THE MEAT INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 July 1922, Page 5

THE MEAT INDUSTRY.

OPERATION OF NEW ACT. PLEA FOR COMPULSION. . (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, July 14. The Government should see that the compulsory clauses of the Meat Export ' Control Act are brought into force dur--5 ing the coming season, declared Mr. W. 1 D. Lysnar (Gisborne) in the House of » Representatives. If the Meat Export 3 Board did not take the necessary action, 3 then it would be the simple duty of » the Government to bring down legislation to enable Parliament to make the meat pool compulsory. If the pool was ’ not compulsory the scheme would not be worth the paper that it was writ--1 ten upon. The farmers had asked for 1 compulsion from one end of the country to the other. Mr. Sullivan (Avon): Do you believe in compulsory unionism? Mr. Lysnar: Yes, in this case I do. The compulsory pool should be brought into operation this season either wholly or in part. I hope the Government stm realise that they have a responsibility in the matter. The member for Gisborne added th£t he disapproved of the method by which the representatives of the farmers on the board were proposed to be chosen. The individual farmers should have the right to give direct votes -.for members of the board. The proposed system of selecting delegates at meetings of farmers, the delegates to meet in Wellington and elect the members of <the board, would have the effect of placing control in the hands of the mercantile element* “At the last conference individAl farmers were frightened to speak and frightened to vote when it came to selecting the men who should represent them,” asserted Mr. Lysnar emphatically. A member: Why were they frightened? Mr. Lysnar: They were frightened because their mercantile frifllds were there and were dominating them. They owed money to their mercantile friends and they believed that they would have trouble in their financial matters if they did not do what the mercantile community wanted. That is not a right position. The board should be elected direct by the farmers. The delegation method of election will not be satisfactory. It will pul power into the hands of the commercial men. The Government should amend the Act this session to ensure that every farmer shall be able to give a direct vote for the men he wishes to represent him on the board.” Mr. Parry (Auckland Central): “Do the mercantile men own the farmers body , and soul?” Mr. Lysnar: Pretty much at this juncture. The mercantile men say to the farmers, ‘You arc not in a position to talk. You have to do what vou are told? The farmers have very little freedom at the present time. The member for Gisborne added that another important point was the stopping of the c.i.f. sales system. Tf the board permitted meat to be sent to Britain under this system, the c.i.f. meat would come into competition with the other meat and would cause trouble and loss.