A MASS MEETING.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20108, 11 December 1930, Page 16

A MASS MEETING.

; ' the meeting in the Canterbury Agricul-

, tural and Pastoral Association's rooms. By the time set down for the comj mencement there were no vacant seats, land farmers were still arriving in large ~ numbers. Expecting an unusually large attendance the authorities had made ~-provision for more accommodation, and the meeting adjourned to the Civic *' Theatre, where the principal speakers 'f" /took the platform and the audience the Wf greater part of the downstairs audi- • Hioritun. Each speech- was punctuated loud applause and it was*obvious, 9,5* yrom the commencement, that the -yfifcarmers were united in their opinions. liffiS'T*:' : . r ' • fn\i Politics Not Wanted. •Mi*.., The chairman,, in welcoming those . foresont, expressed the wish that theVe , 4 . .-Would be a free discussion with helpful wuggestions made. It was in his opinion ' (advisable to keep the meeting nonir , > ' all petty,, political differences should be' forgotten. It should be remeihbered that ft '' the farmers were not the only people suffering at the moment. There were not many investors who were not faced - ' with diminished dividends. Thousands ./j' were out. of work'and on the brink of / starvation, and the majority of workers • & were on short time. . Government's" Difficulties. J' r. Any thinking man must ' sympathise the Government, whose difficulties Sn dealing with a t spoiled and petted ,'' jdemooracy were enormous. Bather than f . Jmticise, people should assist by wean- . f _ . sng. themselves from the 'Departmental *f bottle and giving up the Legislative * , spoon. It would be better to draw a ■ veil over the farmers' position to-day. <j By means of a graph the speaker illustrated how produce prices had dropped and production costs risen withf. in the past ten years. The causes men- ?. tioned had, he said, encouraged farmers to increase their output to meet declinr . ing profits. This increased production, "together with a falling market; had in- '■ tensified troubles. As a case in point > he stated that 14,000 tons of extra Si's'/ butter had been put on the' London mar- ,' , , ket last year. Of this amount New Zealand had supplied 9000 tons. No ?' "flonbt low prices stimulated consumption l'. there was a point where over-supply j.' I ",' a market far beyond the adi ay:-,^ ran * R ®'® s °' increased production. irot The country was fast , approaching the whon, through low prices, high (£ , production costs, and excessive taxa- * «tion, which would be levied paradoxic- ' tally to maintain high costs, it would fee found impossible to carry on and [production would automaticaly decrease. • As New Zealanders they did not want ; (to see such a state of affairs brought kabout. If' n The Remedy. ! > r _ "The remedy is simply this," conlinuod the speaker. "We have to make If* fanning pay, and incidentally to make p,' New Zealand pay, no matter what & 1 we receive from our products. (fecij moat keep all the present farmers W"wf. J,® elr farms. They say it takes you ft» • y®® r ® to get to know your wife iy. f " land at least as long' to know a farm. «saalAs a class, few of us own our farms, & \tend what equity we did have in land and ;v-, rttoct we have now lost for ever. In y' C ?MS we are paying interest on Y" reborrowed money far above the value of fs't four security. Voluntary, reduction of };■ [the principal of these debts down to } | 's producing value o| the land and « fff ptock appears to be the only remedy. "^ a B es mus t be based on the counincome. Workers must appreciate "J commonsense fact that 9s a day all !j year is very much better than 14s Vrtl*' ***? for two of the week. • ;

T ~' "Arbitration Court Must Go." ? L-.'i/ 1 "The Arbitration Court must go, and y all the workers under its wing, all the , ■>,/. employers in the sheltered industries, V t.-: -j (trades and professions, must realise that is-s ii 'jjfi " tno one can buy their. labour or goods the charges are on a par with ;, 1 tuivthe country's income. The country * >nust compel the Government to stop ' /borrowing. We have nearly £IOOO per *' (family of five of State debt now. We {must stop all non-productive expendiy cure, adapt the Civil service salaries v , ' pad numbers to the changed conditions {of the country, pay relief wages on ' ./.'"relief works, and reduce taxation, and stimulate private enterprise. With ; costs and reduced wages there ' •■Srtfwoald be work in this country for all unemployed and also'for many more * /yatioo. Other countries will work and mnless .wo follow suit we will be. left $V > fhigh and dry on the shoals of stagnajft'V Ifcton, the hull of our public body being & jpierced by the sharp and treacherous Act. ,

Farmers Discuss Problems.

