NEW ZEALAND'S PROBLEMS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22025, 7 August 1933, Page 12

NEW ZEALAND'S PROBLEMS

LABOUR PARTY’S SOLUTIONS ADDRESS BY THE REV. CLYDE CARR.

The Rev. Clyde Carr, M.P. for Timaru, who is at present »n an organising tour of the South Island, addressed a large audience in His Majesty’s Theatre last 1 evening, Mr L. W. Morland, president i of the Otago Labour Representation Committee, presided and briefly intro- | duccd the speaker. Mr Oarr commenced his address by comparing New Zealand with a motor car which had broken down, the driver ; knowing nothing of the methods required to repair the damage. They could not ■ expect the present Government to get the country out of the mire in which it now found itself. He claimed that 1 the Labour Party knew the cause of the trouble, and until that party was ; given an opportunity to solve the present difficulties the country would remain in the mire. He quoted from various ' periodicals to show that the Government's economic advisers were merely advocating ( the cutting down of wages and social i services in the interests of the money I lenders and big business generally. The I country now had to export double the j normal quantity of goods in order to i pay its interest and this had had the ■ effect, of forcing the primary producers, small shopkeepers and workers generally “ right down on the bread line.” The Government, the speaker continued, had urged more production and the result had been over-production with workers out of employment and having no purchasing power to buy the extra goods produced. The first thing Labour would do was to take control of the mechanism of finance and operate it in the interests of those who produced the goods. He was a Socialist and stood for Socialism. If they all knew what Socialism was they would be Socialists too and would not tolerate the present system any longer. All the social services had been operated by those who ■ were not in sympathy witli the objective I of Socialism, and if they wanted their social services to function satisfactorilv they would have to put Socialists in charge of them. The country could feed, clothe and house its people. The goods were there and the people were not enjoying them simply because the Labour Party had failed to take charge of the mechanism of exchange, currency and credit and work for the benefit of all. On coming into power, the Labour Party would issue currency by circulating 1 Treasury notes and would thus increase the spending power of the people. At the conclusion of the address n vote of thanks was accorded the speaker.