L. HANSEN.]

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Suppliers, this is your livelihood that is being dealt with, and we urge you to indicate by return if you favour or oppose the control of your produce by legislatiem. It is to work through Te>e>ley Street merchants, and the pre>me>ters suggest they can control them by this means. We doubt it. We would support and ask our suppliers to support a proposal to market produce in London and elsewhere by the producers, but object to compulsory control e>f produce under legislation that vests the whole industry in the hands of nine people. It is further asked that suppliers will send a letter or telegram indicating their support or opposition to the Prime Minister, and also the member for their district. Act early, as in a few days the matter will be before the House of Parliament, and advise us what you have done. Yours faithfully, Kiwi Dairy Company (Limited) : L. Hansen. I would now like to refer briefly to the history of the promoters of the Dairy-produce Control Bill. Two years ago the North Island Dairy Association called a meeting of all the factories interested, which was held in Wellington, and 131 factories were represented. Out of the 131 representatives a Council of the number of thirty was appointed.- On this particular occasion Mr. Grounds was not present, but I was at fault. Mr. Grounds stumped the country both in the North and South Islands respecting the Dairy Control Bill. I must say that Mr. Grounds is a first-class speaker, but to all appearances is a sentimentalist, and I submit that the Control Bill conveys nothing in any shape or form which points to success. I desire now to refer to the statement made by Mr. Goodfellow that he paid out Is. 6d. and Is. Bd. for butterfat last season, the former for butter and the latter for cheese. I maintain that Mr. Goodfellow's statement is incorrect. He may possibly have paid out Is. 6d. at the highest point for one month, but it must be remembered that Mr. Goodfellow takes off some amount for freight, the same amount for his box-factory, the same amount for his coal-mine, dry-milk casein, and for the management, and the rest is paid to the farmer. Mr. Goodfellow also made the statement that he saved £50,000 by holding butter back on behalf of his company ; but he did not mention that he went to London for the purpose of dictating to Tooley Street how he was going to sell his butter, and by doing so he lost £100,000 on behalf of his company for not selling it when he should have done. Now, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I would like to say a few words to the Hon. Mr. Nosworthy. If he is desirous of doing something which would be of lasting benefit to the dairy industry he should pass legislation to the effect that all cows and bulls suffering from contagious abortion should be prohibited for sale, and, furthermore, the Hon. Mr. Nosworthy should pass legislation that all animals be dehorned from birth, irrespective of whether they are males or females. I heard the Hon. Mr. Nosworthy speaking in Dunedin on one occasion, and he mentioned that 95 per cent, of this Dominion's wealth was extracted from the ground. If he would come along and help dairy-farmers on the lines the Kiwi Dairy Company are endeavouring to help them, in procuring high-butterfat-producing sires, he would be doing something that would be beneficial to the dairy-farmers, and, moreover, it would mean that the quantity of butterfat from each cow would be considerably increased. I submit also that if the Hon. Mr. Nosworthy would endeavour to carry out what we are doing it would mean an asset of from £8,000,000 to £10,000,000, while the £d. per pound which might possibly be derived from the Bill would be absorbed by the management. There is one other matter that I should like to bring under the Hon. Mr. Nosworthy's attention, and that is if he would come along and assist some of the poor returned soldiers financially, and endeavour to get money for them, he would be doing something on behalf of the industry. We as a proprietary company are endeavouring to promote the industry in the Canterbury District to the best of our ability, and we are not out to fill our pockets; but, as I said before, we want to assist the farmers to the best of our ability, and we are endeavouring to assist the farmers to the extent of getting high-rate-butterfat bulls, which will increase their butter returns to the amount of from 40 per cent, to 100 per cent. ; and, gentlemen, if we can get butterfat production per cow increased to, say, 50 per cent., it would mean that a sum of £10,000,000 would be put into the pockets of the farmers of this country. We are fighting hard with the idea of getting a Bill put through which will probably give from -Jd. to |d. per pound extra to the producers, but at the present time, I submit, we are at the wrong end of the stick. Mr. Pacey made a statement with regard to the exchange of the Danish krone as compared with the English pound. To-day it takes 26 kroner to the English £1 ; par rate is 18-15 kroner to £1 ; and following the quotations on our butter we were receiving 160s. when the Danes were receiving 2245. in Danish money. I want to bring under your notice, gentlemen, that the Danes are receiving over 2s. 2d. per pound for their butter. Mr. Pq,cey did not make that clear when he was speaking on the matter. I would like to put in tho following summary in connection with the voting with respect to the Dairy-produce Control Bill :— For. Against. No Record. Auckland .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 19 29 19 Taranaki .. .. .. .. .. .. ..19 42 18 Wellington (including Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, and West Coast .. .. .. .. '.. .. .. 59 29 46 South Island (as per Mr. Grounds' figures) .. .. .. 89 38 186 138 83 3. Mr. Langstone.] How would the exchange be in favour of Denmark if at one period you had only to give 18-15 kroner and to-day you have to give 26 kroner to the English £1 ? —As I said before, it takes 26 kroner to the English £1, and we were receiving for our butter 160s. when the Danes were receiving 2245. in Danish money : the Danes being the sellers, not the buyers. 4. You are representing a proprietary concern, are you not ? —I am, sir,

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