BUTTER PRICES

Hokitika Guardian, 21 October 1920, Page 1

BUTTER PRICES

■AN UNCONCLUDED DEBATE. (Our Parliamentary Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, -October 21. Members who have been’pressing for an opportunity to discuss the report of the Butter Committee were given 111other innings this afternoon. The report had already been before tlie House twice, and. had been talked out on each occasion. Tile Government' in the meantime has adopted the'Committee’s recommendation' and proclaimed the new price of blitter. Labour members protested loudly to-day against what they termed' the Government’s disregard of the will cf Parliament, their'reference being to ah amendment moved By Mr McCombs proposing that the report should be referred : back to the Committee.’lii order that the price should be fixed at1/9. The report was talked out Again to-day' without a vote on tlie 'amendment being reached;-and'as the Prime Minister "stated that he did not think tlie report would be before the House again this session, the butter ''arrangements may he regarded as completed. The debate to-day did not throw'much light on the price. The members were limited to ten minutes each, and many who wished to speak did not succeed in catching the Speaker’s cl'PThe Minister for Agriculture suggested 1 blandly thai the people who were making the most noise about the blitter -could help themselves by consuming a, tittle less and working more. The dairy farmer was the hardest working worker in this country, and lie received a smaller wage than most of the people who were objecting to bis -getting an increase.

Mr- Isitt, (Christchurch south) advocates an export tax and accused the farmers of inconsistency. They wanted a free market for butter but they wanted prohibition of the export f timber maintained in order that world prices might not rule in the local timber market! They demanded the ’’nil export price of butter, but wished the Government to help them to avoid taking the present export price of wool, now that the price has dropped. Then the representatives of the dairy ing districts stated the case for tlie dairy farmer, and insisted that he was not getting all he e arned, even at present price.

Mr Holland, Leader of the Labour Party, 'told tlie' House, angrily, that the Government was blocking a full discussion of an issue that contained tlie germs of the biggest industrial trouble New Zealand had ever seen: He advised the "workers to demand at once an increas of wages sufficient to cover the addition that was being made to the cost of living. - A dozen members were on their feet when the last speaker was called with about one minute to go.