REPLY TO CRITIC

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22853, 7 October 1937, Page 13

REPLY TO CRITIC

FAULTS IN THE PAST

MR. LANGSTONE'S CLAIMS WORK OF REHABILITATION [JIV TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL )! WORT Kit] WELL!XGTON, AVcdnesclay Criticism of the speech of the lit. Hon. J. G. Coates (Opposition—Kaipara) was expressed by the .Minister of Lands, the Hon. F. Langstone, during the financial debate in the House of Representatives to-night. I lie member for Kaipara has complained about the guaranteed price system, and has maintained that the farmers should be free," .Mr. Langstone said. " It was he who torpedoed the interests of farmers when he was in office. He combined with the Tooley Street people to denounce and undo the organisation of the farmers in New Zealand."

Mr. Coates had also stated that there was 110 chance for the young people between 17 and 19 to-day, the Minister continued, but from 19:51 onward, when those young people had been seeking the opportunity to learn trades, the door of opportunity had been banged, barred and bolted in their faces. There were opportunities to-day that did not exist when the present Government came into power.

The work of rehabilitation was a pretty big task, added Mr. Langstone, but the Government was facing up to it and was producing a different state of affairs from that which had existed when New Zealand was controlled by a party that did not understand the science of government. The members of the Opposition had been trying to make the people believe they were worse off to-day than two years ago, but the people knew for themselves that that was not true.

"Mr. Coatcs has criticised tlic Government's income taxation," Mr. Langstone continued, "but let us see what happened when liis party was in power. In 1921 when the assessable income of New Zealand was £48.(306.000 the sum of £8,034,000 was collected in income tax. The Government then embarked on a policy of reducing income tax for the benefit of its wealthy friends and it went down by successive stages from Ss 9d in the pound to 4s Gd. "While the Government was giving away the national income it went on the London market and pawned New Zealand to the extent of millions and millions of pounds. We could have used increased income to carry out public woi'ks and social services without borrowing, and the slump need not have I been as severe as it was."

Mr. Langstone referred to losses on estates purchased by the previous Government and said the record of the Reform Party in particular was anything but creditable. In the Wellington land district the losses on 16 estates bought by the Sta-to totalled £360,514. The majority of those properties were purchased between 1920 and 1923. The poor soldier.who had survived the battlefields of France was "well settled" by the people who claimed that they were born to ride.

Discussing taxation, Mr. Langstone said profits in business were nothing more or less than taxes on the community. Surely the Government had a right to tax those taxex and redistribute the money. PRODIGALITY DENIED [I!V TIXKGKAI'H —SI'KCIAL KKI'OKTEIt] WELLINGTON, Wednesday "The charge made by members of the Opposition that tiie Government is playing the part of prodigals is the most fantastic that could be made," said Mr. C. Morgan Williams (Government— Kaiapoi) during the Budget debate to-night. Mr. Williams argued that, while the last Government had followed a policy which led to increased national and private indebtedness, tlife Labour Government had achieved the opposite.