THE WAITAKI PLAIN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21649, 20 May 1932, Page 5

THE WAITAKI PLAIN

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —I was quite pleased to learn from Mr Stringer’s letter in your lust Saturday’s issue of the initiatory work that has already been done in irrigating the upper part of the Waitaki Plain. That has been so successful that the remainder may be tackled with confidence. The side streams coming down from the mountain range could be led on in races now to be operative most of next season. Later, these streams could all be tapped high enough up to run them on to the Oaraaru-to-Livingstone land, and a main race from the river could irrigate the plain. Then every farmer working irrigated land should be a married man occupying a cottage on the farm held. The reports from Galloway Flat suggests that I the irrigated land would keep one and a- ; third cow per acre all the year round. Hay or ensilage would be provided for | the winter off the acre. If the plain should I prove anything near that, farms of 33 1-3 ‘ acres would be quite big enough for a I comfortable living, and a little over, even j at present prices. 1 I see that an association has been formed aiming at the stabilising of cur- I rcncy. Should success attend that effort, that would g ve confidence as prices should be steadier than now, though they might not be much higher for some time. We may be sticking too long to the idea of 1 so many grains of gold for our pound. I If we vary that according to the export indexes issued by the Government, our I pound will then purchase the same amount ! of goods for us whether prices move up or down a little, and the grains of gold in the pound will not matter. Wo have tried the other so long, and been so severely “had” with it, that this change suggested by leading economists would be welcome if it only gave variety. Most

of us are money lenders to Government savings banks, into benefit lodges, life insurances, etc. Just recently some one calculated that the vast majority of our producers are not clearing more than 2 per cent. It was quite noticeable that the Bank of England just recently lowered its rate more than the banks of any other country. The banka have their system and yearly rake enormous sums out of all countries that are trading at all. Since the war the dividends and additions to reserves of the half-dozen associated banks trading in New Zealand have been huge. Reserves aie too big already. Anything over 5 per cent, profit should go straight to the Treasury of the country where the banks are trading. If nineteen-twentieths of us are getting 2 per cent, or less, 5 per cent, should be ample for the banks, two and a-half times greater than what we have to live on.—l am, etc., A. E.