WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 March 1921, Page 7

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE FINANCE BILL.— ANTI-PANIC AMENDMENTS. (Special Correspondent.) Wellington, March 23. The Government kept its intention to add “anti-panic” amendments to the Finance Bill uncommonly close, and its proposals seem to have been mentioned m advance to no one outside the Cabinet room. On Monday morning the newspapers stated there would be some additions to the Bill of an “unimportant character”, and even members of the House in the closest intimacy With Ministers expected nothing more. Of course all this was necessary in order that the purpose of the amendments should not be defeated, and that no “intelligent anticipation” of the impending legislation should be turned to account by favored people. In these circumstances the Government’s proposals naturally created considerable astonishment in the House when they were circulated on Monday evening, and some of the members sitting on the Opposition benches were disposed to be extremely critical. Labor members protested that protection was provided for the capitalist and none for\ the workers, and some of the Liberal members were scarcely less aggressive. TIME TO CONSIDER.

At one stage of the proceedings it looked as if the passage of the amendments through the House was going to be a long and tedious business. The Prime Minister had indicated his desire to have them embodied in the Bill as speedily as possible, as. the Legislative Council was waiting to confirm the determination of the House and ‘his Excellency the Governor-General was in attendance to give his assent to the measure. This appeal, however, was less effective tharf was a suggestion by Mr. Statham, the member for Dunedin South, now sitting on the Opposition ■benches as an Independent, that the House should be definitely allowed a couple of hours for a free discussion of , the proposals. Mr. Massey readily assented to this arrangement, saying he would gladly place <all the information in his possession at the disposal of the House and from this on it was evident that a large majority of the members were prepared to trust the Government in the extremely difficult conditions that had arisen. PUBLIC OPINION. Though few people had anticipated the proposals of the Government, little surprise was expressed on Tuesday morning when the legislation in which they ■had been embodied was announced. Of course representatives of the banks and of kindred institutions had made suggestions to the Government in regard to the financial stringency, and it may be presumed they had pointed out to the Prime Minister the perils of the situation. But Mr Massey had other advisers, able to speak with authority on different aspects of the position, and, judging from the opinions expressed by the commercial community twenty-four hours after the event, the precautions taken by the Government are meeting with very general approval and promising to assist materially in maintaining public confidence. Mr. Massey himself, however, does not attempt to disguise the difficulties of the position. The need for the strictest economy, he says, is as urgent as ever, and drastic retrenchment may be among the imperative needs of the near future. THE BANKS. During the discussion of the Finance Bill and its amendments in the House, a good deal was said by the Labor members and by one or two other irresponsible speakers about what they described as the harsh methods and soulless measures of the banks. These “private concerns”, as Mr. Holland and his colleagues derisively dubbed them, were represented as raising interest to an exorbitant rate, demanding the extinction of overdrafts at a moment’s notice, foreclosing on securities, and doing a score of other things to produce the panic Parliament was seeking to avert. Mr. Massey and other members strongly protested” against “these wild assertions”. The banks, they pointed out, had their .troubles as other financial institutions had, but, speaking generally, they were straining their resources to the utmost to help the country over the difficulties it was encountering. They might not be doing all they would like to do, but they were doing all they reasonably could.