Mr Holland Charged With Insincerity By Mr M’Leod.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18587, 12 October 1928, Page 4

Mr Holland Charged With Insincerity By Mr M’Leod.

MINISTER OF LANDS CRITICISES FIGURES GIVEN IN SPEECH AT MASTERTON

THE Minister of Lands (the Hon A, D. M’Leod), replying at Upper Hutt to some of the statements made by Mr Holland at Masterton, criticised the figures given by the leader of the Opposition, and charged him with insincerity.

Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, October 11. “Mr Holland’s insincerity,” he said, “ is proved in that most of the speech was a complete distortion of fact and an appeal to the non-intellectual, lie endeavoured to make believe that the value of money based upon a gold standard can remain for long periods on some other than an approximate equality of value basis, while the neces sity for inter-Empire and international exchange must correspond with interEmpire and international trading for ten years or more. The Labour parties in various parts of the Empire while oiit of office have argued on similar lines to Mr Holland, but on reaching office these academic, political, financial proposals on being put to the test have had to go by the board. Striking examples are found in Australia. Let Mr Holland cease platitudes and point to any one of the Labour-governed states in Australia where money for farmers and workers has been cheaper or advanced to a greater extent than in New Zealand. For him to say the Government approved and encouraged the raising of overdraft rates by the Associated Banks last year is to say that which is contrary" to fact. That deposit rates for money had to go up last year is admitted by all having a knowledge of international finance. What the Government did not, and does not now agree with is that there was a necessity for a corresponding increase in the lending rate. Mr Holland also features that the Advances Office made profits of over £1,250.000. That is exceedingly satisfactory to my mind. The £1,250,000 represents a reserve fund of less than 4 per cent against a total amount of loans outstanding of just on £36,000,000. No concern working on safe lines would consider such a sum excessive. THE RAILWAY APPOINTMENT. “ The Prime Minister himself would deal with the appointment of Mr Sterling as General Manager of Railways, but referring to the statement of the illegality of the appointment and reinstatement of superannuation rights Mr M’Leod asked how often had the Prime Minister in this and other countries made bargains subject to confirmation by Parliament? “It may not be strictly within the actual letter of the law,” he said, “ but it has been done and will be done time and time again, and Air Holland knows that perfectly welt. I am in agreement with those who say that the whole question of the rights of superannuitants should be fully investigated, and this is being done by the Government, but to say that all those who for their own betterment or convenience left service and later came back should be granted indiscriminate reinstatement is something the Government cannot agree to without complete and full in-

vestigation of all the surrounding circumstances. I believe the present Government has gone further in the direc tion of granting extended leave to Labour supporters to contest elections than has the government of any other democratically governed . country, ; yet Mr Holla.nd wishes to force upon the public as -an employer a demand by its employees as a right that which no, private employer would consider Jpr a single moment. ’ • FINANCE TOIL FARMERS. - . Mr M’Leod said s he-would deal at a later date with Mr Holland’s jumble of figures respecting land and its occupation. It was amusing to think that amongst twenty or thirty new candidates announced by the United Party

only two or three were farmers, yet Sir j Joseph' Ward with such satellites was j to be a new Moses leading farmers to > a new promised land. “It is another illustration of the truth of the old adage concerning old maids and children,” he said. “This is equally true of the Labour Part}-. “In the five years up to 1928 the Reform Government has provided for housing purposes a total of no less than £10,621,000, so that people may own their houses. In .addition to this a further sum of £5;726,000 for the providing of houses on a similar basis for returned soldiers has been expended. This makes a total of £19,347,000, an amount unequalled in-any other country in the world on a population basis. There is a limit to which the public credit can be used in borrowing, and this fact alone has been responsible for any easing up during the last year. Mr Holland, when pointing to a similar easing .up in rural advances made through the State Advances Department neglected to point out that, largely as a result of Government assistance, a branch of that office, lending on rural securities through the long term rural advances alone, last year authorised loans totalling no less than £1,146 000. which counteracts the decrease in the amount lent under the State Advances Act, as compared with 1927. At March 31 last, £751,900 of this amount actually had been paid over. Since the long term Rural Advances Act first functioned on April 1, 1927, until October, 1928, loans had been authorised and monetary provision made for a total of £2,015,805, while £1,294,985 had actually been paid over. The reason for the authorisation being so much in excess of the actual payments was that in the case of most rural mortgages three and six months’ notice must be given to terminate an existing mortgage and thus avoid the payment of a penalty by the mortgagor. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY INDUSTRIES. “I ana often twitted for holding the dual positions of Minister of Lands and Minister of Industries and Commerce,” said Mr M’Leod, “it being argued that the interests of those engaged in the primary and manufacturing industries are diametrically opposed. A farmer myself, my sympathy has always been with the man on the land, but I did not hesitate to tell farmers in meetings of our union long before I ever thought of entering Parliament, that New Zealand could never fill on primary production alone the position which Nature had so handsomely endowed it to fill. Those who suggest that this Dominion is capable of carrying a population of ten millions as a result of primary expansion alone are talking nonsense. If we are to grow and expand in population and production in these days of keen world competition, we must establish a firm basis on efficiency. This applies equally to all sections of producers—farmers, . manufacturers and labour. With all its power, the Government resisted last year an almost irresistible pressure from manufacturers for higher and till higher protection, pointing out to both manufacturing and Labour representatives that no basis for permanent prosperity could possibly be established on inefficiency, which must throw back upon our great exporting primary industries a load incapable of being carried by those whose working hours more often than not were fixed by the rising and setting of the sun. To Political Labour we have said that a high wage standard may be possible of attainment temporarily by their gaining office as a result of political subterfuges, but the permanent maintenance of the high wage standard which we all desire is possible only as a result of a high standard of efficiency and a determination to render a maximum of service fojr every hofir worked. The Government policy is to plaoe at the disposal of those seeking knowledge -or assistance the experience, and investigations of the'scientific and industrial research and allied, departments. That primary producers are taking full advantage of the services offered is in some degree proved by the great increase in the volume of production.”