N.Z. LABOUR PARTY.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5440, 26 June 1929, Page 4

N.Z. LABOUR PARTY.

MR. SAVAGE AT PAEROA. THE MARKETING OF GOODS. Mr M. J. Savage, M.P., deputyLeadcr of the Labour Party, gave an .interesting address in Paeroa on Friday evening. In addition to the. several subjects dealt with in our issue of Monday, Mr Savage discoursed on the matters of education and marketing. Education. The present system of education was training men to become engineers and then putting them on relief work with a long-handled shovel. Not much was done for agricultural education. Science and invention had put men on the streets, and Labour’s reply was to put them on the land. A Voice : How are you going to do it ? “With the combined efforts of the Ministers of Labour, Lands, Agriculture, and Education,” replied Mr Savage. Greater use should be made of the education system to help men go on the land. The pioneers knew what hardships were, but competition was not so keen in their day, and they would be unselfish enough not to want people to-day to undergo the same trials. Men with the added advantage of some agricultural learning had a better chance of success, Marketing. The only attempt at organised marketing had been the Dairy Control Board, said Mr Savage, but already the Tooley. Street merchants seemed to have a half'-Nelson on that. Mr Savage then proceeded to read an extract from the Encyclopaedia of Labour “Bulk Purchasing Proposals of British Labour Party.—The Labour Party policy is that the import of essential foodstuffs should be conducted as a public service by corporations, working under Government supervision, for the country as a whole. By this means the interests of the consumer in a steady, reliable supply of foodstuffs at lowest prices consistent with the maintenance of production can be achieved. Considerable economies can be effected in the reduction of the commercial charges of shipowners, bankers, insurance companies, etc., as the experience of the Wheat Commission during the war amply confirms.. Further economies would result from the mere concentration of buying. Even in war circumstances the administration cost figure; of the Wheat Commission worked out at the low percentage of one-eighth of one per cent, of the turnover,

“A State Wheat Import Board. —A State Wheat Import Board would be appointed as a statutory corporation under powers defined by legislation and with a necessary guarantee of working capital to purchase from overseas the wheat required for British mills. It would buy in bulk from the organised farmers of the Dominions and other countries ; it would endeavour to give stability to production and price by placing contracts over a period of years. Other stable foodstuffs, such as butter, cheese, dried fruits, etc., should be dealt with on similar principles. In some cases the importer: ceuid be grouped into one controlled organisation ; in others the existing machinery of the co-operative movement utilised and developed. Raw material, such as wool and cotton, could be similarly treated equally advantageously.

“Capital of . the English Wholesale Co-operative Society.— To-day the English Wholesale Society has a share capital of over £6,000,000 and a loan capital of £26,000,000, with reserves and depreciation funds of nearly £B,000,000, while the total net sales amount to about £80,000,000 annually, of which some 40 per cent, are its own productions. “Scottish Wholesale Co-operative Society.—Share capital £1,500,000 and loan capital of £6,000,000, with reserves of £1,250,000 ; while the total net sales amount to about £18,000,000 annually. “Retail Societies.—The retail societies, of which there are over 1300, have 5,000,000 members, who have provided them with over £75,000,000 of share capital. They employ about 130,000 workers and distribute goods to the value'of nearly £200,000,000 annually.

“Speaking of agricultural co-opera-tion Mr A. V. Alexander, secretary to the Parliamentary Committee of the Co-operative Congress and Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in the first Labour Government (now first Lord of the Admiralty), says : Tn this latter case* quite different forms of co-operation are .seen, for here producers combine together to sell their produce collectively, not to themselves, but to the outside world. Wheat, butter, cheese, eggs, fruit, and other agricultural and horticultural produce are dealt with in this manner. Developments are, however, taking place to bring the two forms of cooperation into harmonious relationship. Already the British co-opera-tive movement has its direct connections with the Empire, and is developing Imperial trade without special reliance upon Imperial preference. Thus industrial co-operative consumers in this country are taking the produce of co-operative producers in New Zealand through the medium of the N.Z. Produce Association, which is owned jointly by the co-operative producers of New Zealand and the co-operative consumers of England.’ ” The men of the British Labour Party had been accused of not grappling with details,' continued Mr Savage, in referring to the above. It was to be seen whether they could not bring the producer’ of New Zealand and consumer together. In conclusion Mr Savage remarked, “I stake my life they will.” Vote of Thanks. A Ctor Mr Savage had answered several questions put by members of the audience Mr H. Poland rose to propose a vote of thanks to Mr Savage. Mr Poland said he had known Mr Savage for six years in the House, in which he was one of the ablest speakers—not quite an orator, but recognised as an

established debater by all shades of politics. Land settlement was important, as was the shortage of cash. In Mr Savage New Zealand possessed a man qualified to become a Minister of the Crown and help New Zealand to progress. Men had gone to bed as private members to wake up in the morning as Ministers of the Crown, and no one more surprised than themselves. In returning thanks Mr Savage said he regretted that Mr Poland and he were not still associated. Mr Savage thanked the audience for their interest and for the welcome they had given him. .