HUGE INDEBTEDNESS.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 June 1920, Page 9

HUGE INDEBTEDNESS.

INCREASED EXPORTS NECESSARY "The country to-day has a gross debt of over 200 millions/' said the Premier (the Right Hon. W. E. Ma*sey) when speaking last week to delegates of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association. Within the last few years our expenditure lias gone up on account of interest and sinking fund and pensions by seven millions per annum. It was going up every day. The cablegrams every day report falling prices. It was all very well to say, as one paper did, that the fall only affected settlers. . It affeete 1 everyone in the country, soldier settlers included. He was glad that in many eases soldiers were on a basis of being able to sell out at a profit if they wers allowed to sell, but it was not wise to allow them to sell yet, though they would have the freehold in time. Ti.e financial position he had stated was what they were up against. They must go carefully, and quietly increase exports and discourage anything like a boom, or they would have trouble with falling prices. They could not go on the London market to borrow money. The British Government was paying 6 per cent, for long-dated loans, and what chance would New Zealand have? Whatever money they required must come from New Zealand, and to get the money they must keep their exports above imports.