WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 30 June 1926, Page 4

WELLINGTON NEWS

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY. (Special to “ Guardian.”) WELLINGTON, June 28. The butter market is reported slow and quotations from London for all butters have declined. We have at the moment the fact that Danish butter is selling at 1725,. showing a drop of 6s; New Zealand at 1735, a drop of 4s; and Australian at 171 s. a drop of 3s on the previous quotations.. It is interesting to note that Danish butter is lower than New Zealand by Is and higher than Australian by the same amount. It would appear from this that a struggle is going on with the Danes as the aggressors. The Danish policy of marketing is quite different from that adopted by the New Zealand factories. The latter have followed the practice of holding supplies in store, and feeding the market thereby creating an artificial level of values. The factories, however, claim that the system tends to, stabilise prices, and in support there is the fact that for some considerable time past the price for New Zealand butter lias ruled at 171 s upwards. The Danish system, is t i market the whole of each week’s supply regardless of price. In other words the Danes do not favour holding up supplies. Just now they are obliged to market a considerable proportion of their weekly output in London and it is their competition that is forcing down prices, which seem certain to go lower. A good deal of interest has, been aroused by the statement of the Prime Minister in the House that the message sent by the editor of the “New Zealand Times’’ to the “Daily Mail” that liv was the intention of the Dairy Control Board to fix the selling price from day to day was erroneous in fact. Those fully versed in the intended policy of the Board are rather amused with the Prime Minister’s statement, that ‘ i fay well ordered shipments to the British markets, combined with constant consultation between London Board members and selling agents there to stabilise prices upon a basis advantageous alike to producers in New Zealand and consumers in Britain.” That blessed word “ stabilise

is made the. stalking horse for compulsion. The Board lias no more' power to stabilise prices than it has to fly.

The well ordered shipments have been going on for some time, and the selling agents have bad their bands tied, and yet the prices refuse, to stabilise. The whole policy of the Control Board is to secure the highest prices lor the producer, and it will use every expedient, every means possible to circumvent the law of supply and demand and force the consumer to pay more than the economic price. But we need not worry over the consumer, he has plenty of choice of butters, very staunch distributing firms to guard his interests, and in the ultimate he can fix the price by refusing to buy except at the price he fixes, Ihe control problem will occasion a bitter fight in Parliament when the amending bill comes up for the second reading. THE MEANS OK CREDIT.

People are very mueli. amused at the stupidity of the Labour Party launching adverse motions in quick succession. Two no-coufidence motions within a week is fast work lor a party that bv a fluke is the Opposition. The chief reason for the second no-confidence motion was that the Government had raised the rate of interest charged by the Advance's Department by Uf. per cent. Those who have borrowed from ibis department may consider themselves very fortunate, even although t'lyy 11I ;iy lie paying the higher rate of interest. Stale lending departments compete with private lenders most unfairly and the terms of lending by the Advances Department has lessened the amount of monv available for mortgage. Private lenders cannot lend on the same terms, and the department cannot meet all the demands and there is thus trouble and dissatisfaction. The Advances Department m.ust lose heavily from the nature of the business it is doing': However, according to Alp Holland, if the Government bad taken hold of the means of#credit they need not have raised the rate at all. Ho did not elaborate the point, but taking hold of the means of credit is what the Soviet Government did and they are paying the price. Money or credit represents past savings—the savings of labour, and if the savings are confiscated there will he no savings made that ran be confiscated. That is wlmt lias been discovered in Russia: Labour is at one with the Government over the control business because it takes bold of the means ol distribution, and Labour would like to see tbo means of credit controlled also.