THE COST OF LIVING

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2507, 7 July 1915, Page 9

THE COST OF LIVING

TALK OF EXPLOITATION ON TKADE & COMMERCE BILL On the third reading of the Regulation of Trade and Commerce- yAmend- . ment Bill, , JOSEPH WARD (Awariia) referred to the cost of living. l The majority of people, in the. country were receiving under 50s.'per week, and when a man.'had to support a wife and family on that sum it looked to him as if it was almost impossible for him to pay his way. Ho did not believe the House should allow the conditions to continue without; doing something. to regulate the prices of: the necessaries of •.; w as nothing ur.common, he said, .{qjr commodities to 'be: sent away and reimported owing to the higher pnees ruling , here. It was the abnormal price ruling for butter that enabled exporters touring butter back after it nad,been exported to: England. There 'were a great: number of families in New Zealand that could not afford to pay 15..8 d. per lb. for butter: We were producing an enormous quantity of butter in this country, and he did not believe the farmer who .produced, the butter wanted to ; see: the people Here bled owing to'the circumstances arising out ofthe; war. There, should not be such a tning as. either side attompting 'to gain an _ advantage,on the question of regulating the prices. There should be some method ;by which it would be possible to have a regulatioa of the prices of staple products,: such! as. ■ meat, butter, cheese, etc." .If they got prices maintained * at .a;..:':...price, beyond tlio : jiqrmal , capacity; -ofi ,-.th'e people; to pa,y/; : they .'were '//going to cause a great disturbance. He agreed te a large, extent with. what Mr. An,drew; Fairbairn had said 'in his circular' There: should bo. something done to meet,this abnormal condition. If there were my combinations: getting higher profits' as a result, of' the war, tho ■ only way to meet ifr. was- by legislation.

Butter Shipments Returning. Sir- Joseph Ward said that the believed that -44,000 boxes of butter were being re-imported'into this coun- _ Hon. W. "P. Massey:; IUBtl ÜBt received information. that : ojwi ? number mil ,be from' 1500. to 2000 boxes. \ . i ' Sir Joseph Ward said that in any . case, it would be admitted that it ni i vdrj. fu M y market in New Zealand that would allow butter to be sent; to London, aud returned here; and ■ j.'J a profit. ■If the prices of commodities went up much more' thoro would have to be a readjustment of the ruling rate .of pay. 'Otherwise they would have to have a readjustment of prices. • - He did not think the Foodstuffs' Commission had been of much use: to -the people - generally. Some system of a well-established- Board of Ira.de, to make.inquiry into prices and consumption - was .required; quit© apart from Parliament, it wrfs the experi- • ence of everybody in New Zealand that the cost of living had increased enormously during the past fifteen years. In the past twelve months the increase m exports amounted to- £7,000,000, according to a Department return. Mr. Massey: .id-,000,000 in one year: £7,000,000 in three years. Sir Josoph Ward: The fact remains that this country is "£4,000,000 wealthier through the exports, but through abnormal causes one section has been adding enormously to . their wealth, while another section.is going back.; In my opinion you cannot have a contented people if there is ■ that greater dispar-. ity _ between, the purchasing power of their standstill wages, while the cost of every articlo you- like to mention has advanced enormously.' I want to" say. to the Prime Minister that if ever there was a work for a practical Royal Commission in this country that this is a subject which ought certainly to be investigated. There was nothing today causing more internal concern to the mother in the homo and to the breadwinner than, the cost of living. Butter Exported and Brought Bach, M, WILFORD (Hutt) said he wished to ask'two questions. He presumed that the Prime' Minister was an authority on butter. A man who was bf the biggest men in the .butter trade> New Zealand, had stated that the/high price of butter was due to the export of 40,000 ' boxes to Australia. But before this export was made there was a proclamation that butter would not be exported without the consent of the Minister.' That proclamation was nob enforced, but now it was to bo enforced.' The Prime ■ Minister' said 'plenty of butter was being produced here for oiir own needs. If that was so, why were all these boxes of butter being brought back from England to New Zealand? His other question had to do with _the statement of Mr. An* drew Fairbairn, that the merchants had two millions worth of goods in store at the _ beginning of the war, ,to which goods they added £400,000 in price, although, the goods bad not cost them a penny more on.account of tho. war. He asked the Primo Minister what he thought, of that statement. The Government should "deial with exploitation of this sort. ; One of the items in a working man's expenditure which had increased alarmingly was the cost, of boots._ . The-fetish of the high tariff was imperilling, the welfare of our. people. . . - Mr. Massey: Do you want the tariff reduced ?, ■ , Mr. Wilford: I think tho time.has come when something will have to be done; but it.will have to be done in an evolutionary, arid not a. revolutionary, way. Mr. Massey: What does "Invercargill" say about it? . . . A bouse divide .od againßt itself 1. .(Laughter^

