No Difficulty

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 187, 28 October 1927, Page 16

No Difficulty

STARTING A BANK Farmers are Free ADVICE FROM MINISTER (THE SUN’S Parliamentary Reporter.j WELLINGTON, Thursday. “There would not be the slightest difficulty in setting up an agricultural bank for farmers, or for any other group of people who like to promote a Bill and provide adequate safeguards. For my part I would welcome it.” This was the statement made by the Minister of Finance, the Hon. W. Downie Stewart, in the House of Representatives this evening during the second reading debate on the Rural Intermediate Credits Bill. Mr. Stewart said that one of the criticisms of the Bill was fhat it did not go far enough, and an agricultural bank should be established. If farmers thought that the facilities for finance offered by the Government or existing institutions did not appeal to them there was nothing to prevent them from promoting a Bill to provide for an agricultural bank. If such a bank were created, however, it should not be a bank of issue. It was well known that the president of the Farmers’ Union, Mr. W. J. Poison, had, before he went abroad, continually insisted upon the creation of an agricultural bank, but after his return had signed a report in which the opinion was expressed that such a bank was not necessary. Mr. W. Lee Martin, Raglan: But he explained why he signed it.