strong demand there will be for i-om to feed the starving millions ■ 1 F-urope. Tne same set of conbtions will operate in. Australia. Canada- Bouth Africa, and India, so th n t the people of New will uav” no monopoiv oi complaint •■boat the high cost of living. . As a T n”t*t p r o’ fac.t. title? cost of living in Vnw Zealand i« relatively as low’ as, not lower than, in the ComrnoneaHh wd celt inly lo er than m European countries. ( TP J Al MUbT PAY. Ir, view of all these circumstances, is t o be honed that the imperative necessity of making the offending nations benr a substantial portion, if not the whole, of the war costs entailed upon the Allies in defeating their nefarious designs will be strenuously insisted upon at the Peace Conference. There should be no false and foolish sentimentalism or nambypambyism when settling scores with the German nation. Recent disclosures prove beyond all possible doubt that Germany was the real instigator of the war, and had made complete plans towards that end some time before the actual declaration of hostilities. It is therefore Lo be sincerely hejjed that the abjecu appeals which the 3un is at present making to secure mitigation of th® just punishment that is impending for his misdeeds will fall upon deaf ears and that the Allies will be inexorable in their terms. What, I ask, would have been the fate of the British Empire if the Hun, instead of being defeated, had been victorious? Let me quote an extract from the letter of a leading German—the late Herr Ballin—which was telegraphed out to the press quite recently. He wrote a few days before hi- death, discussing the forecasts of the armistice terms, whice lie admitted were unexpectatedly moderate, and remarked :— “If we had been the victors we would have demanded the aceupation of London and Paris s dictated

terms at Buckingham Palace, and | annexed the entire continent be- I tween the Urals and the Bay of Biscay.” Let me also remand you of the iniquitous exactions to which poor Belgium has been subjected in order to provide for the maintenance of an army of occupation, which by all the laws of right, and justice should never have been in Belgium territory at ah'. Unquestionable upon the British Dominions grievous burdens would have been laid. In these circumstances, therefore, there neea be no hesitation on our part in demanding what is obviously only fair and 'fust to ourselves and our Allies. HOW TO COLLECT THE INDEMNITY. Much will he made of the" Fact that Germany is financially in a bankrupt state unable at present to pay indemnities. That may be true ; but if so, it is Germany’s concern. She has brought it upon herself and can therefore be left to find a way out of her own embarrassments. But Germany is not bankrupt in resources. She is rich in natural wealth, and my firm opinion is that that natural w’ealth should be charged with the burden of the debt which the civilised freedom-loving nations of the world have had to incur to protect their liberties against German aggression. It should be arranged that specific taxes should be levied upon all Germany’s primary products to provide for payment, within a reasonable period, of the Allied indebtedness, together wjfch the interest thereon. In this way, the magnitude of her iniquity and the inevitable consequences of crimes such as those of which Germany has been guilty, would be kept alive in the German mind for probably the next century, and would furnish one of the best guarantees against any reversion to militarism by the German nation. By the time her obligation had been discharged, the triumph of democracy would be complete. My opinion is that the British Dominions, at any rate, should unequivocally demand to be indemnified against the liability which German greed and rapacity have forced upon them. If the wealthiest members of the Allied family desire co display generosity to the German nation, they can, of course, make any sacrifice they wish on their own account; but as iar ag the Dominions are concerned, full indemnification should be afforded. ARCH-CRIMINALS MUST BE PUNISHED. The financial aspect is, moreover, not the only one that calls for consideration. Here, at this trystingplace of the ages, stand outraged Justice and afflicted Humanity, appealing to the champions of Hight —Justice demanding vindication of her honour, and Humanity crying out for redress of her grievances. The victors cannot turn a deaf ear to their appeal. Those responsible for the perpetration pi the countless inhumanities, barbarisms and iniquities that have made this war a horror of horrors, should be arraigned at the bar of an international judicial tribunal and receive from that august Court the just punishment of their offences. The exalted station of a culprit should have no influence upon *the decrees of such Court. The brag gai-t and blaspheming “Ail Highest,” if shown to be responsible, should receive the same treatment as the lowest common soldier Thus we shall perfect the work Which our gallant dead have had to leave unfinished, and fill up the measures of their sacrifices, so that the splendour of their completed achievement shall go down with undimmed lustre to a grateful posterity, and shine for ever yrith* an imperishable glory. RESTITUTION MUST BE MADE. MR. W. WATSON’S VIEWS. In expressing thanks to the shareholders for again returning him to the Board unopposed, Mr. Watson assured them that he should endeavour not to neglect their interests. » The great changes in the business of the Bank brought about by the Government commandeer and purchase of the Dominion’s principal products, the lack of shipping, the absence of so many men, and the j necessary taxation and removal of i money for war expenses, have undoubtedly affected banking profits, and that expansion and growth of ordinary business which otherwise would have taken place. On the ; other hand the Banks’ funds have been kept well and safely employed during the period of the war, and everyone will admit that there has been no war exploitation on its part. It is important to the bank, as it is to you in your private capacities, that restitution should be made by the country’s enemies not only of j the money of which we have been I depleted by their unprovoked war. but to provide the pensions and other demands consequent upon the deaths and other war casualties. It is beside the question to argue whether Germany can, or can not, [pay these just claims. No such ar-

! gument was entertaine I by Germany (when she bled France white, besides taking Alsace and Lorraine from her in 187 L Neither was the Boxier indemnity remitted because China was unable to iiay; on the contrary her revenues were taken as security. It is nonsense to say that milder measures should be adopted towards Germany with her large resources, and her people who, Socialists and all, supported the war and all its frightfulness with bravado as long as they hoped to gain by it, and only changed to whining after defeat. It would be extremely unjust that we and our descendants should be with the debts and taxation caused by the war, as well as having to endifte the lose of those who can never be replaced. Let us trust that New Zealand’s delegates to the peace conference will use their best endeavours to see that justice is done.