Mr. Wilford: The lionourablo gentleman docs'not sayjihat his party is absolutely of the samo opinion on every sublect. Mr. Mas Soy : The most solid party Now Zealand has ever seen. The Foodstuffs Commission. Mr A. H. HINDMARSH (Wellington South) said that tho report of the Foodstufts Commission was absolutely worthless. With all due respect to the mem- , bers of the commission, he said that they were not compotent to deal with such momentous questions. Surely when such questious wore to be considered thoy should strip themselves of party in appointing the members. If they dm not have competent men in Now Zealand they should have got them elsewhere. , If prices could bo controlled, then some attempt should be made to regulate them He took exception to tho fact that notwithstanding that it was known that commodities would increase in price after war broke out, the Arbitration .Court should have decided not to Kit to increase wages., •Mr. Jlassey: The Government issued no instructions. Mr., Hindmarsh held that if the Bresident of the Arbitration Court did nothave the foresight to see what would arise under suph conditions, he should not have been appointed to tho chairtaanship of the Foodstuffs Commission. Party Feeling Depreoatctl. Mr. J. T. M HORNSBY (Wairarapa) said ho regretted that it had not been possible to.discuss such a subject as the cost of living without the old party cries being raised' from tho benches! He resented stronglyJJie' .assertion that the farmers or New Zealand were riot'patriutic. Especially; had tho farming community .in the Wairarapa , shown example-to-tiie rest of New Zealand. But he contended that tho farminc comiiiumty were being exploited by a ring" in New Zealand. Parliament was up against a proposition that' had to bo solved, and tho members could not go away without having done something for the_ people, something to ameliorate their, conditions. He condemned the bread prices in New Zealand, and held that there was not the slightest reason why-,, the people should be called upon to'pay so much for their .oread. There was no justification for the bakers having to pay up to £18 10s. a ton for; flour. As to- the price of butter, it was the merchants) arid not tno farmors, who were getting "the big hep." Meat prices, too, were at an , abnormal price. He commended the ,'rtitement of Mr. P. M'Hardy that he woiUd not touch a, penny of the extra profits he made on account of tho war. His words, he held, should be printed in the school books in letters of gold. . Difficulties of the Problem. Mr. W. DOWNIE STEWART (Dune, uin est) said lie. rose to speak in consequence of the questions put by tho member. for, to why, if there was enough butter in New Zealand, butter should be reimported from England, and a» to'why the merchants of New Zealand were allowed to make a profit of £400,000 on goods already in store, fho; answer to-the latter question was that, there could'not be two prices in the sairie market for the same goods. Some-merchants who had no godds of particular classes in stock would have, to import, and at higher prices than those ruling before the war. Once this' had to come about tho" goods-' in store had to rise in price also. Certain- members had already castigated the Government severely about the riso iri prices and the high cost of living, but had not' offered any solution''of thedifficulty..

' Mr. Russell: A doctor does not prescribe until \he.is called in. ■

Mr. Stewart said that the members of the .Opposition had said they were most anxious to.assist the 'Governinent in. these times of. stress, and if they have a remedy for ,the evil it was their duty ,to put it forward. Defending the Food Commission, ho that if it were true that the Commission was hoodwinkec] by farmers or merchants, surely' siioh aii astute" member' as the Hon.; Mr. : Barr' would have discovered it. . This gentleman had the confidence of a very great -number. of people in this country. ; Mr. Webb: Only on that side. ..Mr.:Stewart: I.don't say he has the confidence .of the present representatives of Labour in this House, but I havo had considerable difficulty in finding out who ■ has their confidence; Con. tinuing, Mr'. _ Stewart said it was the blindest fatuity to say that tho price of goods ought to be regulated unless they could say how/they were to be regulated. , lhe attempts, ill-advised as they , had proved, to regulate prices in Australia had failed. - , He did not say that prices ought not to be regulated, or that it was impossible to. regulate them; but the problem was one of extreme difficulty'and danger.. Tho price .of foodstuffs had increased about lo_per cent., but no war ever failed to raise the price of food, aiid this rise of 10 per cent, in .this great war was so low that it must be a. record for any country in: the world.. He asked those who wished to discuss the problem of the cost of living to remember that many of the articles in common use wore produced outside New Zealand 'and therefore outside of our- control, arid that in view of the severity of the great war in which we were engaged, the increase in prices of our necessaries was so low as to bo almost nominal.

