THRIFT AND HARD WORK

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18335, 1 March 1934, Page 13

THRIFT AND HARD WORK

PROGRESS IN BRITAIN PROBLEM OF THE FUTURE (Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, this day. “So far as the conditions of the world will allow us, we are striving to repair the ravages of war by thrift and hard work, by balanced budgets, and by the avoidance of wild-cat schemes of inflation, however skilfully disguised,” said the Hon. Alexander Shaw, mapaging director of the P. and 0. Company, and a director of the Bank of England, in the course of an address to the Chamber of Commerce to-day. Ho spoke chiofly on three topics, which he called the roots of the Empire. The first was sound finance, concerning whi.ch he stressed the advantages to bo derived for the whole Empire in hqving a currency securely based qpon parity with British sterling. He said it was for those responsible to take action when convenient and desirable to secure those advantages. No pressure rvould ever be exerted by Britain to hasten the adoption of a common basis. The return of abundant prosperity to the Empire depended, however, very largely on the world outside. The whole economic structure of the world had been completely dislocated by the war. ■Mr Shaw spoke at length on the problem of ‘Britain’s debt to America, which he described as unpayable. : “No very substantial recovery of world prosperity can take place,” he said, “until two fundamental facts have been realised and acknowledged on both sides of the Atlantic. The first is that an attempt to. pay that debt, however willing we are, is inconsistent with the interests of exchange, employment, industry, and commerce throughout the whole of the civilised world. Tho second fact is that the debt is not, and never was, ■morally duo.” Ho agreed that the cancellation of Che war debt would be the most helped! step which Britain and America eculd fake towards rehabilitating the world’s trade and commerce. “Unless and until that step is taken we can expect no striking change for the hotter,” Mr Shaw said. Ho was not very hopeful that the -l)i,sftrm‘iment Conference would achieve ;qny real result. We. ought to lie all the more thankful for the brotherhood of the British Empire.