THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1939 NEW ZEALAND RETROSPECT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23542, 30 December 1939, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1939 NEW ZEALAND RETROSPECT

On the threshold of her second century, to be ushered in by the mutter of guns from distant Europe, New Zealand can be forgiven if she looks back for a moment before fixing her eyes on a clouded future. It is only right that at this juncture we should examine the past in a firm endeavour to retain from it all those qualities of mind, heart arid spirit that have thrust us forward on our march to nationhood. Sonie of those qualities to-day are no longer firmly held. Material progress in many instances has been gained at the expense of a weakening of the moral fibre and for that reason it is fitting that there should be some reflection on recent trends, political and otherwise, to see how far we have sacrificed the substance of national life for its shadow. Events of the past 12 mouths are sufficient to show that all is not well with New Zealand. To some extent, perhaps, we may be suffering from national growing pains, but neither that nor the fact that we are at war offers any real excuse for the rigid system of State control that has descended on a people nurtured in the love of liberty. New Zealand enters its second century with its trade in fetters, its production impaired and its people divided by political prejudices. Even the call to action, sounded when the Empire went to war, has not brought that sense of national unity that was expected. "The fault is not in our stars but in ourselves." It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that New Zealanders have lost, even if only temporarily, their sense of selfreliance. "Only when the moral spine of a people is broken," writes the Rt. Hon. H. A. L. Fisher, "may plaster of Paris become a necessary evil." There is plaster of Paris aplenty in New Zealand to-day, but can it be said that the moral spine of the people is broken? The year now closing in New Zealand has been a year of trouble and the greatest tragedy of all is that differences of opinion have not been sunk in a national determination to put every ounce of effort into the grim business of war. If the spirit of 1914 could be recaptured, everything would be subordinated to a spontaneous will for victory. That self-same will is present to-day but it is subjected to too many conflicting influences. War broke out at a time when New Zealand was almost exclusively preoccupied with her own domestic problems. At the beginning of the year, the commercial life of the country was thrown into chaos by the imposition of exchange control and import restrictions, which ha%-e been increased in severity with the passing of the months. At the same time, the financial position of the Dominion had deteriorated to such an extent, as the result of three years of profligate spending, that the Minister of Finance, Mr. Nash, had to travel post-haste to London to arrange a loan conversion and trade credits which were largely in the nature of a financial reprieve. The month of April saw the introduction in part of the Labour Government's plan of Social Security, which was extended during the year by the addition of the promised maternity and hospital benefits. Then came a Budget which called for further heavy contributions in taxation to the end that the Government might increase its expenditure without any guarantee of increased production. Economic difficulties were admitted in the Financial Statement but the remedies prescribed were not applied. The position arose—probably it still exists —when the State was the employer of nearly 100,000 people, with an additional 140,000 in receipt of some form of State pension or Social Security benefit. Private industry has to pay the bill and now, in addition, it has to finance the country's participation in war.

Admittedly it is difficult to bring all these factors into relation with the changed outlook occasioned by the war. In the fateful days toward the end of August there was hope that the traditional spirit of New Zealand would triumph. Government and Opposition leaders spoke in ringing tones and in complete concord on the Dominion's determination to stand firm by the side of Britain in any conflict forced on the world by tho insanity of Hitlerism. For a time it seemed that party strife had been forgotten but foolishly it was allowed to be reborn. It has been argued, not without justification, that tho Government's insistence on such controversial measures as the Reserve Bank and marketing legislation was at least partly responsible for a change in public temper. Be that as it may, the duty of any Government in times like these is to shape its programme, whether for war purposes or for domestic policy, in such a manner that national co-operation is assured. A Government that requests co-operation—-that urgently requires co-operation —must itself give the lead ; so far that lead has not been given and there is even evidence of dissension within the Government's own ranks. What, then, of the future? New Zealand has not gone to war for the sake of arguing about it. The exploits of the Dominion's airmen in the skies above Germany and over the North Sea; the fame won by the men in H.M.S. Achilles off the River Plate; and the presence in military camps of a new generation of soldiers, preparing for service overseas —all this is proof that the moral spine of the people is not yet broken. Once the encumbering plaster of political animosities and mistrust is removed, New Zealand will stand erect on the battlefield, on the farm and in the factory, ready to move forward freely and with courage into the second century of her existence.