MONETARY REFORM.

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXX, Issue 163, 19 July 1935, Page 4

MONETARY REFORM.

It is not surprising that considerable time was occupied by the annual conference of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union at its recent annual conference in a discussion on monetary reform, which was inaugurated by a lengthy remit from Auckland dealing with this subject. Te remit was taken in sections. The first clause, urging the establishment of a national authority to control currency and credit was supoprted by 42 votes to 29, but the second and third clauses, which were taken together, and which aimed at the creation of new credits to enable purchasing power to be balanced with production, were rejected by 41 votes to 21. The adverse vote on these clauses automatically disposed of the last section of the remit, which outlined how these proposed new credits should operate. The full text of the remit was as follows: “ (a) That as a simple and practical method of carrying out monetary reform this conference approves the following plan: (1) That a national authority be set up to control our currency and credit; (2) that such national authority should prepare a national account of our production and purchasing power, taking into account among other thing's New Zealand’s sterling balances; (3) that new credits should be created by the national authority to enable our purchasing power to be balanced with our production and to restore the price level obtaining when most of our mortgage debts and local body debts were incurred. That these new credits should be put into circulation as follow: (a) By paying farmers such a payable price for their products as will restore their equities, enable them to carry out their contracts, and generally bring their prices into a fair relationship to costs; (2) by paying the men at present on relief work a standard wage for public work satisfactorily performed under proper conditions and for such men as cannot be found work, the payment of such wages, less than a standard wage, as will enable them to live in reasonable comfort; (c) by increasing old age and other pensions, by paying accident and illness pensions and by paying children’s allowances on more liberal conditions.”