ADDRESS-IN-REPLY

Southland Times, Issue 21831, 7 October 1932, Page 8

ADDRESS-IN-REPLY

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL DISCUSSION. (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, October 6. The hope that while preference was being given to England on the one hand it would not be taken away on the other by allowing dumping from foreign countries was expressed by the Hon. W. Snodgrass when speaking on the Address-in-Reply motion in the Legislative Council to-day. Mr Snodgrass said he was not surprised that some of the Liberal Ministers had resigned from the British Cabinet as he was afraid that the old cry of the free breakfast table was to be revived. He did not think, however, that the disagreement over’ the Ottawa concessions would lead to the disintegration of the National Government at Home, but it showed that a great number of people in the Old Country did not admit that the people in Wellington were just as British as the people in London. They were inclined to regard New Zealand as an enemy in trade. Mr Snodgrass urged the greatest care in the revision of customs duties and contended that the question of comparative costs had to be taken into consideration in order that unfair competition might not take place between the countries which had a low standard of living and those which had a high standaid. The proposal to establish a central bank was a good one, provided it was not privately controlled. The issue of notes should rest with the Government.

In criticizing the report of the National Expenditure Commission, Mr Snodgrass expressed the opinion that the commissioners themselves had never known what it was like to be short of a pound. They were not men who had had to work hard for a living, bring up families and generally struggle for a living. He was sure they had not visualized the results if some of their recommendations were adopted. The Hon. D. Buddo said that in his opinion the quickest, if not the only way out of the depression, was to tackle the problem of Empire currency, tariffs and quotas. The proper basis would bring immediate relief. The Hon. R. Moore commended the courage with which the commissioners had tackled their task and supported the recommendations to reduce the number of hospital districts. He was firmly of the opinion that too much money was being spent on education and contended it was time a halt was called.