The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES.” SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1939. THE PEOPLE’S VOICE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20116, 9 December 1939, Page 4

The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES.” SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1939. THE PEOPLE’S VOICE

Meetings which have recently been held in various parts of the Dominion have served to demonstrate the feelings of uncertainty and anxiety regarding the economic position of the country. Strangely enough, resentment has been expressed in high quarters that the public should thus display its feelings and show dissatisfaction with the policy of the Government. Whether these people are right or wrong in their contentions and whether they represent the extreme wing of the Labour Party, the Opposition, or are, as they generally profess, non-political, the essential fact is that they are exercising the inherent right of a democracy; they are entitled not only to make their voices heard but also to have their opinions carefully considered. It is.no answei to them to bewail the fact that they are not co-operating with the Government; indeed, there is far more ground for complaint to-day that the Governineht is not co-operating with the people, for the essence of democracy is government by the people instead of domination of the people by the Government. The Government’s complaint that these demonstrations are being organised by its political opponents, even if that is the case, has little merit, for the organisation of public opinion is not only a democratic right, but is sometimes as necessary as it is legitimate.

The Government seems to have forgotten that it was once in Opposition and that while filling that role it could not have been more active in fostering discontent with the policy of the Government of that day. It now appeals for co-operation during a crisis that is largely of its own making. It is not unfair to recall that during the last economic crisis—which was not due to the Government then in office, but was world-wide—it not only refused co-operation with the Government but from one end of the Dominion to the other organised opposition to it; and, incidentally, as a result of that organised opposition and exploitation of grievances subsequently came into office. Taking the worst view of the situation, therefore, the Government is only being paid back in its own coin; a past master itself in the use of political tactics, it cannot complain if the same methods are used by those who disagree with its policy. To some extent, it is true, the situation has now been changed by the outbreak of war, but the public outcry against the Government, and those things which the public most resents, were operative long before the war started and the Government now seeks to use the war as a smokescreen. In any case, the effect of the war on New Zealand cannot be much worse than was the world depression and it was then that the present Government refused to co-operate and was most active in its opposition to the Government of the day.

The one lesson which the country should have learned from the last crisis was that public opinion cannot be ignored with impunity. Of the incensed feelings of the people to-day, whether spontaneous or organised, there can be no doubt, and the Government, instead of. seeking to sweep opinion aside should endeavour to get to the root of the general discontent. Just how general that discontent is is manifest from the protests that have come from almost every section of the community—from importers, whose businesses have been threatened and even extinguished; from manufacturers, who have had to close their factories because of their inability to obtain materials; from retailers, who

find themselves unable to purchase adequate stocks; from employees inshops and factories, who have lost their employment or see it plainly jeopardised; from farmers, who, although there are 40,000 or 50,000 men on semi-relief works, are unable to procure sufficient competent labour, and who are handicapped in every direction in their efforts to produce on a profitable basis; and, finally, from the great mass of the public, which finds that ever-mounting costs are steadily undermining their standard of living. Over-riding everything else is a general feeling of uncertainty, insecurity, and lack of confidence. No Government can afford to ignore such a state of unsettlement among the people; on the contrary, it has an obvious duty to heed the public outcry and endeavour to remove the causes of it. Most of the advice that has been given to the Government is unpalatable to it and, therefore, has been spurned. Sooner or later, however, it will have to face certain fundamental facts. The first is that during the past few years the people of this country have not only enjoyed the proceeds of a record export income but, in addition, have spent practically every penny of the reserves accumulated over the years and, on top of that, have mortgaged the future by using large volumes of printing-press money which has no backing of real wealth. To-day a halt has been called, firstly, by the declining income, secondly, by the fact that no more reserves are available, and, thirdly, by the obvious dangers of further inflation. Whether the Government likes it or not, the people have now to come back to earth, belts have to be tightened, and the standard of living must be made to conform to the real income of the country instead of to the artificial standards of recent years. There is no other way in which the stability of what used to be one of the soundest countries in the world can be restored. To effect a readjustment the problem must be tackled from two angles. Firstly, there must be a halt to the extravagance, public and private, which has been so characteristic of the country in the recent past, and, secondly, there must be an .increase in the production of real wealth. In plain language, the people have to be prepared to work harder and spend less. That is the inescapable doctrine which the country must follow in the future and the policy of the Government must be shaped accordingly.