ARBITRATION COURT CONDEMNED. Committee fwfited. One of the'largest, .rmu-x <•? farmer- *'<•;«' '.v. Christciiurch for some years, A,- •;< ' : -A It was in the interests oi the Donnm-m -u- A.f A: ?. r Act should be repealed. The meeting «.u>; v\ ; -.i bv A- , L. R. C. Maefarlane, president of the Ca?>i«r!xuv tural and Pastoral Association, Mr Colin Mck *.•••. '.i-w of the North Canterbury Executive of the N.Z. A Union, and Mr R. M. D. Morten, president of the Camcb, ry Sheep-Owners'Union. Mr Maefarlane presided. Over 500 farmers attended, having come to the City from the Addington Yards and from their farms, and the proceedings developed into a demonstration, rather than a meeting, so enthusiastic "yvas. the. applause whenever mention was made of abolition of the Arbitration Court. The main object of the meeting was to discuss the fall in prices of products and means for dealing with the situation created by the Dominion's great decrease in income. Unanimously the meeting decided that the Arbitration Act should be repealed; that everybody should assist the Government in economies; that an emergency committee should be set up to take any possible measures to ameliorate the lot of farmers, and that there should be a liaison with the Chamber of Commerce, Manufacturers' Association and other bodies dealing with industry in order to put into effect the spirit of the meeting.

The Alternative. "Failing some immediate adjustment of our costs, the alternative is ruin for our 60,000 farmers; but though we will be chastised with whips the rest of the community will suffer with scorpions. The farmers' duty is to stick together and forget any petty jealousies, ensure that the rest of the community understands our real financial position, insist on the costs of production coming down, and until this happens, adopt the only possible course by studying tho utmost private and business economy. "We must organise for three purposes:— Ist. To protect our own business. 2nd. To help our fellow farmers. For this purpose I would suggest the formation of Farmers' Relief Boards in each district, consisting of the best and soundest men, whoso duties should be to arbitrate between lenders and' borrowers in debt reductions, and to suggest better methods of farming, economies, etc. . 3rd. To help New Zealand by stimulating production, provided costs are lowered, making an honest endeavour to absorb as much permanent labour as possible, and so automatically solving the big part of tho unemployment problem. "Finally," concluded the speaker, "the thinking business community. are willing and ready to help us. We must, pull together in our hour of need." "Straggling for Existence." "The farming community to-day is struggling for its existence," declared Mr Colin Mcintosh, president of the North Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union. "It would be futile to recite all the cases of hardship we know of. That would get us nowhere.- We all know that our own positions are desperate, and that of our neighbours are no better than our own. Our big job to-day is to arouse the Government and the general public to the very serious condition the whole country finds itself in at the moment. We have heard it said that the farmers' position will not improve until we have a Farmers' Party in politics. I should like to say that so far as the Farmers' Union are concerned they have absolutely no intention of entering politics. Such a move would be fatal to our organisation. Farmers hold such divergent views On political matters that we would at once lose our unity as a Farmers' Union. Further, there are too many Parties in the House now. What we can do as farmers is to vote only for candidates who realise the importance of the farmer, and are prepared to see that we get a square deal quite regardless of the Party they belong to. Our troubles to-day are brought about by the high cost' of production and the low price of produce, coupled with extravagant expenditure by the Government, which brings with it higher taxation and more unemployment. Production Costs. ' 'Production costs two months ago were 63 per cent, above 1914 level, while produce at that time was only 18 per cent, above it. There has since been a further serious slump in butter and wool, which would probably bring produce down to 13 per cent, above the 1914 standard. This gajp can only be brought closer together by an all round reduction in the cos,t of Government, taxation, salaries, etc. As costs are reduced so will the cost of living be reduced, and unemployment also. • Spending money on unnecessary work is not solving the problem of unemployment, but will in the long run mako it worse. It will be solved only when those out of work are absorbed into productive occupations. * - "It would be better to assist employers to engage additional men to do necessary work on farms or in any other industry where profitable work can be done in addition to that already being carried out. It has been said that high wages give greater spending power, but that is not so. If only a certain sum is available to be spent in wages, then lower wages and more men employed will give greater spending power, more clothes, boots, tools, etc., would be used, which would still make further employment. Industries would be assisted and costs would eventually como down. Belief works put in hand for the purpose of absorbing the unemployed are in many cases a waste of public money, and the work, when completed, is often a further burden on the State in 'the matter of upkeep. It also creates a shortage of ca.pital in commercial circles which makes it more difficult to carry on. Unemployment and Finance. "The Unemployment Board have unemployment in hand, and I think we should give them our blessing, and wish j thorn well. All costs in New Zealand i are too high and one of the highest is money coßts. Thousands of producers'

