MANY REMITS

Southland Times, Issue 21849, 28 October 1932, Page 8

MANY REMITS

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. ANNUAL CONFERENCE COMMENCED. (Per United Press Association.) Dunedin, October 27. The Deputy Mayor, Mr F. W. Mitchell, in the absence of the Mayor, welcomed the delegates to the annual meeting of the Associated Chambers of Commerce which commenced this morning. He said theirs was really the business men’s Parliament of New Zealand. The difference between the two Parliaments was that one was made up of all talk and very little work, while with the Chambers’ Parliament it was very little talk and a great deal of work. Mr W. Machin, president, replying, said that in the present economic condition ox the Dominion they should not allow the value of men to be subordinated to the value of gold. Mr Machin welcomed Mr H. H. Sterling to the conference, and congratulated him and the Railway Board on the businesslike statement recently issued and on the board's attempt to reduce overhead expenditure to meet reduced revenue. Mr Machin read cablegrams from the Federation of Chambers of the British Empire asking that the proposed visit of delegates to New Zealand next year be postponed for three years. The request was agreed to. The first remit (a re-affirmation) was presented by the executive of Canterbury. It urged the Government to agree that all future construction work for the Public Works Dep.iAment be carried out by contract through public tenders and that the Department be reconstituted so as to make it purely an advisory and supervisory body in connection with these works. Mr Stronach Paterson said there seemed a likelihood of at last getting somewhere with this remit. It had been supported by the National Expenditure Commission. The remit was carried with practically no discussion. Crown Protection. Mr A. F. Wright moved the reaffirmation of a remit protesting against Government trading ventures being accorded the protection of the Crown Suits Act and asking where the Crown is a litigant in respect of trading ventures it should be bound by the same rules and laws as operate between subject and subject. Mr Wright said the remit had been before annual meetings on many previous occasions. Eminent judges had spoken against the existing system. The speaker quoted cases in New Zealand where claims for priority under the Royal prerogative had been put forward. He said the position was a grotesque anomaly and an absurdity. The remit was adopted. Mr D. J. McGowan presented a remit re-affirming that the Government be urged to eliminate the unfair State and public body competition with private enterprise in trading activities and repeal special legislation which curtails and interferes with legitimate private trading. Mr McGowan claimed that private enterprise always provide far greater employment than enterprises by the State. The State and municipal enterprises were not run on the same economic basis as private enterprises. He gave an instance of railway activities»in providing fleets of motor lorries at prices for transport with which private owners could not compete. The Railway Department was even found in the ranks of furniture manufacturers and iron founders. It was obvious that as State Departments increased their competition with private traders more workers must be thrown into the ranks of the unemployed. Mr J. P. Luke said the movement was towards socialization of industry. They should protest direct to the Government —not to the Railway Board. Parliament should determine the point —not the Railway Board. Mr Machin said that the association had always pressed for a board of business men to run the railways.. He thought they would be better to discuss the matter with the board. Mr H. H. Sterling, in answer to a question, said that as a general rule the board could not receive deputations, If the business was important enough the board would receive a deputation and the board had already agreed to accept a deputation as asked by the Chambers. The remit was adopted. The Land Tax.' The conference reiterated its previous decisions urging that the land tax be abolished and income tax substituted, expressed its appreciation of the intention of the '"ovemment to place the modernized Companies’ Act on the Statute Book during the current session of Parliament. They held that the operation of the Unemployment Act, 1930, and the Amended Act of 1931 and 1932 should relieve local bodies of the responsibility of providing for the relief of unemployment and approved of the remit that the time had arrived when there should be a reduction in the number of members of Parliament. Mr W. Machin said there was a strong hint that appointments to the Upper House would be made on a new

principle, on future service rather than past service. The conference approved of a new remit that the Government should delay no longer in setting up the promised Commission to inquire into the whole system of local body administration. It was stated that there were 600 local bodies which had borrowed £72,000,000 and that this was sufficient evidence of the need of a Commission. The conference was engaged throughout the afternoon on a discussion in committee on “Money and Prices in New Zealand.”