The Taihape Daily Times THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1915. LOAN RAISING.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 263, 29 July 1915, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times

THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1915. LOAN RAISING.

AND WAIMAEIKQ ADVOCATE

(With which is incorporated The Tai hape Post uaj Waimarunu News.)

Every issue of New Zealand journals that are published specifically in the interests of trade and finance impresses upon its readers the notion that this Dominion has large, well-filled money cl

icsts at the present time, and this is undoubtedly true. New Zealand has now the wherewithal to fairly well finance herself through any strain or stringency that may follow on the war, if it is intelligently conserved. ' Tt must be realised .just now, above all other times, that the Dominion has been dependent upon the London money market for having requirements met; but a serious problem now faces us. Will the enormous expenditure Britain is making leave the Empire at the end of the war in a position that will enable her - to still continue to finance us? If she canont, we will have to look around for the means of financing ourselves, and it is here the question arises. Is it advisable to contribute to Empire loans, or should New Zealand money be kept at home to fill the void that will be made by a cessation of borrowing abroad that wis! be forced upon us, and enable our industries, primary and otherwise, to be kept going at their highest producing limit? There is scarcely a man amongst our people who does not desire that this country should do its duty in the great Empire struggle, but let it be our duty pure and simple, not acts of unreasonable enthusiasts. It has been quite orthodoxly urged that New Zealand could assist the Empire more by a thorough organisation of her industries than by sending still' larger numbers of men to the front, but without going that length at present, it will be found discreet to keep in mind that Britain is the money centre of the world, and that this is a borrowing

country and must remain so for many years yet to come, at least so long as there are millions of acres waiting to be roaded and settled and to be brought into a state of profitable production.: Britain will be able to get what monetary help sue may temporarily need, but if New Zealand invests its little store in Empire loans nothing is more certain than that the amount invested and a great deal more will have to be borrowed or results that follow will be of a disastrous character.

New Zealand is not big enough or old enough to take a place beside lending countries, therefore we must not allow enthusiasm to run riot with discretion. Self-reliance is desirable, however, and if our accumulations arc of sufficient magnitude there are good reasons for financing ourselves as long as possible and so relieve the parent nation; but it requires all the wit and ability of our best financiers to fix the limit of our capabilities, an equilibrium beyond which we cannot go without serious consequences. There seems no real or serious reason why some of the amassed wealth here should not be invested in Government loans for internal purposes and to a safe limit in financing additional expeditionary forces that may be needed to finish the war; at tiie same time, it must be realised that New Zealand is one of the chief sources of the food supply for the whole of the Empire, and to follow any course that would impair our highest producing capabilities would be a far greater loss than sending a few thousand men less into the fighting tine. The reply of the Minister for Defence to a deputation on Tuesday leaves no doubt about the seriousness of this phase of tee question in Government estimation. The Hon. Mr. Allen practically admitted that organisation of industries must come even here in New Zealand and it would not be good policy for our legislators or the Government to involve us in financial straits by placing on the market local loans that are too big for us, and that might endanger industrial organisation and the production of the very utmost at a time when it will be most urgently needed. New questions precipitately thrust upon us shonJd cause every thinking man to weigh well present possibilities so that the collective voice of the peope may be raised to assist in hewing the best | road out of a difficult and dangerous position. It is no time for viewing this question of finance lightly aii'd no settler can afford to let matters go by the board as is too frequently the ease when times seem good. Our resources will need to be v/eiil shepherded, and

the most critical examination should be made of any financial proposal that bas tlie possibility of liandmg this now prosperous people in financial and industrial difficulties.