are paying 8 and up to 10 per cent, for accommodation, and at this time of' crisis will be compelled to obtain further financial assistance at similar exorbitant rates. "This state of affairs has been brought about partly by the Government coming on the local market for a loan at 5i per cent., and thus securing most of the available capital, making it very difficult for local bodies and business people to raise a loan and almost impossible for the farmer. The stock firms' credit must be rudely shaken by the serious drop in sheep values, and with the risks they are taking I don't see how they can finance for less. The only way I can see to relieve the difficulty at the moment is for the Government to guarantee the Rural Credit bonds so that more finance will be available in that quarter, and if they want further accommodation themselves to keep off the local market. Taxation. <'Jt is all very well to say that taxation is too high, but a Government must have revenue, and if it is taken of! in one place it must be put on in ■ vother. It might also bo justice to >;• .ke a taxpayer pay a fixed portion of is income, but it is quite wrong to make him pay a fixed amount, yet that is what tho farmer is compelled to do today. For the privilege of owning land he is compelled to pay a tax quite regardless of whether he has made any income off the land or not, and I think it is quite time we farmers took a firm stand and demanded the abolition of land tax in favour of income tax. "Local bodies' taxation is another item that is creeping up. We are building roads to carry the national traffic which compotes with the railways, and I think it is quite time that the user of the road should pay his share of upkeep and ease the burden of the farmer by bringing about a system of partial derating of farm lands. I do not suggest that tho farmer should be relieved of the whole of his road rates, but of the additional burden which has been put on by the new transport system of late years. "Some years ago the Government put on a petrol tax to create a fund which was administered by the Highways Board and this seems to work very satisfactorily, but last year the Government took away not only: £ The county subsidy of .. 220,000 And road maintenance grant of 35,000 But also the annual gift to tho Highways Board for the upkeep of Government roads as laid down by Act of Parliament .. 200,000 And charged interest amounting to .. .. 61,000 On this £200,000 gift per year for the six years previously, making a total of £516,000 "This seems like rubbing it in, but to compensate for all this they put on another 2d per gallon tax on the same people to do part of this work." Arbitration Court. "The Arbitration Court is strangling industry and should be abolished (applause), and be replaced by compulsory conciliation and optional arbitration for the following reasons:— (1) The Court has long since failed to function as was intended by the founders. (2) The Court fixes the value of labour without having the power to fix the value of the product of that

labour. (3) The Court fixes a minimum wage in money without having the power to fix the amount of work to be done in return for that wage. (Applause.) (4) The awards made by the Court seem to be binding only on the employers. When it suits tho labour unions do not respect these agreements. (5) The awards of tho Court are based on the cost of living without taking into consideration the economic conditions of tho industries concerned or even of the whole country. (6) The system of arbitration does not provide any means for increasing production. On the contrary employers are so tied down by restrictions that measures for increasing production, or the amount of work done in return for the wages paid, are impossible. (7) Both employers and workers stand to gain from higher production." Customs Taxation. "The recent increase in Customs tariff seems to have been levied for revenue purposes and not for protection, and if taken off here would be put on somewhere else. The saving grace about it is that it is borne by all sections of the community. ' "I would like it urged upon the Government to economise in their own Departments as far as possible," concluded the speaker. "The Civil Service is already very considerably overstaffed and still more men are being crowded on. One could go on for a long time, quoting extravagances, but that would get us nowhere, but we should strongly urge on the Government to take a pull." "A Terrible Mistake." i Mr B. M. D. Morten (president of the Canterbury Sheepowners' Union) said that the primary producers • were in a desperate state to-day, because of the. reasons given by the two previous speakers. The local rates were a millstone around the producers' necks. Unless this was altered and relief given, the only alternative was to walk off the land. It was all very well to say that the farmer should make sacrifices —everyone should do so. Mr Morten stated that Mr Thomas Buckland, president of the Bank of New South Wales, in his annual report, recently published, told the shareholders that the people of Australia knew where they stood twelve months ago, yet nothing had been done to remedy the position. The hoped that the lesson would not be. lost on New Zealand. It would be a terrible mistake to let the farmers walk off their properties. The Government should be called on to summon Cabinet with as little delay as possible with a view to solving the country's present difficulties. (Applause.) To Reduce Farming Costs. Colonel J. Findlay (Ashburton) moved: "That this representative meeting of farmers from all parts of the Canterbury Province emphatically urge that Parliament be called at an early date, and that a conference of all Parties be held immediately it does to discuss ways and means to reduce the cost of, farming, and that this meeting is emphatically of the opinion that the Arbitration Act should be suspended for one year, pending improved economic conditions.'' This was seconded by Mr A. M. Carpenter (Fernside), who said that there was no doubt that the cost of government must come down, after which the cost of production, would fall. He hoped that the conference would also be attended by business men. Farmers were anxious to meet their obligations, but they must be assisted along the lines indicated. The land must be classified and revalued. Another speaker urged the meeting to play the game and not "punch a man behind his back." He stated tha't it was not fair to pass the railways over when there were products to be carried. Farmers should not use lor|Ties in preference to the railways, and i then blame the Government for not making the railways pay. \ Mr W. W. Mulholland (Darfield) said that he agreed with the motion, but

