A WARNING

Hokitika Guardian, 9 December 1932, Page 8

A WARNING

A NATIONAL QUESTION

-ASSISTANCE FOR FARMERS

WELLINGTON, December 7. A warning to city and banking interests that unless they join in assisting the Government to help the primary producer they will ultimately bring about their own as well a« tne country's financial and political undoing was green in an interview to-day by the- Hon. A. D. McLeod, leader of the group of members of Parliament who have been agitating for a lnguer exchange’ rata. ,Mr McLeod said that the Parliamentary group with which he was a.-soci-iited had given close consideration to the suggestion of the banks that relief for the -fanning industry could b.etbe provided .by means of subsidies. Their unanimous opinion" was that the pimupie of non owing to pay subsidies w,nis a most, unsound -argument, anl that the payment of. subsidies would help -farmers who were most in need \va s felt to b e -equally unsound. The early experience of writing down unde) the iSofdic-rSettlement Relief Enactments had so°n showed that the least cificie.it settlers invariably received most relief, no matter how well inteiitioned \v.is the adniinistintion. NATIONAL PRODUCTION.

Individual- and national efficiency wart 'the first essential to farming, continued'Mr McLeod. Under present conditions the purchasing powe r of all farmers in New Zealand would have ftp .'b e 'raised if -a ’national financial di-/’st->r. ua.j to be for long avoided. The Dominion's national product.on in 1 '2P-29 wrs £125,000,0C0, of which tho pastoral industry, apart from dairying, provided £12,000,0000. The year 1931-32 to March 31st showed a national production of only £85,000,000 th e value of pectoral industry declining t 0 £19,000,000, notwithstanding the increased volume of farm production. The figures for 1932-33 - s o. far available indicated that at March 31-st next the value of national production would have fallen to well below -£80.000,000.

. EFFECTS OF FALL. ■ i '‘Until the present year,” continuer! 'Mr McLeod, . ‘-the -devastating'effect in national production has not been sc sernusly felt in the cities. -To-day however, its full effects are being- felt they*, k h the country districts. At xio. time have 'the enoup associated with me been, antagonistic to city interest®, but for almost a yei r we have fel* that- uri’ess city and banking interests voluntarily joined in assisting the Government to find a road out they vyOulr l ultimately bring about their Own a* well as tho country’s financial and political undoing.” - 'A s representatives of Rural electorates, he concluded, th e group had advanc'd the opinion that an inflated exchange gave the greatest chance o. all-round relief. That suggestion ha? tern met by the cities with almost hysterical scorn. Members' would ' now go fpr six weeks or iso to their various non-paying farms, leaving it to tin Government, the banks, and city interests to provide! an alternative i‘ ("-ch.-mge inflation was out of the question.