COMPULSORY CONTROL OPPOSED

Taranaki Daily News, 27 November 1926, Page 15

COMPULSORY CONTROL OPPOSED

IMMEDIATE CANCELLATION TO BE ASKED FOR MR. TIMPANY CONGRATULATED ON HIS DISCLOSURES LEAGUE SEEKS RETIREMENT OF MR. WINKS Immediate cancellation of the compulsory powers of the Dairy Produce Board was urged upon the Government in a resolutioit -carried unanimously by a meeting of nearly 100 dairymen in New Plymouth yesterday. The board is to be asked to obtain increased advances on cheese, as it was considered the, present prices warranted an improvement in this direction, and it was decided also to congratulate Mr. T. M. Timpany on his recent “disclosures,” and to ask the Minister of Agriculture to retire Mr. T. A. Winks, the Government nominee, from the board. The convenor of the gathering was the New Zealand Free Marketing League, and Mr. H. M. Purdie presided. The principal speech was made by Mr. George Gibson, the league secretary, but several advocates of the board also gave their views.

The meeting had been called, explained the ehairman, owing to the position in which the dairy industry of the Dominion had been placed, because of the very low prices ruling to-day. The average dairy farmer could not get along under the present conditions. The object was to see whether the cause of the trouble could be removed to enable the dairy companies and the farmers to obtain the full value of their produce. At the present time they had lost the goodwill of the consumer, the wholesaler and the retailer in the Old Country, and they had to regain that confidence. The sooner they realised that the sooner they would regain the position they held before. “I suppose in the first place I shall be told we are whipping a dead horse, but it’s not a dead horse at all,” said Mr. George Gibson. “It’s the old horse that we have been riding right through. We’ve made certain statements and have stuek to them throughout.” -He could not say the same of the Control Board, which had made statement after statement, and whittled them away. At one time it favoured price-fixing, then it did not, and then it favoured it again. He contended that the Free Marketing League was maintaining the same position as it had three years ago, and conditions now justified the league’s attitude. With reference to Mr. Timpany and the Control Board, Mr, Gibson said ho knew him as a straight-forward man. He would not have taken the course he had unless he had carefully considered the matter previously, and he thought Mr. Timpany was well able to defend himself. But he knew that Mr. Timpany did not receive a notice of the last meeting of the board. His proper address was “Woodlands,” and the board knew that. It had been guilty of a grave dereliction of duty in sending the notice addressed to “Timpany.” It was essential in any case that Mr. Timpany should have been at the meeting after making grave charges against the board. But though the board could afford to spend money in cables Home it could not spend ninepenee on a telegram to Mr. Timpany. The last had not been heard of Mr. Timpany (applause).

CABLES AND INSTRUCTIONS. In one of the instructions published a week or two ago the merchants had been told not to commence selling produce after it arrived before the board gave permission. Another instruction indicated that if a merchant were unwilling to hold produce or credits for produce, any longer “the board shall transfer same.” What would happen, Mr. Gibson asked, if so many merchants requested transfers that the board eould find no one to transfer to? The board was responsible. Three remarkable cables had been received from London recently. The first, on November a, said the merchants were agreeable to work in with the board, but expressed strong antagonism to price-fixing as being most inadvisable and undesirable. Another, received on the 11th, said; “Business stagnant. Buyers resenting price-fixing.” This was four days after Mr. Coates had said he was hopeful satisfactory arrangements would be arrived at. On the 18th. it was cabled that 13,000 boxes of New Zealand new butter had been sold in England during the first fortnight* of November. That represented 325 tons, so that the sales for a week would have been about half, or 112$ tons. That was all New Zealand’s share of the normal weekly demand in England for 501X1 tons a week. That gave the lie direct to the statement that our trade was not being tampered with.