was of the opinion that the time limit should be eliminated from the second clause. He moved as an amendment that the Arbitration Court should be abolished. Mr J. E. Dalton said it was time that the present sinful waste of money going on in New Zealand was abolished. The Court had never settled one dispute, but on the contrary had caused dissension. It resulted in spoon-feed-ing the workers. He seconded the amendment. The amendment was altered to the effect that the Arbitration Act be repealed. The amendment was then put to the meeting, and carried on a show of hands, with only one dissentient. Economy Campaign. Mr K. T. McMillan moved the following resolution: —"That all classes of the community should help the Government in its economy campaign and strongly urge it to still further economise and refrain from increasing our enormous public debt." Mr C. P. Pryke (Marlborough) seconded the motion, which was carried. Mr W. W. Mulholland moved the following resolution: —"That this meeting authorises the setting up of an Emergency Committee, consisting of the presidents of the A. and P. Associations, Partners' Union, and Sheepowners' Union, and two members of each society, to go into the following matters: To investigate the present position and take steps to promulgate measures to ameliorate the present condition of farmers; a liaison with the Chamber of Commerce, Manufacturers' Association, and Industrial Association, etc.; any means to further the aims and spirit of the resolutions passed at this meeting.^' Mr C. H. Ensor (Hanmer) said that if a committee was set up it should enquire into the possibility of adopting the Canadian finance adjustment scheme. Another speaker urged that a limit should be placed on the. rating powers of local bodies. Mr A. M. Carpenter seconded the resolution, stating that it was the most valuable brought forward. The resolution was carried unanimously. The meeting decided that telegrams should be sent to the Hon. E. A. Eansom (Acting-Prime Minister), the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates (Leader of the Opposition), and Mr H. E. Holland (Leader of the Labour Party), drawing their attention to the remits. PRODUCING AT A LOSS. PLIGHT OF DAIRY FARMERS. [THE PRESS Special Service.} DUNEDIN, December 10. The South Island Dairy Association of Now Zealand, Ltd., has forwarded the following letter to the ActingPrime Minister: "This Association, representing South Island dairy producers, wishes to endorse the representations which have already been made to the Government regarding the 6erious position which the dairying industry finds itself in as a result of the drop in tho market values of butter and cheese. Having regard to the facts that prices have declined more than 20 per cent, below those which obtained in 1914 and that production costs are about double what they were in that year, it will be realised that the plight of the average dairy farmer is indeed critical. It means that not only is-ho getting no return for his labour, but he is working at a considerable loss, and would be better off in tho ranks of the unemployed. Bankruptcy is staring liim in the face, and if something does not happen promptly to relievo his plight there will be no alternative left to him but to seek some other means of existence. "The welfare of the whole of this Dominion is largely dependent on the primnry industries, and that, being the case it is urgently necessary that every possible means b© taken to improve the present situation. With that view "we would respectfully suggest to you that the Government immediately convene a national economic conference, representative of the primary and secondary industries, financial institutions, employers and employees, to discuss the position and make such recommendations to the Government as are considered expedient by way of remedy." REDUCTION OP COSTS. REPRESENTATIONS TO BE MADE. (PRBSS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) WELLINGTON, December 10. With a view to obtaining a discussion on the present economic situation, the Associated Chambers of Commerce called a conference of employers in all branches of industry. Mr Hi. T. Merritt (Auckland), president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce, presided. There were present representatives from several branches of the Employers' Federation, Manufacturers' Association, New Zealand Farmers' Uniop, New Zealand Dairy Farmers' Union, Sheepowners' Federation, Poultry Breeders' Association, Fruitgrowers' Federation, the Land Development League, and Chambers of Commerce. The conference reached a unanimous decision that the present condition of the country's trade and industry required drastic economies to be made in the cost of production and distribution of the Dominion's products, and as an essential factor in these economies a curtailment of State and Local Bodies' expenditure. Unanimous decisions were arrived at on all matters submitted for consideration. These conclusions will be represented to the Prime Minister on his return.