STATE OWNERSHIP

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19888, 18 May 1936, Page 8

STATE OWNERSHIP

GOVERNMENT ATTACKED. MR W. J. POLBON HITB OUT. RESIGNING FROM UNION. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) HASTINGS, Sunday. A warning to the people of New Zealand that they must wake up and realise the seriousness of legislative steps being taken by the Government, whose bewildering haste in passing legislation, he said, had been responsible for people not realising what it means, was given by Mr W. J. Poison, M.P., Dominion president of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, speaking at the provincial conference of the

Hawke's Bay Farmers’ Union at Hastings yesterday. Mr Poison expressed the view that by next year the Government would have carried out its declared intention of socialising the ownership of land and that at the same time other primary products besides butter-fat would have been brought under the operation of a marketing scheme which put the farmer on even a lower basis than the worker with a minimum wage. Even farmers did not realise fully the restrictive character of the Marketing Bill, which absolutely limited their earnings.

Mr Poison complained that the Minister of Finance had absolute control of the Reserve Bank and the marketing pool funds. If a corriipt Finance Minister-, ever got control—the Hon. W. Nash was not corrupt, he knew, but only an idealist and dreamer—he could become a millionaire In 12 months. Under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act a worker could get as much for his labour as an employer liked to pay, but a farmer could not earn more than the minimum under the guaranteed price. The recent meeting between the Minister and delegates to the dairy conference was farcical, as the delegates were told they could discuss the bill, but could not alter it. Exchange Polloy Defended. Mr Poison , hotly defended the exchange policy of the late Government and said the policy of the present Government would" cause inflationThere was evidence this season that butterfat, left alone, would bring a higher return than under the guaranteed price scheme. The Government’s mortgage legislation proposals were a delusion. Mr Nash’s visit to England would be useless, as England, adhering to a long-declared policy, would refuse to make bilateral agreements. In vigorous terms Mr Poison defended his taking part in politics as president of the Farmers’ Union, saying the union was created l’or political reasons and existed for the same reason. He had for the present joined the Opposition to flght against the Government, as he could light better with a team than alone. He announced he was going to give up the office of Dominion president of the union, as he wanted unrestricted liberty to tight the Government's socialistic legislation. However, he would continue working in the farmers’ interests.