BRITAIN’S BUYING POWER

Taranaki Daily News, 24 August 1931, Page 5

BRITAIN’S BUYING POWER

HOW IT IS LIMITED.

HELP FOR THE N.Z. FARMERS,

Mr. W. T. Charter, ’director of the Co-operative Society of Great Britain, which has a turnover of over four hun-. dred million sterling per annum, interviewed by a reporter in the south, saidf “One cannot ’ stress too strongly that Great Britain can only buy New Zealand products with the money it derives from the sale of its manufactured articles here. We feel, and I am sure other traders do, tod, that the duties imposed on our goods are seriously limiting our power to import and export. If New Zealand fosters its secondary industries to the detriment of its primary industries, it will be making’ a fatal mistake. “New Zealand is essentially an agri* cultural country, and while we do not wish to interfere with this country’s internal politics, we are convinced that if undue attention is paid to secondary industries,, New Zealand will find itself in the same position as Australia.” New Zealand, he said, was Buffering like the rest of the world from the depression in trade. There had been a total disruption of economic values —■ the Dominion was fortunate in not feeling it as soon as some other countries. Realising that agriculture was the principal and real industry of ■ ths Dominion, he considered that in the re-, construction necessary to meet the position the farmer could not be expected to bear all the burden.

Inflated laud values and high interest rates would have to go —the whole fabric of New Zealand’s economic policy would have to be altered. The .secret or a speedy return to prosperity was to give farmers a live interest in their holdings. No man could be expected to work with any heart unless the price of his land was in proper proportion to its productive value. “Unless you are careful,” he added, “inflated land values and high interest rates will produce disgruntled farmers, and that will be disastrous for New Zealand."