TRADE BY INSTALMENT

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 941, 7 April 1930, Page 9

TRADE BY INSTALMENT

SCHEME FOR BOOSTING BRITISH GOODS CURE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT British Official Wireless RUGBY, Saturday. In the case of a debate on unemployed in the House of Commons Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland, who was Minister of Labour in the late Conservative Government, suggested as a remedial measure that the selling of British goods on the instalment system might be developed in some European countries. Where the instalment system had been developed there was an enormous extension of sales. In some of the European markets the system was only in its infancy. The price of British goods was sometimes higher than those of Britain’s competitors, but her credit was cheaper in this country than it was abroad. Could not that cheapness of credit be used to set oft' the dearness in price? Mr. J. H. Thomas, Minister in Charge of Unemployment, said that undoubtedly there were distinct advantages in cheap money. He assured Sir Arthur that side of the question was not being ignored. ASSISTING INDUSTRY Referring to a statement made in the Press to the effect that a company with a capital of £6,000.000 was being formed under the auspices of the Bank of England to help industry, Mr. Thomas said this was premature. However, he was taking steps to implement the speech he recently made at Manchester, in which he announced that financial authorities were col-operating to find the necessary money to assist industries. Pie would take the earliest possible opportunity of taking the country and Parliament into his confidence as to what he believed would be a real development in the relationship of business and finance. The Minister said he had been urged to cease the publication of the figures relating to the unemployed, "iich gave a distoretd reflection of the state of affairs and did Britain incalculable harm. Under the recent extension of unemployment insurance many pople had claimed benefit who were not entitled to it. They included hundreds of thousands of married women who had not been employed for tight or ten years and who, temporarily, swelled the unemployment figures.