Mr. Gibson contended that it was not the merchants who were opposing our produce. They had agreed to the board deducting $ per cent, from their eom. mission of 2$ per cent. They would not have agency expenses in New Zealand. But if they sold butter at 3s more per cwt. and cheese at 2s more than the fixed price, they were allowed to charge 3 per cent. This was going to cut this way: It would be easily seen that the three trade nominees on the committee would not consent to prices being fixed too high. They would fix the rates low enough to enable them to earn the extra commission. ENGLISH RETAILERS’ ATTITUDE. A remarkable letter signed “Retailer” had been sent to the English journal, The Grocer, and Jiad been republished in the New Zealand Dairyman. Tn it the writer contended that compulsory control meant that the British consumer was to be allowed to have New Zealand pro-duce—-if he wanted it, but he was to be told when h'e could have it. and at what price. The letter proceeded that the measure was not designed to protect the British consumer or the New Zealand farmer, who was deprived of his freedom and judgment. "Plainly it was for the benefit of the fortunately highlypaid officials, who must and* will be appointed to supervise and carry out this extraordinary scheme.” The writer concluded by saying that, for years lie had taken pleasure in distributing New Zea-

land produce, but in future he would supply his customers with goods that could be purchased free from any control. He strongly recommended all retailers at once to commence supplying and handling goods produced in other parts of the Empire and the world, where there were people still prepared to give the Mother Country a straight deal.

“I firmly believe that represents the opinion of other retailers,” commented Mr. Gibson. He proceeded to refer to the contrast with the excellent results achieved under the Australian scheme. In New Zealand they had been warned again and again against the step they had taken, but the Australians were wiser. Their dairy board was following the policy advocated for this Dominion by Messrs lorns and Paterson. On the one hand was opposition, while the other - had earned goodwill which was bringing Australian butter nearer to New Zealand than it had ever been. It was a most serious position. New Zealand butter had stood first next to Danish, now it had lost its place. Argentine and Aus. tralian were practically on a par with our produce and probably soon there would be only one below us. perhaps Siberian. He wanted to say a few words about Mr. J. B. Wright, the commercial agent of the board. In the Press some time ago the board reported that Mr. Wright had said there was no difference between ’ salted and unsalted butter. MR. WRIGHT AND THE BOARD. Mr. Gibson said he would quote an actual instance. He knew of a firm that had handled the butter from two factories for many years, one of them being a Taranaki concern. The firn: had customers for a good proportion of each factory's unsalted butter. Last season it realised on an average from 6s to 9s per cwt more than salted. This season the firm’s customers intimated that they would require the same quantity of unsalted of the same brand and the firm advised their agent here to ask the board to instruct these factories to make the usual percentage of unsaltcd. Yet, instead of advising the factories as requested the board cabled to Loudon. It was informed by Mr. J. B. Wright that there was no need to make unsalted, as there was no sale. The firm told its agent that it had received no intimation of any kind regarding quantities shipped, etc., and upon inquiring from the factories concerned hs was informed no salted butter was being made because no instructions had been received.

The speaker admitted that unsalted was not worth an average of 9s a cwt. more than salted, but the board by its action had lost the factories the trade and a handsome margin' of profit. Last year Mr. Wright was sued for conspiracy, but lie refused to go into the witness box. This did not show he had the complete confidence of the trade. Mr. .Wright’s resignation had been in the hands of the board and the reply to the question asked at Stratford indicated there was friction somewhere. A voice: He’s a good fellow. Mr. Gibson: He’s a good fellow for Goodfellow (laughter). Continuing, he quoted the recent statement of Mr. Goodfsllow to the effect that the action of Mr. lorns regarding Mr. Wright did not occasion any sur. prise in dairy circles, as Mr. lorns had already “developed a reputation of being a versatile individual.” Regarding Mr. Paterson. Mr. Goodfellow had commented that, being a director of A. S. Paterson and Co., he should have known better and that "it was little short of a scandal that a man in his position, appointed by the Government and paid £lOOO a year by the producers, should condescend to make such an unfair and altogether unjustifiable attack on tho Loudon manager of the board.” Mr. Gibson questioned the right of Mr. Goodfellow to make such a comment. NOT THE MAN FOR POSITION. Dealing again with Mr. Wright. Mr. Gibson said that apart from his personal ability, if he were not persona grata with the trade at Home he was not the man for the position. Messrs lorns and Paterson had said ho was not the man, ■ I Mr. Coates had agreed. Surely that was sufficient grounds for them to make the statements thev haj. Mr. Gibson said it was well understood that a Gavel nment always endeavoured to appoint as its nominee on a board a man of business atinncn, a level-headed man who would act as a safeguard. Yet they had been told at Stratford that tlio Government nominee on the Control Board would not make a statement because he was the Government nominee. That was a contemptible thing to say. The Government should appoint a man able to express an opinion. If Mr. Winks eould not express an opinion,, the Government might as well have appointed one of the unemployed to the position. He took it that Mr. Paterson

