SOCIAL CREDIT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22832, 17 March 1936, Page 15

SOCIAL CREDIT

ALBERTA’S EXPERIMENT CANADA AWAITS RESULT (Special to Daily Times) AUCKLAND, March 10. Although not prepared to criticise social crcedit Mr D. H. Ross, formerly Canadian Government Trade Commissioner in Melbourne, who was a through passenger by the Niagara for Sydney, was of the opinion that before considering the adoption of this method of monetary reform Governments should await the success of the scheme in Alberta. Canadian politicians regarded social credit in Alberta as an experiment and were following it with considerable interest, said Mr Ross. Over the past few months, however, the Federal Government had found it necessary to make considerable advances to the Government of Alberta. Further advances were required, however, to carry out the various schemes entailed in social credit, including the promise made by the Government that every adult in the State would receive at least £5 a week on which to live. In the Federal Government there were n few members who were keen supporters of social credit, but they were not sufficient in numbers to have anv influence in Parliament.

Trade conditions in Canada were definitely improving, said Mr Ross. The winter, however, had been unusually severe, and this bad resulted in an increase in unemployment. Exports had increased considerably, and under the present Government there was a tendency toward a reduction in tariffs. Mr Ross did not consider that the reciprocal trade agreement between Canada and the United Stales, introduced recently, would affect New Zealand or Australian exports to Canada. Mr Ross, who was Canadian Trade Commissioner in Melbourne for 31 years, retired two years ago, and since then lias travelled extensively. He lias recently spent eight months in Canada and America.