RENEWED CONFIDENCE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 249, 18 September 1933, Page 7

RENEWED CONFIDENCE

IN FUTURE OF DOMINION. PREMIER GRATIFIED. (By Telegraph.—Special to Standard.) WELINGTON,* Sept. 18. The Prime Minister’s first activity on entering the Cabinet room to-day was to grant an interview to the “Standard’s” correspondent. He suggested that conditions generally were more cheerful and he was glad to note on his return the great feeling of confidence in regard to the future of New Zealand. He enumerated the improvements in the prices of export commodities, adding that during the depression in England the prices of dairy products went much below a level justified on the conditions, purely due to want of confidence. However, confidence had returned in Britain; and the people were launching out on schemes long held in abeyance.

LOAN OPERATIONS. Asked if he had raised the question of conversion to lower interest of the Dominion’s overseas debt, Mr Forbes replied that the money market was still the subject of official oversight and was being kept clear at the moment for Australian conversions. He did not doubt that similar facilities would he given the Dominion when the time arrived for its conversion operations and that the results would be equally satisfactory. As for any prospect of anticipating maturity dates in the interest reduction, Mr Forbes indicated that there had been no direct movement along that line. He reminded the interviewer of the joint statement of the Dominions regarding debt burdens in relation to the low prices of commodities in which the opinion had been expressed that an endeavour must be made to increase price levels to lessen the debt burden.

“This,” said Mr Forbes, “was considered the most effective manner to meet the problem. Our overseas debt conversion, meanwhile, is confined to the £5,000,000 short-dated loan maturing early next year. This is being handled by the Minister of Finance.” HIGH EXCHANGE POLICY.

“Yes, I did have a good chance of viewing the high exchange policy from another angle,” said Mr Forbes, when asked how New Zealand’s action was viewed overseas. “It was recognised that, in the face of our internal difficulties and what was done in other countries in the way they took control of their currencies, what we had done was very moderate. 1 was asked what were the intentions of our Government and replied that we had endeavoured to restore equilibrium for our export farmers and stimulate exports under below cost conditions, and that as prices recovered our policy would be to gradually reduce the exchange. Bankers and others to whom this explanation was made replied ‘Don’t be in too great a hurry to bring it down’. They felt,” continued the Prime Minister, “that currencies all round were unstable and it had been freely prophesied by economists and others that the gold countries would be unable to remain on gold so that the currencies will continue lor some time to be in a state of flux. This was a factor which blocked the business of the Conference. Nobody knew where the dollar was going to and what other countries would do to protect theixij selves against the depreciated dollar.

WORLD CONFERENCE.

REASSEMBLY UNLIKELY

Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Sept. 18. The question of calling the World Economic Conference together a gam was more or less in the air, stated the Prime Minister, lit. Hon. G. 'VForbes, in an interview to-day lie expressed the view that it would be impossible to call the whole Conference together again. He inclined to the opinion that any future decisions would be undertaken by correspondence. Asked if any plans had been made for an early meeting of the Imperial Conference, Mr Forbes said the representatives of the Dominions had been able to confer with the British Ministers and had been able to deal with a number of important matters. He would say it would not be nccessaij for an Imperial Conference to be held at the usual time. THE HIGH COMMISSIONER. Mr Forbes was not in a position at the moment to say anything regarding a successor to the High Commissioner (Sir Thomas Wiltord, K.G.). He indicated that he vvould take an early opportunity of discussing a number of important questions with his colleagues in the Cabinet. Mr Forbes later attended a meeting of the Executive Council over which the Governor-General (Lord Bledisloej presided.