NEW ZEALAND STATE CURRENCY ASSOCIATION.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7145, 4 June 1910, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND STATE CURRENCY ASSOCIATION.

rVo the Editor "N.Z. Times.") Sir,—There could be no greater delusion than that which appears to possess the mind of Air F. T. Moore and his followers when lie say.s in his letter which appears under the above heading, ini your valuable issue of even date, "the Government must have an assur-ed gold (revenue to meet London charges on leans," or otherwise it would bo attempting to repudiate its debts. Nothing could bo more absurd than to imagine we .must pay our debts due to London in gold. -As well to argue that when wo borrow from London, England must send us that loan, in so many sovereigns, otherwise it is no loan at all. AVhereas, when we borrow we do not necessarily import any gold from England at all. What ■ happens is this. When the loan is raised in London a sum representing the amount borrowed, by us is placed to the credit of the JiiW Zealand Government in London, and the banks here are then authorised to place a similar sum to the credit of the Government, which the Government draws upon and pays away, chiefly in wages, tuose who .receive those wages go to the various shopkeepers and buy what they require, clothing, boots, etc., the bulk is imported from the United Kingdom, and therefore as fast as the shopkeepers dispose of their goods they send drafts 'back to London for fresh supplies, and thus the money to the credit of New- Zealand in the London banks vofy quickly gets used up, and therefore, instead of borrowing gold, we have in reality .borrowed clot'hii-ig. boots, beer, tobacco, watches, steel rails, etc., upon which we then have to pay interest for all time or until the principal sum borrowed is repaid, but we do not pay that interest,' nor yet the principal in gold, but in wool, mutton, butter, hides, gold (as a commodity of commerce,' but at a iixed price), kauri gum, etc. But the trouble is that we have already borrowed so much that we require to export yearly somewhere in the vicinity of £6,000,000 worth of produce more than we import before we can consider ourselves as fairly paying our way. And the Government must tax the land ot New Zealand in orde.r to obtain the itight to that surplus, which instead of being expended here is handed to the British money Taikape/May 31.