ENGLAND GOING EASY.

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17981, 28 March 1930, Page 9

ENGLAND GOING EASY.

‘SPIRIT OF CARELESSNESS’ ENERGY IN OTHER COUNTRIES. A BANKER’S IMPRESSIONS. “When one sees the amount of carelessness in England at present it is amazing to come across the industry being displayed on the Continent,” remarked Mr G. A. U. Tapper, formerly chief inspector of the Bank of New Zealand, who arrived from England toy the Rangiliki, to a Dominion reporter. Mr Tapper was for several years manager of the Bank of New 7 Zealand branch at Timaru, and after holding the post of chief inspector ho retired. For the past two years he has been touring Great Britain and the Continent. In his opinion the English were today the most easy-going people in Europe, and they had this frame of mind to blame for many of the troubles which had beset them in recent years. France and Italy, he said, were hives of industrv. They had taken up the social and" industrial problems arising out of the war and set about putting their countries in order. They had succeeded to a great extent. Yet England did not seem to be bothering oxer much about anything in particular. Her troubles w T ere not insoluble, but it did not appear that they were being attacked in the right way or with such an energetic spirit as one would exP There was no doubt that Mussolini had made a new Italy of the country he had set out to reform. Mr Tapper said he had spent some time in Italy, and the evidences of Mussolini’s work were to be found on every hand. The country revealed great prosperity, and it was noticeable that efforts were being made to cater for the tourist traffic. As a result the country was reaping the benefit of the money being spent by visitors. post-war France. France also was remarkably prosperous. She had no huge war debt like that being borne by Britain. Her industries were flourishing and vyhore once the land was torn by the ravages of war no sign of devastation remained. Tlie country was not as cheap for the tourist as once it had been, and ii now cost very nearly as much to live there as it did in England. ! Reverting to conditions in England, 1 Mr Tapper said that there was a spirit of lethargy throughout the country. The people did not work as hard as those in the Dominions, this fact having made itself apparent. The Labour Government did not appear to be bettering conditions, and it was in power only on sufferance. National services cost a tremendous amount in comparison with the cost of similar services in other countries. Even in the House of Commons, Mr Tapper said, he noticed a carefree spirit. He had attended the debates on several occasions, but many Conservative members did not even bother to attend. The Government was being kept in power by the Liberals, who did not seem anxious to turn it out of office. England was still suffering severely from post-war troubles. The dole was making for a class of lazy people and the Labour Government would give no satisfaction in regard to taxation. The present, taxation resembled confiscation more than anything else, and indications were that the burden would become heavier. Death duties were enormous. There was much uncertainty concerning Mr Snowden’s Budget, and he had stated he would do away with the “safeguarding policy inaugurated by the Baldwin Ministry. “Frenzied Finance.” In the opinion of Mr G. F. Oliver, a retired business man of Dunedin, who was also a passenger by the Rangiliki, financial conditions in England had been adversely affected recently by the flotation of large numbers of companies which were foredoomed to failure. The failure of the Hatry group was not an isolated case of frenzied finance, he said. Companies had sprung into being all over England and they had done much harm by wasting money which was needed to rehabilitate the country’s trade. Mr Oliver was engaged in the wool and hide business before his retirement, and he stated that the present deflation' in values for wool was probably only temporary. Prices had gone very high some time ago, and it was to be expected that they would fall. The production of artificial silk bad also been a factor in forcing wool prices down. However, several artificial silk factories in England were not doing as well as they were some time ago. Wool would always have a sale, and the outlook was far from gloomy. It was important to note that the world s annual output of artificial silk was equal in quantity to New Zealand’s I wool clips for two years. Such a large production was bound to make itself j .felt on the wool market.