ADDRESS-IN-REPLY

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 58, Issue 133, 8 July 1929, Page 6

ADDRESS-IN-REPLY

The public is quite satisfied to see tlie end of the debate on the Address-in-Eeply. In the main it was charact-erised by words without wisdoni and by tiresome circumlocution. As an illustration of the latter may be quoted an utterance by a speaker whose championship of the "Reform" Government suggested bis belief that it was quite an angelic combination, a blend of tlie highest genius and of profound bcnevolencc. This gentleman, in eontending that the Coates Government and its policy were not to blame for unemployment, declared that it was "due to the temporary inabilitv of the primary industries to absorb their usual quantity of labour." What are primary industries? Shortly stated, dairying and sheep farming and the freezing of meat for export. His generalisation is decidedly not true as regards dairying, whose effective demand for labour has been growing rather than deelining, and whose exports of dairying produce have been increasing for years. As for the. freezing industry, if its usual demand for labour has decreased at all — which we doubt — the decrease is so small as to be negligible. What this gentleman declaims so circuitously really means that occupied estates are not being adequatelv tilled. If this is true, as it probably is, what is reasonably suggested as a remedv? The country is fast coming round to the conviction that it involves a drastic penalising land tax on all properties inadequatelv tilled. No reasonable man contends that large estates adequately cultivated prejudice the progress of the country. But here is the crux of the question. It is common knowledge that manv large estates are far from adequately tilled, and that manv of them are held in the hope that the State will purchase them at a good price for subdivision. Unfortunately the history of the last sixteen years proves that this "industry" is a profitable one. Speaking in a general way it may be said that where there have been State purchases of estaf.es the vendors have done very well indeed out of thc transactions. If the practice is to go 011 it should be under conditions which prevent the exploitation of the people by speculative holders of areas for sale who naturally eTnploy no more labour than will suffice to prevent their holdings from marked deterioration. - The same speaker declared that it was the dutv of the present Government to charge a lower rate of interest upon loans by the Advances Department. The actual fact is that the interest now charged involves a slight loss to the country, but in any case, if what he now proposes issound, why did he not attack the Government now out of office, the Government he so enthusiastically champions as Iiaving been a combiiiation of remarkable sanctity and even more remarkable wisdom, for not having lowered the l'ate of interest on State loans.' Probably the truth is that his enthusiasm has affeeted his judgment, and that when he recovers his mental halance he will willingly admit that when part of the interest on State loans is paid by the general taxpayer injustice is done. As a matter of fact for many years the interest charged on State loans has been slightly lower than, a fair apportionment would demand if the general taxpayer is not to be exploited to benefit landowners. For many years the Government was paying five per eent for the money it was borrowing and lending it to landowners at 4^ per cent if the interest were paid within fourteen days of due date. Then ihe cost of money in London began to rise, and in order to avoid further loss the rate of interest on State loans to landowners had to be raise'd, and now stands at 5f per cent if paid within fourteen days of due date. It is of course -the faet that the State Advances Department is a very fine institution, a boon to the country, so far as the principle involved is eoncerned. On the. other hand that it should work out fairly to all it is necessary that the department should ineur no losses by lending to landowners at a lower rate of interest than is paid by thc State for the money it borrows to relend. Borrowers are favoured in other ways, by very low law costs and by easy methods of repayment by instalments. As to the lowness of law costs, the State charge for perusing title, and for completing and registering the mortgage involved, is 7s 6d for a loan of £2u0, and £1 17s 6d for a loan of £3500. If the land invclved is not under the Land Transfer Act the charges of course are somewhat higher, the range from lowest to highest beinc 18s to £4 13s.