PEOPLE’S SAVINGS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19882, 8 March 1939, Page 7

PEOPLE’S SAVINGS

MONETARY SYSTEM

GOVERNMENT’S FLANS

PLEA FOR INVESTMENT

DOMINION INDUSTRIES

AIR. SAVAGE’S ANSWER

(Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day

The Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, to-day replied to the comments by the leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Adam. Hamilton, who last night referred to Mr. Savage’s expressed belief that the monetaiy system should be changed. “I feel sorry for Mr, Hamilton because he seems to be annoyed. He seems almost like a spoilt child that has got a good thrashing at the school,” said Mr. Savage. “He and his associates during the election campaign and since have done their level best to damn New Zealand's name and credit in everything that would tend to build the nation, but I think we can get there in spite of all of it. “We have set out on a campaign to build New Zealand and, seeing that the elections are over, is it too much to expect Mr. Hamilton's support?” Mr. Savage said that so far. as tightening the people’s belts was concerned, Mr. Hamilton knew more about the belt-tightening philosophy than anyone. He and his Government were responsible for a lot of it during 1931 to 1935.

Investment of Savings

“I cannot give a more substantial reply to that than that given by the people themselves in 1935 and 1938 after a campoign of vilification and misrepresentation unprecedented in New Zealand’s political history,” said Mr. Savage. Referring to Mr. Hamilton’s vemarks in regard to the money system, Mr. Savage said he wanted a system that would give the people access to what they produced. It had not been possible to do that up to now. Before very long he was going to ask the people, who had savings—and they did not have much during Mr. Hamilton’s term of office—to in vest them in helping to build New Zealand industry. There was no better proposition in which they could invest because they and their children’s children' would be looking for employment. It was a place to which they had a right to look for employment.

Mr. Savage asked what would happen if Mi'. Hamilton and his party had been elected at the last election. He supposed he would be forgiven for suggesting that had they been in power wages would have been reduced. Mi\ Hamilton and his associates were talking in a negative sense all the time; there was nothing of a positive character.