TWO MEASURES

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 94, 15 January 1935, Page 10

TWO MEASURES

National Mortgage Finance ONE BILL DRAFTED Problems For Cabinet and Parliament STATEMENT BY MR. COATES A. Cabinet meeting will be held this afternoon tp discuss questions oi supreme importance to the primary industries of the Dominion. These matters include legislative proposals dealing with mortgage finance, which are well advanced. One of two essential Bills has been drafted, and only requires revision; the other is under preparation by the Minister of Finance, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, who returned from North Auckland yesterday morning, and immediately buckled into harness. Most of the day was spent in conferring with his Ministerial colleagues, while the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Gr. W. Forbes, and he had a long conference in the afternoon. Though bronzed by the ardent sunshine of the north and looking fit to tackle the toughest of problems* the Minister of Finance really had something like a busman’s holiday during the Christmas and New Year period. He and his staff were kept busy for Jong hours almost every day on the task of drafting legislative proposals to deal with the national problem of mortgage finance. In addition to the work of devising measures for the establishment of a national mortgage corporation and the rehabilitation of farmers’ finances, Mr. Coates met scores of.producers and representative bustness Tnpn in tlie Auckland province. The same methods of preparation will be followed hero and also in the South Island. To-day, for instance, the Minister will confer with a special committee of representatives of the Wellington commercial community, while during the week he will hold similar conferences, first at Dunedin and later at Christchurch. Tlio Minister Explains. “I cannot say when the Bills dealing with mortgage finance will be ready for Cabinet approval and presentation to Parliament,” Mr. Coates said last evening. “A great deal has yet to be done in the way of revisory preparation, and I have asked the Prime Minister to consider the possibility of waiting until the third week in February before calling on Parliament to resume the session which was adjourned last November. The Government as a whole would like to reopen Ihe session on the date originally mentioned, February 13, but I may require an extra week to finalise the legislative measures under my charge as Minister of Finance. “There will be two Bills—one making provision for the establishment of a National Mortgage Corporation, and the other dealing with the rehabilitation of farmers’ finances. The first Bill has been drafted, and is a fairly bulky measure of about thirty pages. It does not follow, of course, that it will retain its present form. Constructive criticism 'is welcomed, and no effort has been or will be spared to obtain the views of representatives of all the interests concerned. It was for that purpose that a series of explanatory articles on the problem was issued, and the demand for copies has been such as to demonstrate the keen and widespread interest that has been taken in the subject. We aim at securing the best possible solution of a financial problem which affects so many people and activities in the Dominion. “It is too early as yet to indicate the legislative proposals in detail, for the simple reason that if revision of the first drafts of the projected measures be considered necessary, there will be no hesitation about redrafting the Bills. That is why I have suggested to the Prime Minister that the reopening of the Parliamentary session tentatively should be delayed for a week at the most, if necessary. I mean to avoid delay if it be practicable at all. The whole question is receiving a thorough investigation in the hope of providing a measure of relief for financially embarrassed farmers.” Programme for Parliament. It is now certain that when Parliament resumes next month, its members will be called upon to deal only with special legislation. In addition to the two Bills dealing with mortgage finance, the postponed measure concerning company law, particularly bond-issuing companies, will be pressed forward to the Statute Book. Ministers are of the opinion that the Bill, which was introduced in the first'part of the session, should not be allowed to float about when there is so much need of the safeguards it proposes to provide. It is anticipated that the session will come to an end within six weeks. Nothing ha,s yet been decided about sending a Ministerial delegation to the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the King’s accession. As already indicated in "The Dominion” an appeal to the electors before December of this year is so remote as to be hardly worth looking for.