NO MAJOR CHANGE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 June 1943, Page 3

NO MAJOR CHANGE

EXPECTED IN ARGENTINE FOREIGN POLICY

NEW PRESIDENT’S DECREE. DECLARATION OF NEUTRALITY. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) NEW YORK, June 8. The new President of Argentina, General Ramirez, has issued a decree, stating: “Argentina affirms her traditional policy of friendship and loyal co-operation with the othei' American nations in accordance with the existing pacts, and neutrality towards the rest of the world. The Government further believes it necessary to express adherence to the principle of absolute autonomy of the State to rule themselves, for which reason it will not tolerate foreign interference, because Argentinians maintain, and will continue to maintain through any vicissitudes, the Republican form of Government in conformance with their Constitution.”

A United Press correspondent at Montevideo says that even before the decree was issued authoritative sources warned that though General Ramirez was believed to be more sympathetic to the Allies than General Rawson, he was an Argentine Nationalist and no major change in the Argentine foreign policy was within immediate sight. “The international situation was the fundamental cause of the military uprising. which was indispensable to rectify the isolationist position in which we so unjustly find ourselves,” said General Rawson in an interview with an Associated Press correspondent. General Rawson also tacitly acknowledged that an unfavourable reaction among Liberal partisans of the revolution toward some of his proposed Cabinet Ministers who were known .for Rightist sympathies may have been a factor in the latest crisis. He said, “I resigned because I think that to govern one must have absolute freedom of action. I therefore considered it necessary to terminate my mission once the triumph of the armed forces was assured.”

sible? The present policy had the support of the people and they would show their appreciation by their contributions to the war loan.

ALLEGATIONS OF WASTE.

The Leader of the Opposition had made charges of waste an inefficiency, said Mr Fraser. When Mr Holland was Minister in Charge of War Expenditure he said he had found only two cases of waste in camps. Mr Fraser said that when he thought of the vast scope of the war effort he marvelled that so little had gone wrong. Mr Holland in February of this year was reported to have said that he had been removed from the War Administration because he knew too much. He was not removed. The only person who removed him was Mr Holland himself. Mr Fraser said the President of the United States, with a similar but immensely larger dispute than that faced by the New Zealand Government last year, had adopted the same course and taken over the coal mines. That was the question on which Mr Holland had left the War Administration. That was the question on which two of his colleagues had agreed with the Government and then changed their minds and followed their leader. “The War Administration might have led to a National Government if it had been proved successful.” said Mi’ Fraser.

An Opposition member: “It had no chance.” Mr Fraser said that with the withdrawal of Mr Holland and his colleagues from the War Administration all hope of a National Government had gone.

Referring to the possible effect of lease-lend transactions on the Dominion’s London funds, the Prime Minister said that an arrangement had been entered into by which the country’s sterling resources would be safeguarded.

COST OF THE WAR.

Tire present war to date had cost New Zealand £239,000,000, as against £39,000,000 for the last war after three and a half years. One could hardly grasp the difference in expenditure as compared with that war and this. The whole of the last war cost the Dominion £89,000,000, practically the whole of which was financed by loan. To date the present war had been financed by loan to the extent of 52 per cent, the rest having been met out of revenue. Since the present Government assumed office the overseas debt, including war debt, had shown a net decrease of £1.116.700. Apart from war debt the debt domiciled in London had been reduced by £10,692,000. The debt domiciled in Australia had been reduced by £730,000. Where was all the talk about the Dominion piling up debt? asked Mr Fraser.

“Arc our friends in the Opposition trying to say that we should not have borrowed money to build those thousands of homes, the schools and hospitals and other national undertakings?” said the Prime Minister. “We make no apology for borrowing for such purposes.” The Prime Minister said that the Budget had been brought down in the most difficult times the country had ever faced. The Dominion had pledged to fight with all its resources and it would continue to do so, whatever the cost,