CONTROL OF MANURES BY GOVERNMENT

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 7, Issue 395, 26 July 1918, Page 1

CONTROL OF MANURES BY GOVERNMENT

Minister for Agriculture's Views,

On May 24th last a gathering; of Mauku farmers took advantage of the occasion of their meeting to forward to the Minister for Agriculture the following resolution : "That the Government be urged to take over the control of the manure market"

In acknowledging the receipt of a copy of the resolution the Pecretary of the Department of Agriculture, under djte of July 18th, stateathat he is instructed by the Hon. W. D. 8. Macdonald (the Minister for Agriculture) to reply, " That as regards animal manures, the position is that the scarcity of shipping has made it very difficult to obtain consignment* from India, and that the export of them from Australia has been prohibited by consent of the Minister of Trade and Customs there. Recent enquiries by this Department as to the issue of these permits elicited the information that although soma little time back it became necessary, having regard to local requirements, to limit exports, there is now little restriction, if any, on the export of animal manures from the Commoiwealth. In a report by the Board of Trade, dated 31st December last, it was stated that owing to the export of basic slag from the United Kingdom having been prohibited, to the difficulty of procur'ng tonnsgfl for the transport of guano to New Zealand, and to the fact that in consequence of war conditions the supply of more than one half of the importations of superphosphates had bean cut off, Australian superphosphate was the only phosphatic manure available to this Dominion Since then the Commonwealth authorities have, in view of the necessity of retaining sufficient to supply local orders, prohibited the export of superphosphate except with the donsent of the Minister of Trade and Customs there. In reply to recent representations by the New Zealand Government, the Australian authorities stated that general applications for permits for forward shipments cannot be granted, but each application will be dealt with as it arises. In view of difficulties and expense at present attending the importation of fertilisers it is considered that prices are not unreasonable."

[ln his belated reply the Hon W. D. 8. Macdonald makes it pretty clear that the Government has no intention of doing anything in the direction of the regulation of manure prices. The Times has on various occasions pointed out in its leading columns that it is only by increasing its exports that New Zealand can hope to pay its share of the cost of the war,-that this can only be done by allowing the farmer jto obtain manutes at a cost at which it can be profitably applied to the land, and that as farmers' produce is commandeered at a price far below what could be obtained for it in the open market it is the duty of the Government to prevent them being exploited by the manufacturers of manures. What we claim is that local makers have seized the opportunity afforded t» them by the shortage of shipping and the consequent reduction of competition to raise their prices most unreasonably. The Government could have eased the situation wonderfully if it had only insisted that half the shipping space monopolised by non- essential articles, such as motor-cars, should be devoted to the carriage of manures.—Ed. ]