Empire Trade, Not Free Trade, Wasted

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 309, 21 March 1928, Page 8

Empire Trade, Not Free Trade, Wasted

FARMERS’ OUTLOOK CHANGED MINISTERS CANDID ADVICE (SI S. S Special Reporter.) WAIUKU. Txu, “Free trade is impossible- ... want more Empire trade, if knock the Old Country business, our shutters will h. . within 24 hours.” U|l ’T'HE Minister of Industries Commerce, the Hon. A n v Leod, delivered himself thus L " large gathering of farmers here U evening, when he pronounced himlS; a strong advocate of stressed what he considered to be u futility of the free-trade princinles * The taxation imposed bv the tariff revision. Mr. McLeod reJS farmers, dul not reach one the concessions which the Goverel ment had given them— and given IT complainingly. s en 08 ’ “Germany has to forgive us aim we have to forgive Germany a gre«. deal yet before we can trade with her on the basis that prevailed before the war,” he went on, “and a lot of bad blood has to be wiped out before we can trade with her on the terms that we trade upon with our own kith and kin.” ORGANISATION NEEDED Mr. McLeod turned to industries generally, and said that after visit ing and inspecting the majoritv of far tories in New Zealand, he was convinced that the work in these in stitutions would require a great deal of organisation before satsfacton conditions were secured. Incidentally he retained the firm belief that a similar- tour of inspection would serve to alter the decidedly rural views oi many farmers throughout the Domin. ion. A candid word of very sound advice was given to the farmer members of his audience by Mr. McLeod, who recorded his own change in outlook after seeing factory conditions. FARMERS’ “KINKS” “I was bred a farmer, and I have a lot of the farmer’s peculiarities and kinks.” he said, “but after going through the factories in different parts of the country and seeing the hundreds of men and women working there, 1 have changed a little. “I took up the portfolio of Industries and Commerce possessed of manr of the prejudices of the man on the land,, and I had the idea that the factories were places where 8,000 or 10,000 of our people loafed in the most approved style. Generally speaking, I have come away with the opposite opinion. “A great deal of our factory work requires reorganisation, and I blame the employer as well as the employee. It would do many farmers good if they could go in and see for themselves these people at work. In many cases they would change their views.” The Minister expressed the conviction that piecework conditions must come to New Zealand, providing as they would a greatly increased output. “Of bourse the farmer’s wort is piecework,” Mr. McLeod added. "It is all one piece, and he cannot let that piece go.” (Laughter.)