The Hokitika Guardian SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10th. 1921. THE WEEK.

Hokitika Guardian, 19 November 1921, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10th. 1921. THE WEEK.

No one expected Mr T. AT. Wilfoid s 1 no-confidence motion to receive mon ■ support than it did in the House of • ’Representatives when it wont to a di- ■ vision late on Tuesday night. Wliethot- or not it was a good tactical move on the part of the leader of the Opposition to attack the Government’s stronghold at this particular juncture is a question upon which there k room : for some difference of opinion; but the assault at least enlarged the range of the debate and added to its piquancy. There also may he something in the contention that the oftener the diverse elements of the Opposition are drawn into the same lobby in support of a common cause the Sooner they will realise t.lje futility of fjjeir divisions

i mill set about, repairing them. At pro- ; sent tin: affairs of the country nro di- , reeled liy a- Government whose can- , didutws polled fewer than two-fifths of . t,lu> votes cast at the las't Ltonei'lii election and yet lias a. majority of nearly two to one in the House and the power to appoint as many ol its friends as it pleases to the other branch of the Legislature. Tins shocking anomaly, the very negation of democratic representation, is no more the fault of the present Government than it is the fault of previous Governments. H is true that when Mr Massey repealed the second ballot. a clumsy and ineffective system of applying the principle of preferential voting, he promised to put something better in its place. What he had in his mind at the time has never ( been divulged, lmt probably if lie wore pressed upon the point he would say that the ‘"first past the post” system to which lie returned, had proved better than the second ballot. From his own point of view this would be quite true. Mr Massey owes much of his advancement in public life to his own personal qualities -his industry, his persistence, his courage and liis hu- : man sympathies—but lie owes most of all to the vicious electoral system which , put him in office and since lias kept him there. He never has had a majority of ihe electors at his hack—-at tlm last general election of the ."42,1)67 votes polled. 206,101 were cast- for supporters and .430.206 for opponents of his party dint the split, between Liberalism am! Labour made his way to the Trcasi iry Benolios f*asy and liis or**unanev of them soeurc. . !

_\t I'm’ tilin' Mi- Massey \v;ts n strolls advocate of proportional it presentation. I Hi* still thinks it. so hr says. the i best method of choosing members of Parliamsnt. lint ho is ready with many excuses for delayin'? its appliThe bald faet is that the “first past the post’’ system lias served him so well he does not want to entrust hi* political fortunes to any other. The Liberal and Labour members of the House, knowing all this, surely ought to he taking some steps now to ensure the great progressive majority in the country obtaining representation I in Parliament. So long as they continue their present tactics, remaining in hostile camps, they <annot expect to accomplish anything in the way of reform. Mr Massey, they may he sure, is not going to move in that direction. His interest and the interests of his friends are all the other way. Wliilo Liberalism and T.aliour continue divided his position and the position of his friends are secure. Reform, therefore, must come from the progressive parties and they must win a general election before they can carry it through 'Parliament. That is the plain truth of the matter brought home to us every day of the present session iby seeing a minority Ministry rilling without regard to the sentiments and aspirations of the cllvfill'd majority in the country. ‘•| am confidently looking forward to a,huge increase in trade between the I’nitod States and Australia and New j Zealand, especially in exports from the two latter countries,” said Mr A. W. Ferrin, who is a passenger to Vancouver fty the Makura. Mr Ferrin. who has been United States TradeCommissioner in Australia for th« past three years, stated in an interview that duriiig his few hours in Auckland yesterday he had conferred with leadjug hankers and business men of the city and was convinced that conditions here were very much better than was generallv represented in Australia, where they seemed to think New Zealand was in a very had way. In his opinion, Americans were more disposed to invest money here than ever before, and in his reports lie had always emphasised the soundness of Australian and New Zealand security. The adverse rate of conversion had affected trade with Australasia, hut he believed that this was only temporary, and when conditions improved there would lie good markets for New Zealand produce, such as meat, hotter and choose which had been so well received in the United States. In the past lack of refrigerated ships was detrimental to this trade, but tbo United States Shipping Hoard had a surplus of ordinary ships which could ho tconveirted and employed :in this trade, if it could be shown that the biittinesd wailrantiM it. These I feats could sn pply New Zealand with American apples and oranges in the offseason, as well as providing carriage for general merchandise. Exports from Australia and New Zealand to America had been much too small, and it i would be one of liis objects on his re- ■ turn to America, to endeavour to encourage the purchase bv Americans of more New Zealand produce. He found tlmt these two countries wore keen for goods from the United States, especially wearing apparel, knots and Bhoes, , motor-cars and machinery, while Florida was now working up a big trade through the. Panama. Canal in yellow pine. He expressed the opinion that tlio Dominion’s new tariff would not prove any serious bar to trade with America as the expected improvement in the rate of conversion would more than compensate for this. The proposed new high tariff in the United States was not regarded with general favour iby Aipericnn lpisiness npn, op th o

ground that by cutting off imports they j would cut off exports. Ho was of opinion that before the tariff was passed by tlio Senate, the votes would bo considerably reduced. American business men were giving attention to Australia and New Zealand as a possible field for the investment of surplus capital. He would like to see American capital represent (>d more largely in the development of those countries. The interest rate in America was declining and them was every indication that money would accumulate there for investment abroad. There were large American investments in Russia and South America, and more recently in the bar Hast. The oirly obstacle to considerable investment here of American capital was the fooling that prevailed iu the I nitial States that New Zealand and

'Australia did not particularly want American capital. Any indication that American investments would bowelI'Otuod here would probably he followed by offers of loans. Speaking of

the possibility of some of tho large manufacturing concerns in America establishing plants in Australia or New Zealand, Mr Ferrin said thin would Ik>come a strong probability if the respective Governments were to offer concessions in the shape of dutiei on material for such plants. In America, be said, towns compote with one another to secure the establishment of factories and sometimes go so far as to offer lam' 11 *'c to get local subscriptions of capital and they even undertake to remit taxes for a time. It was not improbable that some American concerns that overexpanded tlieir plants during the war might be persuaded to tra»sfcr bodily one of their plants to these countries if some encouragement were offered.