LOOKING BACK

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 183, 7 August 1935, Page 8

LOOKING BACK

SIR A. HERDMAN S | POLITICS MORTGAGE LEGISLATION DECISIONS OF 1912-1918 CABINET DUNHDIN. Aug. 5. A ve.> outspoken letter from the pen of Mr. Janies Begg appears in the Otago Daily Times this morning on the subject of" Sir Alexander Herdman’s recent political announcement. “"Considering the unworthy gibes at the present Government contained in his manifesto,” writes Mr. Begg, “Sir Alexander Herdman has been treated very gently by the Press of the Dominion. Clad in pecksniflian seifrighteousness, he has descended from his high position as the giant to cleanse the Augean stables and to scourge the Government and Opposition alike. z ‘ ‘But what of his own political record? He was a member of Cabinet from the year 1912 till 1918. and must carry his share of the responsibilities for the acts of the Government Oi* which he was a member. “A Mortgages Extension Act was enacted iu 1914 and conricued right through the war period. This Ac; shattered the * sanctity of contracts. Sir Alexander professes to be horrified at the continuation of his policy. “The Banking Act of 1914 relieved the banks of taeir obligation to pay in gold, and no steps were \aken to prevent the inflation of the currency before 1918. . Farmers and others imagined thev were getting high prices for their produce; they were really being paid in debased money. Sir' Alexander is responsible. Tax-free Bonds “The country was loaded with a debt in the shape of tax-free bonds. In respect to these the lucky holders were secured from taxation for a generation. “Sir Alexander must share the responsibility for this also. The things he condemns to-day—the weakening of the sanctity of contracts and monetary confusion —he successfully initiated 20 years ago. “These lagacies he left us before taking the position which secured him from any personal concern about the distress and depression of the last 15 years. He now attacks his successors, some of whom, better men than himself, were serving at the war when he was securing a comfortable position at home —men who have been struggling amidst tragic economic conditions to mitigate some of the evils made inevitable by the nets of a Government of which Sir Alexander was a responsible member. He cannot escape his responsibility.

Country’s Verdict “Sir Alexander has voluntarily vacated his seat on the Bench, but is now in the dock to answer for his political crimes. His guilt is obvious, for he has condemned the acts which he himself committed, and it remains for the country to pronounce sentence. “The Government of which he was a member passed laws for the whole tale breaking of contracts, it allowed the currency to be debased, thus undermining the basis of all contracts: it burdened the country with a mass

of debt, the holders of which have paid no tax on the income enjoyed up to the present time, and will not pay for years to come. “What excuse has Sir Alexander Herdman to offer for these lapses? The white sheet of the penitent would better become him than the ri.be with which he attempts to clothe himself/'