The Otago Witness. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY (TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 1931.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 4030, 9 June 1931, Page 43

The Otago Witness. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY (TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 1931.) THE WEEK.

"Nunquam allud natura, allud sapientia dixit. * -Juvenal. “Good nature and good sense must ever join.”—Fora.

Australia’s Crisis.

Now that the Australian Federal and

State Governments have at last agreed to face the issue squarely, it is

possible to discover fairly accurately at last the actual position of the Commonwealth—and an examination of the outstanding facts convinces that if the situation has been referred to as a “ crisis,” that is a mild word to describe it, considering that we are experiencing something approaching a “ crisis ” in New Zealand. The lower prices for wool and wheat have reduced Australia’s income by £32,000,000, and the investigation of the committee of experts reveals that the deficit of the Australian Governments for the year ending this month will just about equal that figure. But for the coming year, according to reliable estimates, the deficit will be £39,000,000 unless something is done. That something must necessarily be of a drastic nature. The recommendations before the Premiers’ Conference are drastic; they call for economies in all Government expenditure, involving pensions, wages, etc., of

20 per cent.; they demand the raisin” of an extra £2,000,000 by income taxation, although it is admitted that the limit in this field has been nearly reached; £8,000,000 to £10,000,000 from increases in the sales tax and primage duties; and a conversion on domestic indebtedness reducing interest by 20 per cent., thus saving another £3,000,000. Drastic remedies, indeed, if the Premiers’ Conference approves them all, and even then there is left an estimated deficit of eleven millions! How this is to be made up, if the schemes outlined are adopted, and provide the revenues anticipated, the committee of experts does not suggest. It seems that so far from balancing their budgets, the Australian Governments must inevitably fail to do so for another year at least

Trade with Canada.

In 1929 New Zealand received exports

from Canada valued at £4,774,493, and exported to Canada goods valued at less than that

amount by one and a-half millions; last year Canadian imports into New Zealand were valued at £3,802,545, and New Zealand exports to Canada at £2,539,206 —giving us an adverse trade balance of £1,263,339. The decreases are accounted for by the bumping by the Canadian Government of a prohibitive duty on New Zealand butter, which constiuted 80 per cent, of our exports to that Dominion, and a retaliatory duty on Canadian motor vehicles and accessories. The result was that reciprocal trade between two sister dominions slumped seriously, but New Zealand was still left with a large adverse trade balance, and had, in addition, to seek a fresh market for butter. For nearly a year the New Zealand Government has been endeavouring to arrange a trade agreement with Canada, and has been consistently unsuccessful. As a consequence, the Prime Minister early this month intimated tliat he was tired of shilly-shallying, and placed all Canadian exports to this country, with one or two necessary exceptions, on the general tariff list. The effect on Canadian trade will not be considerable, though it will be beneficial to New Zealand manufacturers through virtually excluding Canadian competition. It is, however, to be hoped that this action will bestir the Canadian Government to a realisation of the advantages of the stimulation of reciprocal trade. It is deplorable that two members of the British Commonwealth should engage in a tariff war, particularly when it started by the exclusion of butter which Canada needs. Unfortunately, the Canadian Government has been the aggressor all through, mainly, it would seem, for the domestic political capital that could be made of a refusal to admit New Zealand dairy produce, and the Canadian Government must now make the first move towards a rapprochement.

The Winter Show.

The difficulties that are being experienced by the farm-

ing community to-day are considerable, but they have not broken

the spirit of the man on the land or impaired the quality of his work. This is a fact which whs emphasised last week, when, on the occasion of the Winter Show, the public had an opportunity of judging for themselves of the merits of the primary products of Otago and Southland. The show was a success judged by the standard of the previous exhibitions that have been held in Dunedin, and considering the depressed conditions in farming at the present time it was a notable success indeed. The number of exhibits was higher than last year, and their quality was excellent. The Winter Show has always served another purpose also in enabling the manufacturers of the Dominion, and especially of the southern portion, to make known to their friends in the country the nature of their •wares. This year the exhibits of secondary industries were of particular interest, and a splendid advertisement for what New Zealand can do in manufacturing. It is to be hoped that the Winter Show will never be allowed to develop into an exhibition for the townspeople, though the tendency -is, perhaps, slightly in this direction. The farming community has the remedy in its hands, however, and so long as it can put on show such interesting exhibits as this year, there need be no danger of the event becoming onesided.

“ None but the Finest.”

