DAIRY CONTROL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLVIII, Issue 10943, 15 June 1927, Page 2

DAIRY CONTROL

AN INQUIRY SUGGESTED. MR PATERSON AND MR GROUNDS (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, June 14. Messrs Morrison, Smith and Morrison, solicitors' for Mr S. Paterson (late Government representative; on the London agency of the N.Z. Ldry Produce Control Board) to-day forwarder'. the following letter to Mr W. Grounds chairman of the Board) : "We write to you as 1 solicitors for, and under instructions from, Mr Stronach Paterson, until lately New Zealand Government representative on the London agency of your Board. Mr Patcrsoni iias had brought Under his notice various New Zealand newspapers, including the "New Zealand Dairy Exporter," of March 26 last, containing what purports to be your version of the history of Mr Patersou's actions in his capacity as such Government representative. "You were of course aware at the time when you made your attack upon Mr Paterson that even if he desired to reply, it was impossible for him to do so for a period of at least several weeks. To reply in detail now, after such a lapse of time, is obviously of very little use, particularly because such reply might well give rise to further controversy, and, again, Mr Paterson's replv to you could not by reason of his absence in England, be published until the lapse of many weeks after the publication of your 1 own statement. Mr Paterson therefore does not consider it necessary or desirable that he should at this stage enter into discussion on the merits* or demerits of price fixation of dairy produce in London. That issue, he points out to us is already settled, unfortunately at the expense of New Zealand in general and New Zealand dairy farmers in particular. Nor does Mr Paterson regard it as his concern at the moment to answer what he regards as specious propaganda by yourself and some ot your supporters, whose policy has brought the actual results achieved by price fixation to the dairy industry ot New Zealand and the interests of the Dominion as a whole. , . . , " But it is his concern—and it is tor that purpose that this letter is written—to repudiate what he regards as your gross misrepresentation of his actions as Now Zealand Government representative on the London Agency of the Control Board, and in that connection Mr Paterson would welcome an opportunity before a Royal Commission or other appropriate tribunal appointed to inquire into the reasons for the failure of the board's policy of absolute control and price fixation, of having his own actions fully investigated. ' "Mr Paterson also desires us to remind von that while you were in London you had several conversation's with him under a clear and definite pledge of strict confidence on both sides. He desires us to point out that for the purposes of your attack upon him you have not hesitated to refer freely to those conversations. In his view your attack contains some complete misstatements of fact. It distorts and misrepresents both his confidential conversations with you and the general aims and effect of his work, and it insinuates responsibility on his part for many happenings with which he was in no way concerned. "It would be useless to attempt to carry matters further at this stage, because, as we have already said, Mr Paterson is still in London, and unable by reason of bis absence to continue the controversy with you now, but he expects to bo" back in New Zealand not later than October, and if you then desire any public investigation such as that, for example, which would bo afforded bv a Royal Commission into the affairs of the Control Board., and the true history of the actions of its chairman and certain of its members, and of himself as Government representative on the London Agency, and into the real causes of what he alleges are the disastrous results of the board's policv, we assure you that Mr Paterson will be delighted to join with you in endeavouring to have such investigation brought about. " In view of the fact that your attacks on Mr Paterson have been of the most public character, we are instructed to hand copies of this letter to the newspaper press, and we are accordingly adopting that course." Interviewed to-night on the matter, Mr Grounds made the following comment :—" There has been no misrepresentation and no mis-statement of fact, and if a commission of inquiry could remove the harm that has been done I would gladly welcome _ it. but the damage can never be repaired. I shall bo prepared for the fullest investigation at any time."