MR DOWNIE STEWART ABROAD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22052, 7 September 1933, Page 2

MR DOWNIE STEWART ABROAD

INTERVIEW AT VANCOUVER PUBLIC QUESTIONS DISCUSSED When Mr W. Downie Stewart, M.P. for Dunedin West, arrived at Vancouver on his way to the Institute of Pacific Relations conference at Banff he was sought out by newspaper representatives. As one of the most important international gatherings ever held in Canada, the conference itself attracted wide attention. The Daily Province of Vancouver rofered to Mr Stewart as “ the man Who a year ago was an outstanding figure at the Ottawa Conference as Minister of Finance for New Zealand ” and spoke very kindly of “ the little statesman who is temporarily on the sidelines of New Zealand politics.” The paper says that those who know New Zealand politics are emphatic in theirpredictions that it will not be long before he is again an important and active factor. After referring to Mr Stewart’s mission as one of his country’s representatives at the deliberations of Institute of Pacific Relations at Banff and a conference at Toronto on Empire relations, under the Institute of International Relations, the Daily Province tinues:—On the subject of depreciated currency, Mr Stewart speaks ns a frankly avowed opponent; and he thinks he can already read some of the results of his country’s action in following the Australian pound—Australian depreciation, he explains, was the result of conditions and not artificial. “ Depreciation of currency in our own country has had unfortunate results. It must be remembered that when. Australian currency depreciated it was a natural reflection of trade conditions. They found it helped the farmer and tried to keep it. “ New Zealand, on the other hand, depreciated her currency deliberately. Wlial was the result? Denmark, a competitor in the British market, followed suit; France retaliated with increased tariffs and, while perhaps tlillicult to establish that the depreciation of our currency lowered prices in the London market, it certainly increased exports to an extent of creating oversupply, thus indirectly reducing prices. “ Whether 1 or not that is a fact British farmers believe that New Zealand and Australia are able to compete unfairly in their market and have been making a very determined effort to have a quota established for their protection. “ But the main objection to depreciated currency, certainly my chief objection, is that it creates an extra burden on the budget. I always believe that when a country depreciated its currency it would balance its budget. That appears to be impossible with the extra burden it imposes—the cost of remitting money, extra burden of foreign-owed loans, and the consequent loss in customs revenue. However, the matter is still being violently debated in New Zealand.” From the conversations which he had with London financial authorities last October Mr Stewart was not inclined to hope for too much from the World Economic Conference. While London authorities were inclined to doubt if a conference of such wide scope, with CO nations represented, could achieve practical results, they believed it neces-

sary as a means of “ exploring the position.” The natural sequence will be conferences on narrower bases, of countries which might be able to agree on policies which affect their own areas. If the World Conference is not reconvened, Mr Stewart believes it likely that another Empire conference may be the natural result, or a conference of countries on the sterling basis. Mr Stewart is of the opinion that President Roosevelt's experiment of raising price levels may work succesfully in a self-contained country such as the United States, where but 10 per cent, of the trade is export; but he can not see it as a practical solution for a country whose trade lies chiefly in export. Its tendency, he says, is to increase isolation and demands tariffs which are certainly not in keeping with the announced pre-election platform of President Roosevelt. It was one of the chief aims of the World Conference to keep the world in step in raising price levels, but this failed. Mr Stewart is watching with keenest interest the developments as United States steps out on the unknown road alone.