An Interesting Letter.

Kawhia Settler and Raglan Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 223, 25 August 1905, Page 2

An Interesting Letter.

At a receat meeting of the Asckiaßd Trades and Labour Council, the following lett«r|was read from Mr Virtue, manager of the Northern Milling Company : "No doubt your Council Am watebod with mack interest tbe introduction nf Mr Hogg’s Bill for the abolition of the flouf duty, and its sudden death; it ie difficult to say whether this gentleman had tbo inter. e«ts of the workers at heart, or making a bid for notoriety, or is vexed at the Government’! neglect of his Latent talent—but if the latter it is obvious it was developed and collapsed like a bubble. Great stress it laid on the price of flour, but Mr Hogg cannot expect to get flour at his country eras at tbo city price and where manufactured. Naturally the oost of transit has to bo added, and the dealer’s profit, because in every elans of business there are wholesale and rotsil rates, Mr Soddon stated in the House of Representatives that the Northern Milling Company was sufficient we ght to keep the Flour Trust in order. It it not what the Floor Trust has done, but what it intended to if we hadn’t checked it The Trust has resorted to all kinds of tricks, but with your help has been foiled at every one, and with jour help wo intend to ke?p dear of trusts combines and associations, which will keep the Flour Trust from becoming What would bo the position if the duty on flour was removed P Up this way the ee?ionsness would not be quite so apparent as in the South, for instance. Duty-free floar would mean the shutting down of all flour mills, thus throwing & large number out of omvloyment. (2) No wheat would bo grown, as it does not pay to ship io London, being too for away, and having to roly on cheap casual freights. How many Southern grain merchants have come to grief during the laet twenty years by shipping to London ? (3) Our ooal mines wool 1 suflor considerably, as the milling industry is a fair consumer; without mentioning (te i«l raense quantity ussd in threshing wheat* (4) Farm labourers, croppers and threshers, with numerous teams of horoes would have to go seeking work. <5) Ths railway rorenne would suffer to such an extant by shrinkages that all classes of rates through, out the colony would bo iucreaoed to fill the gap; and what about tbe railway emptoyoo —would ho not suffer ? Meows Hogg and company talk about ths Ixmdon market for New Zealand wheat, but wben New Zea--1 tnd’s insignificance ia that line is shown by other wheat-producing countries, the removal of our duty to permit sarpluaages from those countrios which prohibit produce, etc , by excessive duties, would mean that we would be wiped oet of existence, so it is obvi- ns wo must be protected and grow for local consumpttea, to -'*wea« a slump iu the labour market. It M regretted that a few M’s.H.R. wftl Ak such dangerous bids for popularity, bnt ths * bone and sinew of the colony cannot b gulled.—?. Vmva, Manager Advfc.