HARSH LOAN TERMS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23885, 12 August 1939, Page 11

HARSH LOAN TERMS

REJOINDER BY MR LEE DIFFICULTIES VISUALISED SLIGHTLY MODIFIED TONE ‘From Our Parliamentary Reporter' WELLINGTON, Aug. 11. Members of the Opposition had a gift for garrulity but apparently had little ability to take in the points of an address, said Mr J. A. Lee (Govt., Grey Lynn) during the debate on the amendment to the financial resolution in the House of Representatives today, Mr Lee said he therefore proposed to speak deliberately when quoting from notes of the speech which had given rise to the debate. "I have been called a sinister i.*fluence. a financial anarchist, and a wrecker,” said Mr Lee. “ I do. not intend to spend any time in recrimination. If that is the opinion held of me in the citadel of the forces that would bind industry and the men and women of this country, then the term is a compliment. I have no doubt of the effect of the address in the country, I have had messages already half a sackful of them. Mr W. A. Bodkin (Opposition, Central Otago): That looks well for the Left Wing. Harsh and Onerous Terms There was no justification at all for the amendment, added Mr Lee. who declared that he was pleased to stand for New Zealand while the Opposition stood for the foreign bondholder “ When I looked at the terms that were forced upon New Zealand by that harsh and onerous settlement I said nobody could have done better.” he said. “ Like many other members of this House. I am a New Zealander and I served overseas, but when I read those terms I. too, felt ashamed that New Zealand gave in the war more lives than the country called Belgium But we have been badly treated.” . If prices were to fall catastrophically as they did in 1932 because overseas people were manipulating finance against New Zealand, Mr Lee said, he would not hesitate to repudiate to save human flesh and blood. The Acting Prime Minister /Mr P. Fraser): That could never arise.

If prices fell to a fraction _of what they were to-day, Mr Lee said, not a member of the House who cared to look at the truth would say that it would be possible to pay. Mr A. E. Jull (Opposition. Waipawa): That is not repudiation. “The member for Waipawa is on the way,” said Mr Lee. “ I would not hesitate in those circumstances to interfere with instruments that were unconscionable. Why not tell the truth about it? If I have to be a liar in this House I would sooner be outside the House and tell the truth. Ido not care if prices fall so low that all that remains from our exports is enough to pay the overseas debt. I am going to fight for the people of New Zealand who do useful work and not for the foreign bondholder.”

No Need for Repudiation

Mr Lee quoted passages from the report of his speech and said that though there were many forms of repudiation, given intelligence, there should be no need for any form of it. He then quoted from a speech by Mr Downie Stewart which, he said, was couched in the terms that he had used the other night, except that he talked in figures and Mr Stewart talked theories. Mr Hamilton advocated repudiation and confiscation in New Zealand, but no interference with the foreign bondholder. By what process could anyone say that ethics had a geographical boundary? ” Where are we to get to if quotas are imposed on our produce and at the same lime practically the whole of our export surplus is absorbed in debt charges? ” asked Mr Lee. Mr Fraser had truthfully said that he had stated that if decent terms were forthcoming then this country would pay its way. Without decent interest and a long-term amortisation of loans New Zealand could not meet its obligations.

What Will Mr Nash Say?

Unless Britain took our goods and the British politicians gave the British workman wages to buy those goods, Mr Lee asked, how else could New Zealand meet its obligations? Mr Bodkin: What will the Minister of Finance say when he returns? Mr Lee: The Minister would agree with the whole statement I have made, but he may not agree with some statement or phrase stripped from its context by some unscrupulous opponent of Labour. "This Government does not stand for repudiation,” Mr Lee said, “ but for the policy placed before the electors of the country and for a new financial system. It is not prepared to crucify the people of New Zealand on a cross of gold because of unconscionable bargains.”