"DECENT PEOPLE SHOCKED"

Chronicle (Levin), 2 April 1947, Page 6

"DECENT PEOPLE SHOCKED"

-Press Associ&LioW'

LEADERS OF SEVERAL SECTIONS HOLDING COMMUNITY TO RANSOM

By Telegraph-

"WELLINGTON, April 1. "The deeent people of New Zealand must be gravely shocked by the efforts of different sections, or more correctly by the Leaders of th^se sections, to take the coriiniumty^ by the throat," sajcl j\fr. H. * E. Blyde, acting Dominion Presideiit of Federated Farmers in a statement today. "It is not a ease of one section playing np but it is a case of the leaders of several sections using their power to hold the eommunity to ransom. Recently we had the watersiders, then the freezing workers and miners. I do not believe the rank and file of these unions realise the full eft'ect of their actions. All these actions make it difficult, if not impossible. for us to achieve the production which we should be aehieving. If we are going to do our duty to Britain under these circumstances, st is a mockery and faree for the Government to be wasting money, through the agency of famine emergeney committees, in senseless advertisements. What on earth is the use of trying to save food if production is being sabotaged? "The whole position is a disgrace to the Dominion," added Mr Blyde. "It is time right thinking people said so in no uncertain manner. 1 rresponsible and illadvised people are doing their best to spoil the efforts which, I ain sure, the majority of people in Xew' Zealand want to make to help Britain in her hour of d'istress. It is obvious eertain people want all the privileges which the law can confer 011 them and they desire lione of ;the obligations attached to those ' privileges. I11 plaiju ;blunt words, they want the pro|eetion of the State when they are&reaking the law. "Wkfre/a union has the protection o^a| Act of Parliament, it has. np 1|igfht fo r.eject ,its- respbns# bilifcifis |nh jjveak thedatv. ; If .the 1 awf is wronp: or funfair,." it jshoiild be iamebclef biit . ifc should be poihted' out;- that, wehlm^i had a It i'S-- t t. —

spate of industrial legislation over the last ten yeafs and surely there has been ample opportunity to see that the law is designed to act fairly. "What is going to be the position if everyone takes the law into his own hands? The result wiL be anarchy but „the Government must take cognisance of the fact that the ordinary decent people of 1 New Zealand have been slioved I around for toQ ,long by the militant sections of .unions, and if this I state of affairs is to continue, the decent people in the communitywill h'ave to think about shoving back, unp'alatable as it may be. That appears to be the choice that is left to the law abiding sections of the community.

"So far as the miners leaders are concerned, they have been given almost everything they have asked for on every occasion. They vvere given what is virtually State control of mines in the Waikato in October 1942. It is interesting to note on that . occasion the then Minister of Mines, Hon. P. Webb, said when he was announcing the setting up of the Waikato Coal Mines Control Board, that 'the Government and board will be judged pn the results and I am content with this.' We have seen the results in the form of recurring restrictions of train servicew and recurring and increasing cut's in electi'ic powe'r consumption. If these are the- : results then the judgment must be obvious. "The time has come when the people must demand of the_ Government- a statement of its intentions for the future. If-they are going to allow this sort of thing to continue what are they going to do to safeguard production so that we cairn ot be aecused of stabbing England in the back in the hour of her dire need? These are questions which the decent people of New Zealancb including many •in these militant nections, are entitled to ask and they are : ques- : -tions to which '.the Government' muSt give auswyr."