PRESS REACTIONS TO SPEECH

Dominion, Volume 38, Issue 278, 23 August 1945, Page 7

PRESS REACTIONS TO SPEECH

Taxation Relief Urged (Received August 22, 16 p.m.) -Go’ RUGBY, August 21. The speech by Dr. Dalton concerning Britain’s financial and economic policy attracts the main interest of London newspapers. The “News Chronicle” is pleased that the Government should be tackling the stupendous tasks before it with a sense of high responsibility. “The part the Treasury must play in getting industry on its feet, specially in reviving our export trades, is of supreme importance,” it says. “Prices must be kept on an even keel and national savings must be maintained. At the same time, capital must be made available as. freely ami quickly as possible.” The writer says that manufacturers anxious to play their part in post-war industry will not be anlc to formulate their plans till they know whether some sort of national investment board is to be set up, what its machinery will be and by what principles it will be actuated. “The Government’s intention is sound, but the machinery set up must work expeditiously and be guided by intelligible principles,” the writer adds The “Daily Telegraph” takes the view that Dr. Dalton’s speech did not throw much light On the Government’s intentions—“they evidently have either not yet made up their minds or find it inconvenient at present to say what they think.” it says. “On the maintenance of credit and cheap money and on keeping a middle path between inflation and deflation, Dr. Dalton talked the same sound sense as we were wont to hear from bis predecessor, Sir John Anderson. Bank Nationalization Issue. The “Daily Herald” says there seems to be little agreement Übtween Air; Churchill and Air. Lyttelton, on the subject of the nationalization of the Bank of England. “Last week,” it says, “Air.

Ohurcnill was suggesting that the nationalization of the bank was a project of such negligible importance that it was not worth undertaking. To prove that the idea was certainly not revolutionary, he cited the examples of other countries where the central uank was already under public ownership. Mr. Lyttelton, the Tory financial expert, based, his attack on the unwisdom and perils of the new measure. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had little trouble in presenting the case that power must rest with the Government and not with a body of private stockholders. . . "He was also able to enlighten Air. Churchill on the permanent nature of the plans which Labour .proposed to introduce for the control of investment. New investment must continue to be guided iu peace as in war by considerations of national interest. They could not be sure this would be so if there were a return to the disorderly scramble for money which took place before the war aud drove up rates of interest to a height very disadvantageous to those who had to borrow money.” The “Daily Express” directs criticicism at Dr. Dalton’s pessimism about tax relief. “There ought to be and can be tax relief,” it says. “The war against Japan has come to an eud months before anybody could reasonably have expected. The March Budget gave hopes of relief, even though the Government was facing a whole year at least of war expenditure. Now the nation has the good fortune to be encompassed by peace before five months of the financial year have elapsed, yet we are warned not to expect too much —if anything.” The “Daily Alail” urges the voting of a substantial sum for the development aud exploitation of atomic energy in Britain, in full co-operation with the United States and Canada, to ensure that it should be used for the benefit of humanity. “The Times” says that Dr. Dalton's intentions regarding the Bank of England were more in the nature of a precautionary measure, but it feels that on the subject-of control of. investment the Chancellor was less specific aud less reassuring. The writer feels that Dr. Dalton suggested that Labour opinion was still far too much concerned with tbe prevention of “wasteful” investment projects and far too little with the provision of incentives and opportunities for fruitful ventures.