WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 219, 27 December 1916, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

LABOTR rJpREST. PERSISTENT RUMOURS (Special Correspondent). WELLINGTON Dee. 22. The rumours of brewing labour troubles continue, and at the moment they are more definite and disquieting than they were forty-eight hours ago. Perhaps this is clue to the fact that an anti-conscription conference has been sitting in Wellington during the last day or two and focussing a certain amount of public attention upon the policy of the peace-at-any-price party which seem s to be composed of the most bellicose people of the community, ready to fight anybody and everything except Germany and Prussian militarism. Enquiries in the usually #::ellinformed quarters, as the phrase goes, elicit no information that can. be taken to portend the near approach of a great industrial upheaval. The labour leaders still say the men, speaking generally, have no grievance against the employers, and are really anxious to maintain peace during war time, while most of the employers declare their relations with the workers have been better during the year that is just closing than they have been for a long time previously. But the quidnuncs shake their heads and say we shall see what Ave shall see, and some of the people in the high places are evidently anxious over the outlook. ——-—" ■, THE WHEAT PROBLEM. The members of the Board of Trade returned this morning from their conference with the millers and bakers in; Christclmrch, and are now busy preparing their report upon the whole question for submission to the Minister. Mr MacDonald himself Ava& unable to make the second trip south in connection with this mattery owing to the urgent demands that are being made'upon him in other- direction '»,• but he kept in constant communication with:the:members of th e Board during their,absence and now has his scheme for encourag* ing wheat growing practically finished. Of course neither the Minister members of the Board are yet disposed to discuss the matter freely for publication, but it is possible by putting two and two together to make a fairly shrewd guess at the nature of the recommendations that will be placed before the Cabinet. If may be taken for granted that the' wheat growers' proposal that the price : guaranteed by the State should be 6s 3d a'bushelwas simply intended to establish a high level from which it would be easy to descend. The Ministre's idea of value, on the other hand, has been obtained from a close investigation of facts, and probably it will be found to be in the neighbourhood of 5/- a bushel, a little more or a little less. This would enable flour to be sold at £l3 a ton and bread at 7d per loaf, cash over the counter. THE REAL POSITION| There appears to be no unanimity even among the farmers of Canterbury,, as to the cost of growing wheat, and, of course, th e cost varies in different localities. But the well-known Canterbury farmer who has put it down at 5/2 or 5/3 a bushel for a crop of 30 bushels an acre grown on land rented at 30/- an acre is confronted by%he fact that other farmers in his own district testified to the Board of Trade only five or six months ago that wheat in an average year was a paying crop at 4/- or 4/3 a bushel. But Mr MaeDonald is inclined to deal generously with the farmer, as he must do, probably, to induce the farmer to grow the wheat the country will require, and the present indications arc that the guaranteed price will be the one already stated. The position is very intimately affected by the enormous accumulating surplus in Australia, for though the Imperial authorities have purchased the remains of last year's crop, some 100, 000,000 bis., there is no guarantee they will take the surplus of the approaching season, which is estimated at not less than 110,000.000 bushels. With this enormous quantity of wheat at their, very doors the New Zealand farmers would be in a much stronger position with a guaranteed 5/- a bushel than they would be with a very problematical 0/3 a bushel.