"MOVING LONDON TO JUSTICE"

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 146, 9 March 1918, Page 8

"MOVING LONDON TO JUSTICE"

WOOL DRAFT. . The fight over wool draft is an old one. The "farmers' Union Advocate" puis the case this way :— "For years past tiie Farmers' Union has tried to move London wool buyers to a sense of justice and failed to get a net payment tor the wool of the dominion. The one pound deduction in. every hundredweight amounts, to something like £100,0i)0 a year, wnich tho woolgrowers malse a present of to the buyers. We do not suppose this draft is allowed to the person who buys the ,vool from the-wool staplers. Nor is it charged, we understand, at the Liverpool sales. We expected that the British Government would have abolished this custom when they bought the wool, but they have refused to do so. The buyers say: 'It does not matter* if the draft were abolished.' Tue grower says: 'We are quite willing to take market price provided that you pay us what we sell you'; and there it stands. Presumably there must be a benefit to the buyers, or they would not take so much trouble to retain it. Why not send our wool to Liverpool, i where there are wool sales just the same as in London? Even at Leith there are wool sales. Some might object that the price would not be so good at Liverpool as at London. There might be something in this, for the first few sales, but if wool was cheaper at Liverpob/ buyers would soon flock there. Besides, Leeds and Bradford ' are much closer to Liverpool than to London, and the carriage must be more to those great manufacturing centres. True, the German and French buyers would prefer London, but we have uo great desire to see our wool go to clothe the Germans, and France only takes the finer classes o£ wool for Roubaix and Turcoing, which are the greatest woollen manufacturing centres. London, on the other hand, 13 much the most expensive port in Great Britain, and after the war it will be, still more expensive; when then should! we continue to sell our meat, wool, and i dairy produce mostly in London ana; pay more for doing so? .As we hava said, prices would soon level themsejves up if we used other ports more freely, and if it were found that the draft still continued on wool and meat, a little combination to further reduce the stream of produce elsewhere would bring London to its senses. Besides the draft on wool, London custom sells our meat with'an allowance of two pounds on a carcass of nviitton, and ono pound on lamb. Bristol custom is net weight. So that to sell our wool and meat in London wo mako a present of over'£3oo,ooo to the buyers. In butter and cheese we are paid for net weight. The matter is in the hands of the farmers; if they wish they can, by ' proper combination,- accomplish even the rousing of London. There are many difficulties ahead of the farmer when the war is over—shipping charges, freights, taxation, al! of which will require very carfeul watching if the farmer is to get a 'square deal.' "The matter of abolishing this draft on wool and meat was brought up at - the conference last year, which settled tho terms of the sale of our wool to the Imperial authorities. The Minister opposed the suggestion that it should bo a condition of the sale, and the conference did not press it. It seemed to be.the opinion of the Hon. Mr. MacDonald that tho farmers wanted the concession as a benefit to themselves, but that was not the case in so far as the commandeer of our wool went. The farmers would not complain if the Imperial authorities had retalnei the draft as a perquisite so long as it abolished the antiquated custom which has no other justification than a hoary ago.' The opportunity to break it was at tho beginning of the season, but the chance was. lost. We should like to see a strong agitation created between now and the negotiations for next season. We have' Australia and South Africa with us in this matter, and there is no reason why our combined efforts should not prevail."