RESERVE BANK

Stratford Evening Post, Volume IV, Issue 103, 9 April 1936, Page 6

RESERVE BANK

lON. MASTERS CRITICAL ivy, V-Ji COUNCIL ™f e : debate, •i l rnf.b Jl haq' ,: V':ivß?-Ou / .» nao n-, Concerned About Future w Of Bank.

BY ONE MAN..,. Press Association— copyright. Wellington, April 8. .Without a division the Reserve Bank Amendment BUI was put through ail stages in the Legislative Council, toAlay ; There' were seven speakers, the only Labour supporter to address the’ Council being the Leader, the Hon. M. Fagan, who moved the second reading and replied to the debate. The other speakers, with the exception of .the Hon. R. Masters, were not particularly critical. / The Bill was accorded urgency. The second reading Was carried on the Voices, With’ one or two dissentients, and the &U was immediately put through the committee stage without amendment, read a third time and passed. Mh Masters said the attitude of the Council should not be antagonistic to legislation of a policy nature. Had there been, power to amend the BUI he. would rhaye thought a provision which enabled, me/ secretary to the Treasury to vote asi of the bank might have been Ppended. The legislation should not be hurried. r->

Mr, Rasters . said that. judging. from wHat_he nad heard inside the Council and from people outside during the last four, ~ years 4 the depression had been by. sites of- the previous or by the monetary policy which'’bad 1 beCU followed. The depress'ifih’haS pat been brought about by inor by the administratiph .but. because primary : -had, pot met the reqqirecountry. 'X

v. Nationalism, , , a .. fflgg [ liSa* ? - • ■ ’ ■ ' _ coahtry during the last fiv£ or had raised tariffs and licensed j|nl importing of goods and a policy of economic nationalism had been ''adopted ’Which had decreased the quantities of produce .sent out of > New Zealand .v and -had curtailed the pending power of .the people who bought New Zealand’s goods. Hevmaintained the real cause for the depression was ttot'-controlled ' within ,:the conhttyv; •'♦.vrouv. ,» «a« : .y f’Me was not,ln.the least concerned whether; the bank was going. to be_a State; 1 bank or not, whether all capital was ; owned by the people of 4 'New Zealand through the Government oh • WtteuU&l (be bank was wholly or. partly owned by. ; private individuals. What he was concerned about was the future policy l of the'batik - ... The Bill provided that the-'Whole policy: .01.'the?bank; should comb! under the control j of one man, 1 the Minister ofc Jfihrr a nee. ~*/■.»* Igift 1 That might be quite all right but what was that One- mail going .to dd? What .liquid his attitude be when he was vest* ed with that; tremendous power? ~ . . . If the Prime Minister was not going to ‘"Borrow, if he was not going to increase taxation, if he Was nbt going to increase TiyUnemployment tax, how did he prolyl? to redeem the promises that had been made, not at the election but since the election? d , Railways, fcofipbletion of the Napier line and . the South ’ Island Main Trunk line had been mentioned; the country had been promised d wl'gdroUa ptißn# StfdfKS* policy.. 4lain arterial roads were to bfe taken over;| iifteJ'PiMg Minister had said the whole of .required painting; new were wanted; a member

had said that expenditure on should .nut, .Bav* vbeeh .r^uc^l\bu't|Cin-; , creased; per&ions were to be Increased all round; cuts were to :bj* i health -scheme was 1 to.be Was it to be. done? ' ‘ ’ > . :“I am , not aayihg .••that Works should not be done in their proper places,” Mr.’’Masters said, “but after' all that we .coA to guarahieed priSjqii}' j Mr. Mastep; 'said the Gbverlffiiiem, wasallowed to ’.ifcsue money without limit. If during ttya,next year £6,000,000 was,to' be paid out w guarantee the price of ter; and cheese. provision should beirtfSde l fbr redeeming that amount. "/ The Hott:’ E. R. Davis dealt with the effect of inflation in Continental countries. , Conditions in New -Zealand had been improving from month to month from an eiconomic point of view in the last few ! years, and the present Government had a substantial background to build ■ on. Members of the Cabinet were men of iTuT H&n,. Wi Hayward said he felt the Bill was simply a plunge in the dark, ill was shrouded with the utmost.uncertainty. It appeared to be almost,an open cheque. | Support; fop GoyermMent, p*;* ;

The. Hon. C. J, Carrington said , .the people had approved of State control of the bank at the election. He considered support should be given the* Government if it intended, to improve social conditions of the majority of the people.

| The Hon. W. Perry said the issue r of motes against the estimated revenue was sti accordance with the practice of .the *the matter came to one of administration. His main -Concern Was whether New Zealand alone could carry, out what might be a very dangerous experiment. :

Sir Charles Statham pointed out,, that every pound raised under the, BiR., whatever way was a pouhd ’’oy the Government of. the yet to hear of how a pound .pjmld 4fbtained for nothing. In- the ' Scheme < for guaranteed prices goods nti£hf ’xhe de* 1 * out. * *

Replying to the debate, Mr._Ka|Sfo sgid mat * although ' the Government' fcbuld raise £25,000,000 that was in peeping with the practice; established by Hbe, England. If the Government bought all the butter; farmers would be paid in New Zealand currency. The. Government njAghfecßWO-the Reserve Bank £5,000,000- or £6,000,000 and when the money was received for the sale of produce the draft wits' Wiped ■' The Bill prevented people making use of New Zealand’s sterling balances to the detriment of the country. Whatever little inflation took place would be done to. increase the prosperity of the country and that was different from the position : of France and Germany which had debased the ■ currency for other purposes. The Government did not want people to buy sterling QVCTseas ..for. , iAVOstmfint.,, America or '.prevent it from ever comjng back Ho 'New Zealand. . , ‘ 'M ’ ' '• •..«*=* -■ ■ 'V'W