"EMPTY PROMISES"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22214, 14 September 1935, Page 15

"EMPTY PROMISES"

LABOUR'S SCHEMES ATTACK BY MINISTER PLATITUDES AND INFLATION THE DANGERS OF SOCIALISM [by TELEGRAPH —SPKCIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON. Friday A vigorous attack on the Labour Party was made by the Minister of Defence, Hon. J. G. Cobbe, who continued his speech in the Address-in-Reply debate in the House of Representatives to-day. Mr. Cobbe said the people would require something more than extravagant promises and an unceasing How of highsounding platitudes before they would return the Opposition to govern the country. The Labour Party was ready to promise a golden harvest provided it was given control of the land, property and businesses of tho people, and especially the money in the banks. Mr. R. MeKeen (Labour —Wellington South) had said that his party had placed its sheet anchor on guaranteed prices as the solution for the difficulties of farmers. In tho Minister's opinion the bottom would prove so soft and muddy that the anchor would not hold. Guaranteed prices would be possible only through inflation of currency or excessive taxation. "When Lenin became ruler of Russia lie introduced inflation," Mr. Cobbe said. "Later the nation that had abolished banking and taken currency matters into its own hands had to encourage capitalists to return to Russia and recommence banking. It also had to go to the United States and raise a loan at more than twice tho rate of interest at which New Zealand can borrow money." Mr. Cobbe referred to the financial proposals of the Labour Party as outlined by Mr. F. Langstone (Wainiarino) and Mr. W. Nash (Hutt). i hoy made unpleasant reading to those with money in savings banks and banking institutions. What they really constituted was a method of bribing the farmer with his own money. Actually the Labour Party was only interested in the farmer at election times, when it tried to feed him with empty promises. "it cannot be too plainly emphasised that tho chief objective of the New Zealand Labour Party is socialism," Mr. Cobbe continued. "This has been plainly stated by the party leaders. Socialism is tho fetter with which mediocrity tries to cripple genius and Now Zealand should beware of such a system, if adopted it would establish a more hateful form of tyranny than any tho world has known. Despotic rulers have in the past tyrannised over the bodies of men and women. Socialism would tyrranise over their souls. It is the substitution of State control for individual liberty."

POLITICAL PRINCIPLES MEMBER AND MINISTER A REPLY TO MR. STALLWORTHY [BY TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON, Friday The political principles of the Minister of Justice, Hon. J. G. Cobbe, were attacked by Mr. A. J. Stallworthy (In-dependents-Eden) during the Address-in-Replv debate in the House of Representatives to-day. " We have just had an extraordinary speech from that poetical monstrosity, the Minister of Justice.'' said Mr. Stallworthy. The Speaker: That is quite out of order. The hon. member should withdraw it. " I will refer to the poetical misadventure of the Minister of Justice,' said Mr. Stallworthy. " In the course of his meandering remarks he still found time to refer to a small coterie subservient to the Opposition. Evidently he subscribes to that political doctrine that members ought to be big enough to sink all their principles so long as they can hold on to their Parliamentary position or the emoluments of office. I do not subscribe to that doctrine." Mr. Stallworthy said that both the Minister and himself were temperance men, but last year Mr. Cobbe had gone into the lobby with the Government and voted for a reduction in the beer duty, granting a privilege to the richest monopoly in the country. In those circumstances he ought to be the last to talk about political subservience. Later the cudgels were taken up on behalf of the Minister by Mr. W. P. Endean (Government —Parnell). "The Minister is a man respected from the North Cape to the Bluff," Mr. Endean said. "He is blessed with a broad mind; not one of the narrow Lilliputian type possessed by the member for Eden. Mr. Stallworthy mentioned that he and the Minister were once connected in the temperance cause. I would advise him to extend his temperance activities to his language." The economics of Mr. Stallworthy, Mr. Endean continued, seemed to come from an old curiosity shop of the midVictorian era. On one hand Mr. Stallworthy complained bitterly about inadequate attention to the relief of unemployment, and on the other hand, with a burst of oratory, he invited the Government to reduce taxation by £7,000,000 a year. The two were incompatible. Surely Mr. Stallworthy recognised the necessity for balancing the Budget.