POUND REACHING ITS LEVEL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17957, 8 December 1932, Page 2

POUND REACHING ITS LEVEL

SIS R. HORNE OPTIMISTIC NEED FOR ACTION ON EMPIRE CURRENCY LONDON, Oct. 27. “One of our great mistakes i.n the past,” said Sir Robert Horne, speaking to members of the English Review Luncheon Club at Gatti’s Restaurant, yesterday, “was to keep the pound at too high a level, so that a great part of our trade was embarrassed.” Ho was convinced there was more light on the horizon than the governor of the/Bank of Kngland would profess to see. 110 did not look at the present position of the pound in, any spirit ot perturbation. _ 1 Without support from the equalisation fund it' was reaching the level which it should naturally attain in relation to the amount of trade being done with the outside world, and this was all to the. good. Sir Robert said the world recognised that oiir action last year had given a lead to other nations which, if they could, they would be keen to follow. Our conversion loan not only started this country on a new career, but also helped to resuscitate the world’s prosperity (if prosperity there were). (Hear, hear.) The Monetary Committee at Ottawa, however, had left unsettled the level of currency which should obtain ihronghout His Majesty’s Dominions. He foresaw tho possibility of great difficulty in the future. Some, arrangement should bo-reached lor fixing the ratio of the various Empire currencies. Cl I FAR MONEY OPPORTUNITY Turning to public credit, Sir Robert said it was a slow process to induce the business community to change their psychology, to adventure in the matter of cheap money, and to look forward with confidence. No matter how cheap money was, it was going to take a long time to get the ordinary member of the •community to take advantage of it. He ventured to predict that after their elections Americans would see a moveforward that would be. slow but steady, and we should see in this country a similar move.

Concluding, Sir Robert said if only silver was brought up to something like its proper level, the populations of half the world would have a source of wealth which would bring about a change in the 1 world’s purchasing power.