PRIMARY PRODUCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 November 1940, Page 9

PRIMARY PRODUCE

BRITAIN’S REQUIREMENTS. ALLEGED CONTRADICTORY STATEMENTS. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) PALMERSTON N., November 5. Suggestions that instructions given to farmers about the classes of primary produce in demand in Britain were contradictory were made at a meeting of the Wellington Central provincial executive of the Farmers’ Union. Mr, L. Hammond vigorously defended the campaigning of Mr. Polson. M.P., He said that if anyone was to blame for the present position it was the Prime Minister or the Minister of Marketing. The Prime Minister had been asked to state clearly what was wanted but no such statement had been made. Mr. Polson had done no more than interpret the Government’s instructions. The Government, he considered, had been just playing with the farmers. It was not a political matter. It was a crying shame that they could not be properly led in the present crisis.

PRIME MINISTER’S REPLY. STATEMENTS RECALLED. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. “It is difficult to follow the reasoning in this particular statement if Mr. Hammond has been correctly reported.” said the Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser, when commenting on the Palmerston North report alleging the Government’s failure to indicate clearly the requirements of increased primary production. "As recently as last week,” said Mr. Fraser, “Mr. Nash wrote to Mr. Mulholland, president of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, and intimated to him the Government’s undertaking to buy all products that were wanted by the United Kingdom, and that could be produced for export during the 1940-41 season.” Mr. Fraser also recalled a statement made by the Government earlier in the year in which it announced that it would take the responsibility of a decision that all meat would be bought by the New Zealand Government, whether it could be sent overseas or not. At that time it was made clear that the farmer would be paid for it just the same. A few days later Mr. Nash also announced that they had told the British Government that the Dominion’s farms, men and factories were available to ensure that as much as possible supplies of butter and cheese would be increased. Mr. Nash said then: “We are taking the step of saying that everything that is produced will be bought at least by the New Zealand Government, and we will continue negotiating to try and get this surplus away. We must produce the maximum in this country.” Again it was stated by. Mr. Nash in the House of Representatives on September 4 that having determined that it wanted the maximum quantity of produce, the Government would buy it at a price to be agreed, and the price was likely to approximate the price the Government was buying it at for the current season.