NO EASY MONEY

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 120, 11 August 1927, Page 14

NO EASY MONEY

SIR JOSEPH WARD ON STATE BANK PAPER-CREDIT FALLACY (THE SUE’S Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday. only way in which Sir Joseph Ward can suggest the establishment of a State Bank is for the Government to buy up the Bank of New Zealand, and this, he said in the House of Representatives to-night, would involve a question too big for this Dominion to attempt at the present time. Sir Joseph expressed himself in favour of rural credits and intermediate credits, and declared that he was all out to help the farmer in this way. At one time he had been inclined to the belief that a State bank would be a good thing for New Zealand. The State should have taken the Bank of New Zealand over when it had the opportunity. If this had been done (He country would have had a bona fide State bank owned by the people with the one requirement that control be taken entirely out of the hands of the Government and placed into the hands of a competent board of directors. Some people are imbued with the idea that the State bank, if established, would issue paper upon its name to assist the small man throughout this country, went on Sir Joseph, no State bank has ever done this. No State bank could do it and live. The only way the Government could establish a State bank successfully would be to buy the Bank of New Zealand, and this would raise too large a question. The Hon. W. Nosworthy: You should have bought it when the bank crashed. Sir Joseph: I am sure that if the honourable gentleman had been there he wuold have done it. The only difficulty was that we could not get a majority of the House at that time and if we did not have a majority in favour even the honourable gentleman could not do it. (Laughter.) I believe we cannot have two State banks, but I believe in agricultural banks, if giey are properly established. The time has arrived when the country has to tackle the whole question of the valuation of land, and it would pay handsomely to have a board doing nothing else but going through and seeing what the position is. There are still many second mortgages, and at one time mortgages went up to even eight. The Hon. D. Buddo: There are still some. Sir Joseph: Well, the sooner the country tells everyone who has lent money to another man that he has to stand any loss the better it will be. Mr- D. Jones: He knows that now. Sir Joseph: I have had correspondence about it. Mr. J. R. Hamilton: They are getting rid of them by selling up. Sir Joseph: It is difficult to sell farms now. Some people expect that they are going to get out at the expense of the State, but this is not so.