ECONOMIES AND PLEDGES

Taranaki Daily News, 18 February 1931, Page 9

ECONOMIES AND PLEDGES

CRITICISM OF MIR. FORBES

EVENTS OF THE PAST TWO YEARS

REFORM’S REPLY TO MR. HOLLAND

By Telegraph.—Press Association.

Wellington, Last Night. The following statement ha<s been h .nded to the Preiis.by Mr. A. E. Mandef. Dominion general secretary of the Reform Party, in reply to the. recent pronouncement by the Leader of the Labour Party:— A statement has been made by Mr. H. E. Holland, M.P., on behalf bf the Labour Party, which calls for outspoken comment. Referring to the Prime Minister’s recent declaration of his Governm mt’s change of policy, Mr. Holland says that ’‘there has never been in the history of any country such wholesale dishonouring of election pledges.’’ But surely Mr. Holland should be the | last man in New Zealand to reproach the Government on that account. In view of what has occurred in the political life Of New Zealand during the past two years we may recall the actual pledges made by the United Party in its election manifesto of 1928. There is the pledge to borrow £70,000,000 at 4J per cent and re-lend £60,000,000 in the form of advances to workers and settlers at 4J per cent. Did Mr. Holland and the Labour Party say anything about a ”wholesale dishonouring of election pledges” when that pledge was broken? No, Mr. Hollario and the Labour Party continued to applaud arid to support the United Government.

Then we remember, that the United Party pledged itself to ‘‘revision of the income tax scale, reducing the maximum amdiint,” and again the Labour party made no protest. On the contrary, when that pledge was broken. There was another election pledge by the United Party to “foster secondary industries by subsidy rather than protective tariff,” and once again Mr. Holland and his friends supported the United Government in raising the tariff and thus increasing the cost of living, with never even a hint that they disapproved of the Government’s breaking its election pledge. Finally, although the United Party’s official election manifesto declared specifically that “the territorial system will 1 maintained,” it was Mr, Holland himself who actually boasted of having forced the Government “under pressure from the Labour Party” to act in a manner exactly contrary to the manner in which it was pledged to act.

CENSURE VERY LATE IN THE DAY

In the face of these and many similar facts Mr. Holland is vfery ifnwise now to begin censuring the Govermhent so late in the day for breaking its election pledges. The plain truth is that in 1928 the Reform Party, foreseeing our present difficulties, which were bound to follow Britain’s adaption of the policy of deflation, went _ to . the country with a policy of making preparation in advance to meet the bad wehther which was coining. Mr. Coates and hife colleagues believed that a serious crisis could be averted and that readjiirttmeii'.LS could be made without undue hardship, but only provided that the Government acted prudently in takirio- all possible precautions before the storm arrived and then dealing with tho situation as it developed. But the general election of 1928 resulted in the defeat of this policy of shortening pail and preparing for bad weather. The new United Government was elected bn a programme of heavy borrowing and extravagant expenditure, and with the support of Mr. Holland’s Labour Party for two years this policy of reckless extravagance has been pursued. For two years the situation has been growing rapidly worse, and both the United” Government and the Labour Party have refused to recognise the fact, but have instead done everything passible to aggravate and intensify the difficulties of the situation. A& late aS May, 1930, at the Parnell by-election, Mr. Forbes himself declared that the finances of the Dominion were in a thoroughly satisfactory state, although even at that time he had already seen a Treasury' report, which lie subsequently issued, and which showbd that a shortage of '■ £3,000,000 was to be anticipated. For the feinairider. of that year th» Government coritinued spending money lavishly in the construction pi new railways and in relirif works (at 14s a day). . As late as July last it seemed impossible to make either the Government or the Labour Party realise that- the Dominion was on the verge of a serious economic crisis. Even on July 17, 1930, Mr. H. E. Holland was scoffing and encouraging the Government to scoff at the. idea that there uart any considerable fall in export values and saying, “I do not believe Mr. D. Jones was right in gt'rossing the serious financial position of the country. Both u-entlemen declared that the country’s exports had fallen considerably. Well, have they?”

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CRISIS. After this exhibition of his lack of acquaintance with the actual conditions in the country, Mr. H. E. Holland should be eileut for a very long while. On Octobei- 10, '1930, just' before Parliament closed, Mr. Coates again emphatically drew attention to the development of a serious crisis,. "1 db not wish to appear as an alarmist,” he declared, “but I do think it is the duty of every right thinking person to face hard facts. I am afraid people generally do not even yet realise the gravity of the situation.” But even then, in October last, it was impossible to check the Government in its cayber of extravagance or to make it fpce the serious situation which was rapidly developing. ' It was not until the last day of the last session of Parliament that the Labour Party turned round on the Government, refusing to support it further. Then, abandoned by the Labour Party, the Government was free at last to listen to reason, though many more mynths elapsed before any action taken to cope with the situation, which every week was becoming more difficult. On January 21, following a conference of the Reform Party, Mr. Coates made an explicit public statement of the measures which in the judgment of the Reform Party were urgently necessary. This statement was issued the day after Mr. Forbes returned to New Zealand,' and it cannot be otherwise than satisfactory to the Reform Party to note that, although there are e.onte divergencies aria some important omissions, yet ulaiiy of the suggestions profferred’by, Air? Coates have uor been adopted by the Government. Jf Mr. Holland cares to describe this as an unconditional surrender to Mr. Coates and the Reform Party,’* that is a matte? upon which he to whom the Government surrendered for the two previous years may - left to judge. So far as tile Reform Party is concerned there has never been any popsjbilitv of doubt as to the line it would take. ' Mr; Coates has stated again and again that if and whenever the Government might be persuaded to do the right

thing it could rely upon the assistance of the Reform Party in passing all the measures which were in the real interests of the people as a whole and calculated to help the Dominion to emerge from the present crisis.