Not the least interesting of the con-

ferences that ,were held in Dunedin during Show Week was that of the

South Island Dairy Association, and not the least important discussion at that meeting centred round a motion of no-confidence, which was defeated, in the administration of the Dairy Division of the Agricultural Department. The rights and wrongs of the dispute are a matter for the dairying interests to decide, but the ventilation of the grievance of certain of the southern dairying units was valuable, whether that grievance is real or imagined. There is one fact sufficiently plain, that there has been a decline, gradual but marked, in the quality of New Zealand cheese exported to the United Kingdom. A speaker at the conference stated that statistics reveal the decl’ne to be from 55 per cent, of finest cheese in ;.'-27 to

17 per cent, to-day, North Island factories being the greatest offenders. It does not seem reasonable that the officers of the Dairy Division should be held responsible for this, but it is certainly desirable, that the tendency should be checked. Recent experience has definiteh' shown that Home buyers are losing confidence in xNew Zealand cheese, and the only thing that can restore confidence and retain the market is the exporting of the highest quality product. “ None but ° the finest ” must be the slogan of the Dominion primary producer, and Great Britain is evidently prepared to take only the finest cheese., There can be no use in criticising the decision, as the Home buyers’ wishes must be met, and ’t is. for the factories and, the Dairy Division to co-operate in seeing that only the highest grade cheese is sent out of the country.

Ths Farmers’ Union.

Mr Revie’s presidential address to the

Otago branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Onion was commendable

for its frankness and freedom from the common dogmas that are seized upon by most speakers, either for the farming community or the cities, at the present time and repeated times without number until they lose a great deal of their weight, the .text, as it were, of his speech was. that “ the trouble to-day is not so much that times are bad as that they are not so good as they were.” The lower prices for primary produce have reduced the income of the farmer very considerably, and while an improvement must be hoped for, it is useless to sit back and wait for it. The farmer has to realise, as the business man is doing, that a time of depi ession is the time for cutting costs without reducing the expenditure of energy. There is no use in crying for the return of prosperous times when they are as remote as now—the thing to do is to meet harder times doggedly, with, if necessary, a certain sacrifice. It is impossible to overlook, of course, the fact that the farmer has been forced to realise this already, in advance of the urban resident, but Mr Revie’s thoughtful and outspoken address deserves the careful consideration ® ven those to whom his implied criticism does not apply, as expressing a fundamental truth with an important bearing on the situation.

The Amazing Manifesto.

The manifesto issued by three Inde-

pendent members of the House of Representatives is an interesting,

and even a naively amusing document. The contention that in a time of economic crisis it is undesirable that the House should consist of irreconcilable groups is sound, but the reform suggested, of-a Cabinet elected by Parliament as a whole, is fantastic. It appears to be inspired by the rather mystic faith that politicians have in their own ability to get the country out of its difficulties. Were they seriously to review their achievements, they might, if they were honest, be forced to admit that a financial crisis cannot be dealt with very effectively by Parliament at all. The experience in Australia, where nothing was done at all until the Governments consented to consult economists and bankers and accept their aid, proves that the capacity of politicians is strictly limited. The suggestion that a non-party government should 'be elected is especially incongruous coming from Independents who have all quite recently forsaken their own parties. Probably they feel lost, and have some vague hope that the House could find a new prophet secreted under the back benches; but the hope 1 is vain as well as vague. The actual difficulties of electing an executive make the proposal absurd. If a Cabinet were elected it could not, in. the present state of the parties in the House, be representative, and it is better not to attempt to picture the trouble that the elected Cabinet would experience in choosing one among its number as Prime Minister. The other suggestion, that the size of Cabinet should be reduced, is sensible enough, but one wonders why ten is named as a sufficient number of Ministers. Why not eight or five, or even three Independents without any party allegiances to keep them apart?

Messrs Glasson’s, Ltd., manufacturers and warehousemen, of Christchurch, inform us that included in their recent foreign mail they received “an inquiry from a person in West Siam, via Penang, Straits Settlements, regarding our advertisement in your paper.” This is at once evidence of the wide appeal of the goods advertised by Messrs Glasson’s, Ltd., and the circle of readers of the Otago Witness.

A record musical comedy season fo r a local company was experienced last week by the Dunedin Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society with “ A Country Girl.” The play was staged for six nights and .two matinees to crowded houses. Considering that the charges for admission were lower than those usually imposed by the society, the total takings of approximately £ll5O were highly gratifying. After paying all expenses and accounting for a debit balance of £250, the society will hn'(> ’i'out £2OO in hand.