DAIRY CONTROL

was appointed to the London board because he was a business man who had looked around and could express an opinion. The objection to Mr. Paterson evidently was that he had an opinion of his own and they were therefore calling for his removal. Mr. Gibson then moved:— “That this meeting of dairy producers already suffering severe loss and damage through rhe operations of the Dairy Produce Control Board, calls on the Government to take im mediate steps to cancel the compulsory powers which this autocratic body put into force in direct opposition to the expressed intentions of the promoters, and restore to dairy farmers their inalienable right to own and dispose of their legitimate ly acquired property." MR. HAWKEN’S STATEMENTS. He hoped, he added, that they would support the proposal in order to assist in '‘combatting that domineering, autocratic board that was doing so much harm and would do more in the future, not only to the farmers but to the residents of the towns.” In reply to a question as to the cost of control, the chairman said the board spent £17,000 last year in salaries and £2OOO on advertising. When speaking at the meeting in New Plymouth last June, said Mr. J. Hine, in seconding the motion, he had elight hopes that wiser counsels would have prevailed, but the Government had not moved, with the result that they were faced with the present position. The chairman had inferred to the loss and disaster the dairy farmers were suffering, but he was not in the highest company in holding those opinions. For the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. O. J. Hawken) in the course of his peregrinations round the country had said he did not view seriously the present slump in dairy produce. But the Hon. O. J. Hawken did not depend on milking 40 cows or so for his living. He had a better billet. One might venture to say, however, that if Mr. Hawken were depending on farming he would be seriously concerned.

Mr. Hawken had observed also that farmers did not employ enough labour and he deplored the drift from the country to the towns. But who was respon. sible for cutting away the farmers’ incomes by half? The man responsible now twitted them for not employing enough labour. Another suggestion of Mr. Hawken’s had been that more farmers wives should go in for raising ehicks (laughter). If any man said the Control Board was not responsible for so much produce being stored in Loudon, he was either a fool or a prevaricator of the truth. It had been said that the companies were responsible for the present position, and the board had disclaimed responsibility, but the factories were only following the teachings of the board' in storing. The largest holder of stored produce was the Waikato company. Butter graded at Moturoa last March was not shipped tili June. Who was responsible for that but the board? Referring to charges on shipments under control” he said that on 695 boxes from Tikorangi the board levy- was £lO 2s 9d and extra exchange and stamps 13s per cent. Nothing had been seen for it whatever. The butter had been taken out of their hands simply to pay the fat gentlemen in official positions. At least, they received something in return when "they paid the local agents. The sooner the farmers realised, that the better. IN A STATE OF JEOPARDY. Mr. Timpany’s seat on the board appeared to be in a state of jeopardy, continued Mr. Hine, for under a section of the Act any member of the board could be removed by the Governor-General at the request of the board. The Gover-nor-General would be Mr. Hawken, but he was not sure that the board would not be afraid to make the recommendation. In any case he ventured to say Mr. Hawken would not have the grit to shift Mr. Timpany. Mr. Coates had assured them in New Plymouth that the compulsory clauses of the Act would not be put into operation. It was humiliating for Mr. Coates to send imploring cables to the board. He was the “man who gets things done," but lie could not stop this thing. The dairymen had been betrayed and ■bought and sold by the men in office and the whole policy of the board was a shameful betrayal of the farmers’ rights and liberties.