Mr. W. A. VEITCH (Wanganui) be. gan, amid cries of "Order I" by referring to the speech of the member for Dunedin West as the summing up of His Honour. He characterised as ab-, surd, the statement that prices were raised by tho war, irrespective of the actions of merchants.

Mr. P. O. WEBB (Grey) contended that tne increase in the prices of the main articles of consumption had! been much more than tlie 10 per cent, stated. The publid had to be. protected against tho small party of people who were growing rich at the expense of the masses. ' They were worsj, than tlie Kaiser. Work for National Cabinet. Mr. C. J. PAEEtt (Eden) held that the question was not a party one, and the Government should watch' for any. evidence of exploitation. The problem was one of extreme difficulty. He thought with regard to the tilings we produced ourselves we should not be guided by text book principles—it was tjie time for drastic action, and he believed the House would support the Government in any such! drastic action. The increase in the prices of butter and meat had been too large in a producing country. While they should not limit export so as to impoverish, the community, still they should have an eye to the needs of the people of the Dominion He quoted figures compiled by the Government Statistician showing tho average increase in tlie price of groceries as '22 per cent.; dairy produco, 7 per cent.-; meat, 9.14 per cent.; and a reduction in rent of 1.76 per cent;, makrng a general average increase of 7.19 per cent. He suggested that, the work wps big enough to engage the attention of ; a National Cabinet of' the best brains of tlie House. . Alleged Exploitation. Mr. G. WITTY (Riccarton) said that there were nine millqrs in Canterbury wliom the Government had not asked whether -they held any wheat at tlie ,time- wheat was being impcrted. Tho Prime Minister telegraplied to one miller asking him did he want to buy wheat, and the miller purchased wheat from the Government at ss. Od. per bushel. At the same time he had his mill, his stores, and other people's stores stocked' with his own wheat, which ho sold- then at 6s. 3d. per bushel. . The Prime Minister: I think you should give his naihe. < . Mr. Witty : I will give the namo, and will give a signed document .if lie likes. ' k&ter Mr, .Witty gaya the aamsg

the nine millers who-, he said, had not. been asked to make a return. . Ho mentioned first Richard Evans. The Prime Minister: I happen to know ho was asked. Mr. Witty: Yes, afterwards. 'And has ho sold wheat? . Tho Prime Minister: Yes.Mv. Witty: And I am informed tliat at tho time he had 18,000 bushels of wheat stored. That is the man I referred to. ; Mr. Massey: That is a serious statement to make. Mr. W. Nosworthy:' Will you make that statement outside the House? Mr. Witty:. So long as I am in the House I will bring out any evidence as to exploitation. Mr. IV A. H. FIELD (Nelson) said lie was quite in accord with tho wish expressed that of the cost of. living should bo approached without party business. Referring to the statement supposed to have been made by Mr. Fairbairn that the merchants of New Zealand'had added £-100,000' to the price of butter held in store, he said he would like to-see the data upon which Mr. Fairbairn based his statement. The farming community, it was allowed, had to take the good seasons with the bad. With merchants it was the same. Often merchants ' had to sell, when tho market fell, at prices below cost,' and' this they did in the ordinary way of business. For the sudden rise in prices at tho outbreak of war the public were partly to blame for buying abnormal quantities of goods of . which a shortage was threatened. He with other members also that the prices of our staple food products were regulated by tho demand for these products in London. .

