THE NEW YEAR

Hokitika Guardian, 2 January 1931, Page 5

THE NEW YEAR

CROWDS WELCOME IT.

PRESS OPINION

rUnited Press Association.—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.] 1

(Received this day at 8 a.m.) LONDON, January I

The New Year was heralded in with the usual festivities; The crowd outside Saint Paul’s at midnight was huge, but not so large as last year.

A feature of Chelsea Arts Ball at Albert Hall, -was a gigantic cracker where from, which when pulled, sprang a number of girt students.

Newspaper comments correctly reflect the opinion of the country that 1930 was a disastrous year and hope 1931 will be better, but the prospects are not too bright. 4

The “Daily Telegraph” describes the old year as decrepit find discredited, the worst of modern times. It says a bad year has been made immeasureably worse through the Government being in incapable hands. No Government has ever so utterly discredited. MR RAMSAY McDONALD. Mr Ramsay McDonald in an interview in the' 1 “Daily Herald” said, ithad been a hard year, with never such tragic demonstration of truth of the Socialist case.' ‘ The machinery of capitalism was bound to break down. A few financiers in New York, London and Paris were pursuing their own ends and their fortunes were able to destroy the fruits of good harvests and productive accomplishments of human energy, with the result that prices fall, intense' insecurity spreads over the world and descends steadily in darkest depression, ' Fortunately there are signs that the 'country has reached the bottom and an upward move is beeinninsr.

The “Morning Post”, says there are two main causes of the depression. Socialism which means wages without work and Communism, meaning work without wages. World conditions are to Mr MasDonnld what predestination was to Calvinist forefathers, namely, a sufficient substitute for good work.