Mr. W. J. Honeyfield said in his opinion the resolution should be more strongly expressed. They should add that the farmer be subsidised for the loss incurred, or that they should buy the produce of the country straight out. To this the chairman agreed, seeing fruitgrowers -..ere granted Id subsidy on the cost of production. If the Government offered the farmers Id for the cost of production, lie said, they would be receiving Is 7d, but he thought- the motion better as it stood and the other put as a separate motion. Mr. J. Marx, of Mangatoki, was then called upon to speak. One of the biggest breakdowns through control, he said, was the matter of advances. The system that had taken 30 years to build up had been altogether thrown down. They were now receiving advances of Is as against Is 3d previously. The Control Board had stated that their finances were assured and that they had applied to merchants for an increase in advan-

ces. There had been nothing of that before. That one factor alone condemned the scheme. When Mr. Grounds came back, he (Mr. Marx) was one of the committee of thirty. He had protested against the proposed course which was altogether different from what they were led to believe. ALLEGED PROPAGANDA. All that had been said against control was alleged to be the propaganda of proprietary concerns. The Free Marketing League had been started at Mangatoki by a unanimous vote and had nothing to d.> with proprietary concerns. The way things were going at present was being taken too lightly. They had had intimation that the course being taken was being resented at Home. They must remember that New Zealand was not the only pebble on the beach. Of the total 200,000,000 pounds of butter produced in New Zealand about 180,000,000 were being sent Home, where the total amount imported was about 800,000,000 pounds. By the way they were going they were asking for trouble, and would get into it if they were not careful. As had been forecasted, the tiling had resulted in calamity, and by Christmas son, thing like £70,090 less -■•<>’,:ld be circulating among the farmers of Taranaki. They had had it straight from ninny prominent men that control would be a failure, but the board was determined to go through with it. It

was only when the email cheques came along ou the 20th of the month that people thought of the ma / t, and it was only by “pegging awa/’ that they could keep it in their minds. Mr. J. O. Taylor said a considerable number of factory experts were being taken to tho . Argentine. The Tooley Street people had money to spare and would not be-dictated to by New Zealand; in fact, they had more money in the Argentine than in New Zealand. The present system would result in the undermining of the principle underlying civilisation. Mr. Grounds was dominating Mr. Coates, Mr. Coates was dominating Parliament, Parliament the Legislative Council, and the whole thing was frightening the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Siberian butter, said the chairman in response to a question, was the lowest on the market to-day. There was no I such thing as a control board in other countries —-New Zealand was the only one.

Mr. J. Hale asked that, with the best experts from New Zealand to help them, would not other countries be able to compete with this country.

“Not yet,” replied the chairman, “but they soon will.” If thd Government did away with the Arbitration Court, continued Mr. Hale, and let free labour come in they would find the cost of the material required by the farmers would come down.

A voice: What would you say if your milk was reduced in proportion with the price of butter-fat? (Laughter.) Asked how many firms were handling New Zealand produce under the Control Board compared with previously, the chairman said of the 64 firms in Tooley Street, eight or nine were handling New Zealand produce now compared with about twelve before. The Control Board had said it was not going to interfere with the distribution of produce. MR. CONNETT’S VIEWS. Mr. J. S. Connett said he agreed that the position was a very serious one. He thought that possibly a resolution should be brought forward and the best endeavours made to get an increased advance on their payments. The price ruling at Home at present warranted a better advance than they were getting. He thought that such a resolution would do some good. When Mr. lorns left New Zealand lie expressed himself opposed to any representative being appointed who had anything to do with the Waikato Association. He afterwards said that Mr. Wright was the best man for the position and then later changed his front and opposed Mr." Wright’s appointment. With reference to his appointment he knew that when Mr. Wright’s appointment was made Mr. Goodfellow used his influence.

It was arranged that a committee o£ members of both sides should confer and arrange reasonable prices. The promoters of the board were not in favour of that, but he was pleased to see that the original intention was carried out and that the new arrangement would be carried out satisfactorily. He therefore thought they would be well advised to leave the business in the hands of those men. When the time eame they had power to cleet the board members. "DON’T TOUCH CONTROL BUTTER.”