PRIME MINISTER IN REPLY. OF THE COMMISSION. The RIGHT HON: W. F. MASSEY, in reply, said that not a single member had put forward a reasonable proposal about the increase in the cost of living. Ho had been surprised to hear tho Leader of the Opposition quote Mr; A. Fairbairn as an authority on economics. It seemed to him that Mr. Fairbairn must be a very astute individual, who knew how to get a good advertisement at a very little cost. Ho (Mr. Massey). would quote the gentleman who was at the head of the politics of the British-, Empire, a greater, authority than Mr. Andrew Fairbairn. Mr. Asquith said in the House of Commons that his Government had been invited to take- very drastic steps such as' fixing maximum prices for foodstuffs—an experiment that tho German Govern-, ment had made with disastrous results. The only result in that country, Mr. Asquith had stated,. was to frustrate the very objects the-Govern-ment hoped to attain, _ and he did not believe steps of this kind would facilitate the object in view in England. This was not the first time, Mr. Massey continued, that suggestions had been made that ; steps should be taken to Teduce tho prices of commodities. Jack Cade had promised to reduce the price of bread and beer, and Jack Cade was hanged l_ At tho time of the French Revolution .prices wero fixed and tho only result was to stop production, When Prices are Low? He defended tho Food Commission, who wero a very representative body, of men. •Mr. Anstey: Who represented, the wheat growers? Mr,. Massey: I don't know-that the wheat growers ha<l a representative on the Commission. And I would liko to ask the honourable gentleman, who represents an agricultural, district, and a man .who represents wheat, growers, What his opinion is of the statements made to-night by the men he works with? What does he think of the statement of the Leader of the. Opposition, that wheat ought to have 1 been purchased from the farmers at 3s. 6d. or 4s. per bushel? If you are.going to do that sort of thing when prices are dear, you must do tho opposite when prices are low.' (Hear, _ hear.) ,If you are going to fix a maximum: price' when wheat is dear you must fix a minimum when wheat is cheap. I know of what I am speaking," because I have produced wheat often at a very serious loss., I have produced wheat for less than the shipowners are charging me for bringing •wheat to New Zealand from Canada, today. . Tho mail who produced wheat, he continued, was entitled to get a fair average .-world's price of wheat,_ and this ;\vas all the farmers had received. At the beginning of the war the prices were fixed-because the wheat was not then in the hands of farmers, but the bauds of people who might have forced up the price _! unduly. The effect of commandoering wheat in New South Wales had not been for the good of that State. The farmers objected, and there wore 2000 appeals outstanding. 'The farmers, also used wheat for hay, cutting it green. And tho result of the restriction was that New South Wales was 2J million bushels of wheat short of her own, requirements. Mr. - Evans's Case. With regard to the statements made about Mr. Richard Evans, Mr. Massey said that.liA thought it was a' contemptible thing to use the privileges of the House in slandering a man who found it impossible to take advantage of the Law.Courts to prove his position. Mir. Evans applied for 2000 bushels of wheat, 1 and received from the Government 1915 bushels, a_ small amount to a miller., ■ He got it at os. 9d. per bushel, plus the cost of the sacks, and the sum paid was '£562 2s_. lid. An undertaking was given by' Mr. Evans that he would not see beyond £15 10s. a ton for flour, and he returned sales at £14 lis. As in every other case Mr. Evans had to notify the proportion of New Zealand ; and Canadian wheat used, and in his case it was one part to one part. "I think it is a very unfair tiling'to attack 3lr. Evans, and I believe there is' no more honourable and straightforward man in New Zealand than Mr. Evans." Prices Hera and Elsewhere. Comparing prices in Australia and in Now Zealand, Mr. Massey said that sugar was £4- per ton dearer in Sydney, than in New Zealand. Much fault had been found with the work of the Food Conirtiission, but be would call the attention of members to one piece of very good work they-had done. The people of New Zealand consumed 58,000 tons' of sugar per year, and the bargain mado with the Sugar Company by the Commission therefore saved :New Zealand £232,000 a year. Oatmeal was £22 10s._ a ton ill New Zealand, and £31 a ton in Sydney. Butter was 2s. per lb. in Sydney and Is. Bd. in New Zealand. Meat was also very much dearer in Australia than here. 1 Dr. Thacker: You have no ships to take the meat away from here. Meat would be dearer if we had snips. Mr. Massey: We'have 36 ships coming here. In conclusion he said that Mr. Justice Stringer had said that tho Commission had sat several times to inquire into alleged exploitation, hut no evidence had been forthcoming and the Commission had decided to hold no more sittings for this purpose^ The Bill was a read a third time and passed. The House rose at 0.55 a.m.