SAVAGE ON FORBES.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 3 July 1936, Page 6

SAVAGE ON FORBES.

"TRYING TO CREATE ILL-WILL

AND PANIC."

PRIME MINISTER'S VIGOROUS RETORT. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Last Night. "I think the leader of the previous Government should he the ' last man in New Zealand to talk about penalising the people or about the new tyranny," said the Prime Minister in an interview tonight when commenting on the criticism of the Labour Government's policy voiced at Auckland by the leader of the Opposition (Mr. Forbes.)

[ "When it comes to preserving the rights and savings of the people this Government will compare more than favourably with the last. By deliberate Acts of Parliament tihe previous Government destroyed well over £IOO,SOO,OOO of the wages of the people. The people did not have any chance to put that money into the banks. It was simply taken away from them deliberately by legislation which, we as the Opposition, then opposed. The savings which are already invested in the people's bank are guaranteed by the State. The whole assets of the State are behind the savings bank deposits. That will always be the case, and instead of the leader of the Opposition casting suspicion on the Government and trying to create ill-will and panic among people about their savings, it would not be too much to expect from him that he should confine himself to the actual facts of the situation.

"The leader of the Opposition refers to the welfare of children. He was not so much concerned with the welfare of children wthen he was head of a Government which made it impossible for five-year-old children to be admitted to the State schools. It is only since this Government has come into power that these children ihave been able to get into the schools."

The Labour Government was just as well able to handle big issues as its predecessors, Mr. Savage continued. Mr. Forbes had spoken of the "new tyranny '' in New Zealand, but they had only to look at t)he public service to see that it was not a new tyranny, and it was only since the new Government came into power that public servants could express themselves directly and play an intelligent part in the Government of their own country.

It was a misstatement of the position that every man had to join a union and unions could lie called on to subscribe to the funds of tihe Labour party. Men Avere wanted in unions not only to protect the advantages already, gained but to help in the intelligent development and control of industry. It was for the unions to decide what political party they were affiliated with. Tt was pure unadulterated rubbish for Mr Forbes to say the Labour party could call up half a million pounds to assist tihem in their political campaign. What Labour had in the way of political funds always would be small compared with that of their opponents.

"Feeling of Uncertainty

Abroad"

EMPLOYERS DOWNHEARTED, SAYS TORBES

AUCKLAND, Last Night.

"There is a feeling or uncertainty abroad," said Mr Forbes, Leader of the Opposition, in an interview before his departure from 'Auckland. "During the two days I spent in Auckland many businessmen expressed to me the opinion that they did not know how things would ultimately turn out."

The conditions- under which the average employer had to. conduct his business encouraged the feeling of uncertainty, said Mr Forbes, and many felt they would be thrown out of then stride with the extra charges to be imposed upon them. They seemed downhearted, he stated, "for they felt that having got out of the depression and having made up some of the leeway, they looked forward to a period of better instead of being loaded with extra expense as seems inevitable. Altogether the position Is very unsatisfactory. ''