Another speaker said that by refusing to advance anything to them the Control Board would be beaten. They had had information that “Don’t touch New Zealand Control Butter” was being posted up at Home. If theirs was the only produce on the market then the Control Board could dictate, but this was not so. He was proud to have opposed control, but even if it were a success it was against the principles of any civilised country. A voice: Who was it carried control? Mr. J. Hale: It was voted for by the dairy farmers of New Zealand. (To the chair): When did the new season’s butter arrive on the market ? The chairman: In September and IGO,COO boxes in October. They sold 150 tons in a fortnight where before they would haye sold 200 tons. Mr. J. Hale. It’s jio use blaming the Control Board yet; but give it a chance. Uproar followed, and it was only with difficulty that the chairman restored order.

With reference to the retailers who were said to be advertising'against buying New Zealand control butter, said Mr. Connett, during the last 10 months the average price for handling dairy produce was 7jd per lb. Was it a fair charge? By cutting out the middlemen, said Mr. W. C. Green, they were cutting out the man with the money and who had done very well so far. The present prices warranted an increased advance. An advance being given by a butter factory was not a safe advance. He had 1 ;en told by Mr. Winks that he had' already made representations to officials in Landon and the advance in cheese was increased by Id a lb. But this was not so. Either Mr. Winks did not know what he was talking about or was only the mouthpiece of the Minister for Agriculture. HIGHER CHEESE ADVANCES WANTED.

Mr. Connett moved that in the opinion of the meeting a greater advance on cheese was warranted by the present prices and that the board be urged to endeavour to obtain increases.

The chairman thought this a very sensible motion, but ''lie had already stated that tin board members had said they could not obtain a higher advance. However, he agreed that it would not do any harm.

“It will do harm,” interjected Mr. J. O. Taylor. He seconded pro forma. “The higher the board pays out Hie longer it will take to get rid of it, he added.

Mr. Hine considered the motion might be passed. In proposing it Mr. Connett had done very good work, bur. in doing so he acknowledged that the board, the choice of the people of the country, was not capable of dealing with the produce without advice from the farmers. 'lhe motion was carried.

Mr. W. C. Green considered Mr. Tim puny should be congratulated by the meeting on making disclosures which should have been made by the board. He also considered they should aisapprove of the stand taken by Mr. Vv inks. He moved: “That thi« meeting of dairy producers tenders its congratulations to Mr. Timpanv on the stand he has taken in disclosing information that should have been made public by the board, and that it calls upon the Minister. of Agriculture immediately to take steps to have the Government nominee (Mr. Winks) retired from the Control Board.”

Objection was raised in several quarters to the last part of the motion, and the suggestion was made that this portion of it should be withdrawn, but Mr. Green said he could not agree to this owing to remarks that had been made by Mr. Goodfellow. He did not see

why they should not ask for the retirement of Mr. Winks, because he had not given satisfaction to the opposition. He did not mind it being divided into two motions, but he certainly would not withdraw it.

Mr. Marx said he was very sorry that the part referring to Mr. Winks was included in the motion, though he thought Mr. Timpany was deserving of commendation. Mr. Winks had performed ery useful services for the industry. Mr. Hine also urged that the second part should be withdrawn, as he did not think it would do any good.

Mr. Green said that after Mr. Goodfellow's meeting ami the resolution in the Waikato he could not possibly do as' suggested, but he was willing to allow the proposal to be put as two resolutions.

The chairman thereupon put to the meeting that part relating to Mr. Timpany, and it was carried unanimously. One of those present, then drew attention to the fact that, despite Mr. Winks' assertion at Stratford that he did not wish to make a statement because he was a Government nominee, lie had on November 8 at Hawera given statements to the newspapers. The second part of the motion concerning Mr. Winks was then put and carried by 21 votes to 10.

The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the chairman and to the speakers, proposed by Mr. Green.