MR. VAVASOUR AND CLASS TAXATION.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2799, 17 June 1916, Page 10

MR. VAVASOUR AND CLASS TAXATION.

Sir,—lt was once said to 1m the Englishman's privilege to grumble; with a .'certain class of the farming community ill this country the privilege has degenerated into a habit. 1 read Mr. It. 1). Vavasour's letter. in this morning's 'Dominion with interest, and,'rending it, fell to wondering how such an ordinarily sensible gentleman could have allowed his pen to nulruu both discretion and facts. With all the talk there has been upon taxation, the commandeering of meat, and foodstuffs, and the importation of wheat, etc., it is possible misunderstanding.* in regard to the action of the Government may have arisen, but certainly not to tlio extent; to which Mr. Vavasour commits himself. Without actually saying so, ia as many words, Mr. Vavasour implies that the Government has discriminated between the commercial and the farm-

ing community in the matter of taxation, and gives figures, the correctness of which aro certainly open to dispute, because, where-the landowner is concerned, they appear to be based upon the capital value, whereas most of us know that .the • land tax is levied on the unimproved value.

But, passing that, point, let me refer to the next—Mr. Vavasour's reference to the alleged "piiflo" that is boiug talked about '"the war of the farmer," and his statement "that "the Government steps in and commandeers the meat at a low price." The facts aro very simple.. The farmer has, since March 3, I'JIS, been receiving higher prices for his' produce than he has ever done before, and is cortainjy on a much , better wicket, so far as the marketing of his meat is concerned, because the Imperial authorities', who . purchase his beef and mutton through the New Zealand Government, take delivory of his meat here in _\ew Zealand, pay him rates previously agreed upon as lair and equitable (rates consideraoly in excess of his previous not return), accept all the risk and responsibility of its shipment aoross the-seas, and defray all charges, including tho handling at the other end, etc. Thus it happens that the farmer is able to market his produce at a time, when it would be'otherwiee im■possible for him to arrange for the necesEary shipping accommodation for himself. Mr. Vavasour loses sight of the fact (and he is only one of many who fail to realise the position), that the meat ami othitf purchases of the Imperial Government in this' country have been the calvation of the farmer, who would not have beea able to dispose of his produce otherwise, because the- Admiralty, having commandeered the greater portion of the British mercantile lleet, and particularly, the insulated-vessels, would have Bent the latter to pick up the Imperial Government's purchases elsewhere, but for the arrangement concludcd by Mr. Massey on their behalf, and in which he had the hearty concurrence of the chief exporting firms here. But poor Mr. Vavasour is grieved to think he is only getting -ltd. per Jb. for his lamb, whereas it is selling oil the Smithfield market for 9}d. Now, sir, Mr. Vavasour knows that the British Government, which handles his meat, pays all charges, and these for freight and insurance alone amount to 2|d. per lb., thus bringing the cost at the ship's side in London up to 7Jd. per lb., and, if the Imperial authorities -are making a little profii out of'the business, surely they are entitled to do so, seeing that they have lost more than one cargo by the torpedoing of merchant vessels with cargoes of nirat and other produce, consigned to and paid for by them.

Wiien tho Government adopts 'reasonable precautions to ensure the* supply of foodstuffs in this country, as in the case of. wheat, Mr. Vavasour sees nothing but hysteria in its action. Mr. Massey appealed to the farmers to plant additional areas in wheat in 1914, l>ecause there was every . sigh of an impending shortage in the available wheat supplies of the world brought threatening the Australian harvest and tho war holding up the supplies from the granaries' of Europe. : ,Like a wise man, Mr. Massey took stock of the position, and, through Hie Government Statistician, ascertained that there, was every prospect of the supplies being two million bushels short of the demand. Realising the need for action, Mr. Jlnssey arranged for the importation* of 500,000 bushels of wheat, which he was advised would be required to tide the country over until the 1914-15 crop was available. He also secured the option over a million bushels of Canadian July (1915) wheat, flo did not purchase it (as Mr. Vavasour states), but exercised the option over 100,000 bushels only, that being shipped direct to Sydney to repay the New South Wales Government for the wheat borrowed from that State. Later the 900,000 bushels over which the option was held was satisfactorily disposed of' in Canada. These facts are common property.

Mr. Vavasour's- statement that the "shipping companies have exploited the farmers on shipments •to the United Kingdom to the amount of nearly a million" on wool, butter, : cheese, "and meat is also beside the mark. The farmer doss not pay the freight (except on very small quantities) on either the meat or checse, because the former is wholly,.and the latter partially, commandeered .by the" Imperial" GbverhYneht," wbiclf,' ' as" I liave already pointed out, pays all charges. I have taken the trouble to look up the figures, and I find that, during the first year the Imperial meat scheme was in operation ; (taking .tlie figures from March 3, 1915, to March .2, 191G), the- net payments actually made to the farmers in respect of meat purchases amounted to £1,440,4,82, iwh'ereas for. 1913 (fating the last complete year's record prior to the war) the value of our frozen meat exports was (inly i1!4,449,933, and the farmer had then to pay all charges for shipping, freight, and insurance, etc. For the period from March 3, 191! i, to . June 12, 1916, the payments to the-farmers, have amounted to .£9,712,425, in respect of meat alone, and still Mr. Vavasour grumbles. No. wonder, sir, that the average town Worker; gets the idea that the farmer and: the squatter are the most selfish meu in the community, and the. most ready to squeal when their, pockets-are affected, when letters of the character of that I.Kava.travwed appear in theipublic prints.—l am, etc., - , TOWNSMAN. Wellington, June 13, 191(1. .