LANG INTEREST BILL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17439, 10 April 1931, Page 11

LANG INTEREST BILL

PANIC LEGISLATION

BOOMERANG EFFECT

SYDNEY, March 27.

It generally happens that- panic Parliamentary hills have a- boomerang effect. The Lang Interest Bill, which is a panic piece of legislation brought on by frantic efforts to get money—to got it honestly if possible, but to get- it- anyhow—has started to come back already, and it is gathering impetus with every movementon the part of its inventors to get it through. The bill will touch very largely the workers of the State through their very laudable institutions—the Friendly Societies. Some of these societies are money lenders to a very large extent. They put out- their accumulated funds, which pay the members their sick pay and their relatives their dues, in safe loans on property. These loans are. yielding up to per cent. One. society lias an income of over £BO,OOO a year from money I'enf out at interest on property.

They naturally take umbrage at a government which has already invaded their field in insurance matters, and which now threaten to deprive them of the right to invest their funds at market rates to maintain the financial strength of their institutions. They arc not political organisations bv any means; in fact, politics is taboo in most of them. But they will very soon become political organisations when half their income is assailed by the Government panjandrums of easy finance.

Club matches under the auspices of the Poverty Bay Cricket Association are to he continued to-morrow, when the games commenced on March 21 will he resumed. Old Boys will again meet Civil Service.

Two Featherston hoys, Sydney Cherry and Tom McCarty, were injured when a horse which they were riding bolted. Tile animal, in its wild career, collided with a railway signal box, throwing the bo vs heavily to the bitumen roadway.

Followers of sporting news may have noted the coincidence in connection with Ted Morgan’s debut in the American ring last week. The date of his first match was April 1, the same as that on which Tom [looney made, his name live years ago by meeting Paolo Uzeudiin, the tough Basque, in a contest, the- result- of which the majority of the newspapers of New York drulared to he an "All Fools" decision. Tom lleeney lost the match, on the verdict, hut later asserted his superiority over C/.cmluii, and eventually was chosen to meet Gene T uoney in a world championship light. Ted .Morgan won his first fight in the States against a good opponent.

Polling to-day in connection with the Power Board Joan proposal, involving a prospective expenditure of £78,000 over a period of 10 years, gave the’impression of being very slow, none of the town booths lay rig at all rushed at any time in the early part of the day. It was anticipated that the How of voters would become brisker in the afternoon, when women voters would be free from domestic ties to some degree, hut nevertheless the indications were for a small poll. The roll for this election is much smaller than for the municipal election which ensues next month, as only ratepayers are eligible to exercise tho franchise on Power Board loan pro-