INDUSTRIES AND COMMERCE

Evening Post, Volume XCVII, Issue 131, 5 June 1919, Page 8

INDUSTRIES AND COMMERCE

OFFICIAL DEPARTMENTS

QUESTION OF SEPARATION,

The Parliamentary Industries Committee resumed the taking of evidence in ■ Wellington this morning. Mr. C. A. Wilkinson, -M.P., chairman, presided. \l DIVIDED CONTROL: ': Dr' C J.'Reakesy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Industries and Commerce, said his Department did not'control the Board of Trade The Board of Trade was under the Minister with the Hon. W. D. S. Mac Donald as chairman. Asked whether- this was a desirable state of affairs in his opinion, .Dr. Reakes said that depended upon whether it was the intention of the Government for the Board of Trade to be a permanent institution or whether it was set up for a' special purpose for a special period. There was no doubt that therewas room for a great deal more to be done in the direction of Departmental activity bearing on industries and commerce generally. The Imperial Supplies Department was set up only for'- temporary period. , His Department looked after the working side of this. His Department on the agricultural side was pretty well organised, and the Minister was desirous of extending the work of industries and commerce. He thought it would be desirable to separate the two branches. The Chairman : You are not prepared -, to give us a comprehensive statement regarding re-organisation? , Witness : That depends on the policy of the Government. I would suggest for a commencement that industries and commerce should be organised as a distinct branch of the present department, with a view to making it a, separate and distinct department .as-soon as the organisation and work litis reached a stage to warrant it. EXPERIMENTAL AND DEMON- ■■ STR.ATION FAE-MS. Witness said 'he did not believe in multiplying experimental farms too much. They could do better work under special expert- with a limited number. Ho, • however, commended the principle of demonstration farms-'-favms controlled by fanners over which the Government* had - supervision."' ' These farms could.be viewed by farmers of the neighbourhood, who .could learn thereby. There were several of these already in New Zealand which were giving excellent results."'"'" '■'" " To Mr. Forbes : He had had a special report prepared upon the possibilities of Westland as an agricultural, producing district. Some time ago an area had been selected with a view to establishing an experimental farm there, but this had not been gone on with. It was questionable whether an ' experimental farm should be established there prior to agricultural development or during that period. In the general work of agricultural advancement, he believed that existing institutions, whether agricultural or educational, should co-operate as much a,i possible. The demonstration farm at ' Stratford comprised about. 200 acres, purchased by the farmers, and was subsidised by the Government. To Mr. Hornsby :, As a' general principle, he favoured any scheme which would enable the farmer to get expert advjee, Whether; these experts should thrust ; themselves *on the farmers was' another matter. He had, no doubt, however, that a great many farmerswould appreciate visits from departmental experts and the advice they tendered.: There were farmers on the other hand,.'; who took up the ' attitude that they could not be taught anything. J To Mr. Craigie: There were three large experimental farms in the North Island: There was only a small one in the: South Island. The original idea in establishing the experimental farms in the: : North Island. was . that the settlers , did-not know very much about farming. He'would not care to tell the South Island, farmers that. He thought good ■work could be done in the South Island hy establishing demonstration farms, under^ local organisation, the Government supplying the knowledge and a subsidy. Witness, continuing, said a special area (>i about a hundred acres ' had been set aside in- Otago -Central for Special testing purposes. One of the subjects under cont-ideration in the re-organisation of the Department was to what exetent breeding stock should be carried on by the Department. For small -farms where the farmer paid a ; high price for his land or a high rental, 'the "special purpose cow" was the most profitable, the idea, of course, being Ho produce the most butter-fat. (Proceeding.)