TO THE EDITOR

Opotiki News, Volume I, Issue 20, 6 April 1938, Page 3

TO THE EDITOR

FARMERS’ PRODUCE Sir, —I came across the following in a copy of. an Auckland paper, published a short time ago. It may be of interest to readers : ; Mr. Cbates complains that the Government ‘‘commandeered all butter' ’. If the Government pays for produce, surely it lias the right to dispose oi it to- the best*advantage. What would be said if the Government paid for produce and then handed it over to private interests to deal with as they thought fit? Whether the price paid is a payable one for the farmer 1 do not pretend t O , know, but that it was above the market price is evident by the fact that there is a shortage to be made good. Just before last election the acting-Prime Minister, Sir A. Ransom, himself a farmer, quoted figures to prove that it was costing New Zealand £14,000,000 a year to keep the farmers oh the'land. In spite of this, right at the beginning of the* slump (1931) the head of the Farmers’ Union (Mr W. J. Poison) . could say “very many farmers see little or no hope for the future.” Another prominent Nationalist (Mr Bodkin) said “even if labour were provided free-the farmers would not be in a position in many cases to provide the necessary accommodation and food.” Before the election (1935) it was estimated that 50 per cent- of the farmers were insolvent; these farmers had no say in the disposal of their produce, and very little say; in their purchases, either. When a farmer applied for relief under the Mortgage Corporation Act he was, at his own expense, placed under a paid manager for five* years. The manager (who could he the mortagee) supervised all his dealings. This is the freedom the farmers had under Mr Coates’ Government. Has Mr Coates forgotten that lie commandeered the whole oi New Zealand’s export, credits and placed them under the control oi .private institutions? 1 think. Mr Editor, the above will show readers that the. previous Government was adopting a very Socialistic attitude and taking away a great deal of that “pfecious heritage” that Mi Coates refers so pathetically to these days, it would bo a good idea if electors cast their minds back to *i:e pv l l o:mance of the late Govern ment and remember that these same gentlemen are at present busily engaged in trying to “pull the wool over the eyes’’ of electors. Even Brol. or Algic . lias a very short memory. It he had read extracts from some of tbe legislation enacted by the previous Government it would have made sorry reading from the viewpoint of the Nationalists. One Act alone gave a certain Minister almost unlimited powers, not only over our 1 arming friends hut over every other industry in the country. ; TWO SIDES. . ) HIKUTAIA DOMAIN Sir, —At a meeting of the Girl Guide Committee, held on 4th. April, it was decided to embark upon a scheme for helping in the upkeep of the Hikutaia Domain. Decently the Domain Jias been used as a rendezvous by various local bodies, e.g., Public Schools, Institutes, Girl Guides, as well as by private individuals. The immense and! painstaking work ol Mr Potts at the Domain is well known, and it is felt that wo. as citizens oi Opotiki, could well support him in this worthwhile work. We have opened a subscription list in connection with this cause and ask for your whole-hearted co-operation. Subscriptions may he forwarded to the Girl Guide secretary < r left at the “News” office. Thanking you. on behalf of the Committee, we are D. M. CLABK (President). L. M. HEEDING (secretary). SUBSUMPTION LIST A subscription list lias keen opened by the Girl Guide Committee for the upkeep of the Hikutaia Domain. Donations may he left with the secretary, •Mrs.' Herring or at “The Opotiki News” Office, aiul will be acknowledged through these columns. The list is opened with'a subscription, of £1 Is by the Guide Committee.