THE NEW YEAR

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 727, 30 December 1933, Page 4

THE NEW YEAR

With the dawn of the New Year approaching it is distinctly gratifying to be able to mark the return of financial, commercial and industrial confidence. Although New Zealand has not yet definitely re-entered a period of prosperity there are uhmistakable signs that the end has come to the world-wide depression which has caused such untold suifering and hardship to the wage-earning classes. It can be said without any of the undue optimism Which is calculated to obtrude itself at such a season that reports from almost every quarter of the globe go to show that trade recovery is on the way, and it is with pride and pleasure that the Empire should know that the Homeland has led the way for every nation in achieving the restoration of normal industrial activity and the manifestation of financial confidence. Britain, with the experience of centuries behind her, has adopted no hysterical methods of averting the trouble caused by a returning cycle of depression. She has merely brought again into strong prominence the cairn, steady purpose of the British people to meet their troubles as they come, face diffi- ! culties with courage and deal j with adversities by common- 1 sense. We have been told by j many captious critics that Bri- j tain "has lost her punch," that ; the nation has become eficete and ; that it only remains for some j strong virile power to step in and j make the conquest which has | never been accomplished for many centuries. But does it not make us proud to-day with the advent of New Year to know that despite the upset in financjal bal- . ance brought about by Britain' s generous distribution of credit notes to other nations, she is still recognised as the financial cen- j tre of the world ? It is indeed an achievement of which the Em- , pire should be proud. ( But with the recovery of Bri- j tain as the financial and com- i mercial centre of the world we have something more than merely national pride. New Zealand knows to-day that the recovery •of Britain means recovery for * herself. As a primary producing country we have largely to rely upon the London markets for our everyday revenue. It is not necessary now to go into the market fluctuations nor the influenee of foreign competition. All that we need to consider for the moment is the fact that restoration of prosperity in Britain means the restoration of purchasing power to our best • customers. Trade difficulties can - saf ely be allowed to adjust themselves. The central fact to be considered with the New Year is that Britain is rapidly recovering her prosperity and there should.be a share for us in the future. It may, possibly, be deplored that New Zealand lacked the guidance, optimism, and the faith in Empire strength to lift her head above the depression, but those facts may now saf ely be ignored. The world recovery is doing for us what we had not the vision or courage to do for ourselves, and A934 may bring to us with open hands the things j which we had not the unity" of | purpose to go out and collect. ! There are pessimists still abroad who are prepared to declare that ' revival in prices and increased . industrial activity are but "a j flash in the pan" and that we shall be back to the old depression again before long, but a j cairn study of the position will ensure the presentation of ano- J ther view. The great mass of , the wage-earning people have > been deprived of their purchasing power. With the restoration ! of that purchasing power — | which is surely coming — the pro- 1 ducer of commodities, whether , primary. or secondary, will come , back into his own. New Zealand with a reversion to the faith in her destiny which characterised ; the spirit of the people a decade ago need have nothing to fear. The New Year of 1934 holds rich promise, let us got out and meet it • with the as'suranee that we . will strive to merit and live up to its gifts.