FOOD PRICES IN GREAT BRITAIN

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2906, 19 October 1916, Page 5

FOOD PRICES IN GREAT BRITAIN

DISCUSSED IN PARLIAMENT QUESTION OF STATE ACTION RAISED Analrali&n-New Holland Oable Association. (Rec. October 18, 6 p.m.) London, October 18. ■ In tho House of Commons, Mr. G. N. Barnes (Labour) raised the question of food prices, 'l'he time, he said, had come for consideration of the question. He favoured the appointment of a Food Minister. It might he necessary to have food tickets. . The Food Commission should have power to fix prices. The high-prices of bacon and' milk were | a public danger, and they wore due to manipulation and waste. Farmers had sometimes given milk to the pigs, orthrown it into drains, in order to maintain prices. The Bight Hon. G. Lambert (Liberal) said that the nation was threatened with a serious shortage in home-grown supplies during the coming year, owing to the withdrawal of 30 per cent, of the accessary labour. Mr. Runciman (President of the Board of Trade) said! that the Government was prepared to take any 6teps to prevent the exploitation of food. He pointed out that the .raised prices were partly due to munition and other well-paid workers demanding the best cuts of the meat and the best of other food. The consuming capacity of the people had very largely increased; our trawlers were trawling for mines ' instead of fish; eggs had formerly been imported from Russia, and tho outting off of supplies had raised_ the prices. Tho Government was making arrangements with the War Office to provide farmers with sufficient milkers, _ and would take steps to make it a criminal offence to wilfully destroy the- milk. The Government had taken steps to keep down tho prico of meat, ajid had made arrangements to get more supplies for the Tetail trade than ever before. The Government's purchases had already amounted to £16,000,000. We are supplying the Italian and _ French Armies in addition to the British, and had eliminated the middleman's profit and strictly limited tho merchants' profit. The Government had taken steps to keep up tho necessary margin of wheat. •

The Minister added that meat transactions meant an enormous amount of insulated tonnage. The Government had to readjust prices with the Australian Government owing to the increased working costs, but no increase had been granted to tho shipowners since the . war began, and they must continue - at the same rate uiftil the Tar was over!

Sir Edward Carson interjected: Has thero been any exploitation of wheat P Mr. Runciman : "There is absolutely no evidence of any." By arrangement with Australia they had a very Targe amount of wheat in hand, and were prepared to extend their werations. The best way to insure tlie quickost dispatch was to pay tho wheat carriage on the basis of a voyage charter, giving an incentive to all concerned to run their vessels quickly. Out of the total freight of 10,000 vessels, only eleven hundred oceangoers' were free to conduct their own operations. The Admiralty had agreed with many directors to utilise fewer, vessels. The great bulk of. the mercantile marine was under control, and running on. Blue Book Tates, or on fixed rates bearing no To-, lation to the ordinary rates. Only a small Fraction of the mercantile marine was running at free rates, and only sixty of these were bringing foodstuffs. These facts ought to be known . in view of the hubbub outside. Freights had very' little to do with the increased cost of food. For example, Canadian cheese was from 4d. to sd. higher, while the freights were only Jd. higher.-_ The real cause was the shortage of shipping, and the Government was doing its best to assist in the construction of new vessels with the greatest possible rapidity. We had lost during the war period, as the result of onemy action, and ordinary marine risks, two millions in gross tonnage, more than the entire mercantile marine of France, Spain, or Italy. Before the war the Allies' losses were also heavy. It was believed that the Government had dealt with these problems on right lines. "We must avoid putting ourselves in the position of a blockaded people.' Bread tickets and meat cards, and all other artificial arrangements, are harmful to those least able to bear them."

NEW ZEALAND MEAT AND CHEESE THE MASSEY-WARD AGREEMENT, (Rec. October 18, 8.10 p.m.) London, October 17. It is understood that Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward have consummated an agreement -which will > result in considerable benefit to 'New Zealand, meat producers. They are endeavouring to arrive at a settlement with regard to cheese, and there are prospects of success in this direction.