OVERSEA LOANS.

Wairarapa Age, 2 July 1936, Page 4

OVERSEA LOANS.

MORE EQUITABLE BASIS WANTED. STATEMENT BY MR. SAVAGE. DOMINION PAYING MORE THAN WAS INTENDED. WELLINGTON, July I. The definite announcement that the Government intended in the near future to make representations to the money interests abroad with a view to securing New Zealand’s overseas interest commitments being placed on a more equitable basis was made by the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) in an interview to-day. "The rates of interest we are paying to-day belong to a bygone age," said Mr. Savage. "The whole economic structure has changed since the days when nn* loans were made. The Telationship of money to other things has changed altogether, and it is not an unreasonable thing fdr the Government, through perhaps the British Gov* ernment, to be able to meet its credit ors and see if they cannot use something like common sense—bringing equity to bear on our liabilities abroad. We do not want to repudiate anything. We want to pay those to whom we are Indebted in a fair and square way. I do not think the British bondholder has been treated badly; and he will not be treated badly by us. We want to pay twenty shillings in the pound, tut we do not want to pay twenty-ono shillings or twenty-five shillings. "I would say this;- at the present time we are paying more than it wns intended we should pay when the agreements were made between this Dominion and the bondholders. There is no getting away from that, and there is no reply to that statement. They have to admit it ie true. While we are talking about agreements abroad we must not forget that we have some at Home as well, and we are breaking them to satisfy out creditors abroad. I say that we must satisfy our creditors everywhere." FINANCE MINISTER’S MISSION. Asked whether the Minister of Finance (the Hon. W. Nash) would -/pen negotiations on arrival in England this year, the Prime Minister said:— o -Mt. Nash will bounce the ball when he gets Home. Whatever way you analyse it you will soon discover that we can only pay for things abroad with our exports. There was only one reason for borrowing money abroad; that was be* cause there were not enough exports to pay for the things we needed to purchase from there. But if we cannpt pay this year or next year, when are we going to payf Many people do not appreciate the principle involved. We can only pay our debts by ceasing to increase them. We talk about paying our debts, and for every pound we pay, it is, perhaps, reasonable to say that we add £5O to the debt."