THE WALKATO TIMES With which Is Incorporated The Waikato Argus TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1929. BRITISH NATIONAL DEBT.

Waikato Times, Volume 106, Issue 17884, 3 December 1929, Page 6

THE WALKATO TIMES With which Is Incorporated The Waikato Argus TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1929. BRITISH NATIONAL DEBT.

A very pertinent statement was made in the House of Commons by M r Tom Shaw, the Secretary for War. Mr Lloyd George had said that the cost of social services was a crushing burden on the country and Mr Shaw retorted that the policy pursued during the war and by every Government since had resulted in the country paying £100,000,000 per annum to people who had no right to it. This naturallyalarmed the holders of Government stocks and bonds, and questions were

put to Mr Snowden, who reassured the questioners by saying that the Government had no intention of varying any contracts entered into by the State. Mr Snowden has undoubtedly done well in setting at rest any doubts respecting the faith of the Government, but at the same time Mr Shaw is quite right in his statement that the policypursued since the war has given gre.it advantages to the holders of war stocks. They subscribed for the loans when the price of all commodities was very high. The return to the gold standard at 20s in the £ meant a large reduction in prices- The holder of war stock received the same amount of money for interest that he had previously, but the money would buy much more of whatever he wanted to purchase. The man of wealth has profited greatly by the deflation which has been carried out, and at the same time many kinds, of business have greatly suffered. It may be asked if, tills is so, why was such a policy pursued, and it may be said that it was followed as a choice of evils. There has been a conflict of opinion amongst those capable of judging, but the weight of opinion was in favour of a gold standard at 20s in the £. It may he that those who advised this course were more impressed with the importance of finance than the importance of business, but we must admit that the maintenance of the sovereign at its full value has done much for BritainIt has maintained the position of London as the financial centre of the world. It has maintained the value of our foreign investments. While we have to provide more goods to pay interest on the American debt we receive more goods as interest on the money lent to foreign countries and to the Dominions, and England has lent much more abroad than the total of the American debt- It is a balance of advantages and disadvantages, but if it could be shown that the disadvantages are greater than they arc Air Snowden would yet he right in declaring that there was no intention to vary any contracts. The injury done to public credit by breaking faith would be greater than the harm done by economic errors. The truth is that when nations go to war justice becomes impossible. The old saying that in lime of war laws are not heard might be extended to include justice. It is another argument for the abolition of war.

Although no change of any kind will be made in war stocks, there can be no doubt that the consciousness of the advantage gained by those who had investments In Government loans will do much to stimulate the demand for social sendees of all kinds and in order to provide the necessary funds taxation is likely to stand at a high figureThe income tax 'is high, but there is little chance of anything but a slight reduction. This is not such a serious matter as the death duties, which are likely to alter the whole structure of society- It is this, in fact, which constitutes much of their appeal to soiialists, but this will not cause it to be regarded with favour hy those who look beneath the surface. It is not desirable that everybody saould be reduced to a dead level. Literature and science are pursued under great difficulties' unless a man can be assured 'Of a-t least a moderate income. Public life, whether State politics or local body politics, is pursued under a handicap unless a man can be independent of the Jluctuations i.f popularity- Inequalities of wealth have been carried too far and have often done much harm, but we may come to find that a dead level is equally objectionable- it is the nature of man to rush to extremes. The eighteenth century was the period when the landowner was the wealthy man; the nineteenth century was the time when the manufacturer flourished. In the twentieth century it is hard to say who is to make money, unless it be a popular singer or prize-fighter. The business of amusing the populace is assuming great dimensions and absorbing immense sums of money, ft is not clear that there is any great advantage in it. Socialism has something to be said for it, but it is questionable whether it lias not already been carried too far. The moving argument for it has been a desire to remedy injustice, but too often it merely changes its nature. Trade unions can be as arbitrary as capitalists, and are ready at any time to turn their employment into a monopoly, to the injury of other workmen and of the public. Goal-miners have recently threatened lo strike unless Die owners will bring pressure to bear on miners who do not pay their dues to the union. Wheat-growers limit the area of cultivation in order to extract scarcity prices from the public; They would not consider themselves lo be

capitalists, but fio not mind acting in the manner attributed to those gentlemen. Neither the good nor the bad qualities are concentrated in any class and we could all give more attention to justice with general advantage-