THE FINANCIAL DEBATE

Waikato Times, Volume 96, Issue 15033, 2 September 1922, Page 5

THE FINANCIAL DEBATE

THE END AT LAST • P FINANCE MINISTER'S SPEECB. THE LIBERALS AND LABOURITES(By Telegraph.—Special lo Times.) WEULIN ( iTON, S a 1 n rda y. The Financial Debate came lo an end early last evening, after a few more members had spoken Iheir pieces to an exceedingly inattentive House. Mr G. E. Stafham (Dunedin Central) was the' last member to take Die floor. He wished merely to declare again that the Government had made a bad bargain with the Bank of New Zealand, and that it ought to establish a State bank.

Then Mi> W. F. Massey, Minister of Finance, rose in reply and spent the better part of two hours talking about balances, ' economies, loans, loyalty, socialism, and the many other matters mentioned in the Budget and debate. Mr Massey, as is his custom On .such occasions, faced the House with a vast amount of material for his reply under his hand- One could guess that lie was not using all his material, but he did not allow many interjections to go, to waste. Interjections do not disconcert the Prime Minister, even if they do break the thread of his statement, and he manages usually to get ihe last word- He assured the House that, the Treasury did not contain the large idle balances that have been depicted by some of his critics, and he quoted figures to' support his assurance. Before Mr Massey resumed, his seat he invited attention again to the possibilities of Ihe Liberal-Labour combination against the Government, and he recalled, the declaration of the leader of the Labour Party that if the chances of the polls gave the opportunity. Labour would “vote Massey out’’ at the first opportunity and then vote Wilford out as soon as he refused the demands of the Labour Party.” The policy that the Labour Party would impose upon the Liberals would be socialistic, said Mr Massey.

“Most certainly” admitted Mr Holland. The remark made 1 no revelation, but il interested Die House.

The debate then ended, and the House went into committee on the, estimates and “reported progress” at' once before any progress had been made.