THE SUGAR POSITION

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 27, 27 October 1920, Page 8

THE SUGAR POSITION

NO SHORTAGE OF SUPPLIES

PROVISION FOR JAM SEASON

"Are the brewers getting their usual supplies of sugar in these days of stress land peril?" asked Mr. J. Craigie (Timaru) in the House of Representatives. The member mentioned that the scarcity of sugar was still being felt in many parts of New Zealand, and that the approach of the fruit season made in very deskable that household supplies should be increased.

l'he Hon. E. P. Leo replied' that there was plenty cf sugar iu New Zealand, and that where shortages existed in certain districts, the trouble was one of distribution by shipping. Ho believed that trouole was being overcome. The Government was preparing for the jam season by filling. tne stores with refined sugar,' and was asking the public in the meantime to use unrefined sugar. The Minister added that the breweries did not eet sugar that could' be used by the public to any extent. The brewery si-gar was a by-product of manufacture. He did not believe for a moment that the breweries ought to get sugar when the public was not getting it. He would have the matter looked into, and would maie sure that the breweries did not get sugar ahead of the ordinary consumers.

THE OTHER WAY ROUND CONSUMERS SUBSIDISED, NOT PRODUCERS. Mr. W. D. Powdrell (Patea) rose in the House of Representatives to protest against the statement tlmt the Government .is subsidising the butter producers to the extent of <£600,000 a year. The position, he said, was not being correctly staged. The producers had sold their outD't to the British Government for 2s. Cd. per pound, f.o.b. The Government was paying the subsidy for the bene'it of the consumers, not the producers.

"The honourable gentleman has stated the position with perfect correctness," replird the Prime Minister. The subsidy was being paid .for the benefit of the consumers. The producers had got the fuli market price any way. Every producer was entitled to the full market value of what he produced. Mr. Powdrell: Very little of that £600,000 is paid by the workers. Mr. Massey : The worker pays a very small part.

WAR RESTRICTIONS ON SALE OF GOLD

GOLD MINERS' PETITIONS REPORTED UPON.. Tho Goldfields and Mines Committee of I l.e House, reporting yesterday on varu-is southern petitions praying for compensation for losses sustained through the restriction on the sale of eold during the war period, pointed out that during recent years no other industry had been so hard hit as goldmining. In the interests of the Empire, and at the request of the Imperial Government, the export of gold had been prohibited, with the result that a loss, reckoned upon the world market price, of fully' twenty shillings per ounce, was sustained by goidminws. Furthermore, tho committee pointed out that scheelite miners were permitted by the Imperial authorities to export flcheelite during the same period. The committee recommended tlia petitions to the Government for favourable consideration, and the House adopted' the committee's report.

COAL MINES AMENDMENT

THE BIIJ. PASSED BY THE HOUSE

The committal of tho Coal Mines Air.endmont Bill (No. 2) was moved by the Prime Minister in tho House last night. The measure is a short one, of' minor importance. In moving the committal, Mr. Massey said one clause was intended to deal with a difficulty that had arisen in connection with coal leases. There was no provision in the present law for the renewal of a coal lease, and tho Bill supplied this defect. Clause !) was tho only contentious clause in the Bill, if there was a contentious clause. The question raised wag what time a man from a quartz mino should put in in a coal mine before he had charge of a "face" Tho committee to which the Bill was referred had thought six months to be a reasonable poriod.

Mr. H. E. Holland (Bulfer) thought flint tlip neriod required for qualification should be twelvo months, except in the case of a man who had worked at the face in a metal mine. In the latter c;:so, tho six months' period would lie sufficient.

Jfr.. Alnssey indicated that fie would amend the Bill so as to provide for such a distinction as Mr. Holland suggested.

Mr. T. Iv Sidey (Duncdin South) thought the Bill remarkable for what it did not. contain. He was surprised that it did not make any proposals for meeting the troubles caused to the country iiy the present state of the coal industry.

During the committal of the Bill the I'rimi) Minister said ho would fulfil his promise to Mr. -Holland by having an amendment inserted when tho Bill, was before tho Council Tho amendment would have to 'he very carefully drafted. Tho Bill was reported without amendment.

On the motion for tho third rending, Mr. D. G. Sullivan (Avon) urged that tlu Govermut'iit should givo effect to tho recommendation of the Industries Committee and nationalise the coal mininc industry. ,» '1 lie Prime Minister said he by no means believed that nationalisation was tho remedy for all the troubles in the mining industry. He did believe in the worker having a say in the management of the mine, and he would probably develop that idea later on. He had dono hi? best to meet the minor fairly, and 110 believed the miners realised that He believed, though he was not altogether eura of it, that every miner was at work that day. That was a good sign. The Bill was read a third time and passed.