"BRITISHER" REPLIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 46, 24 February 1927, Page 8

"BRITISHER" REPLIES.

SAVE THE MARX.

In answer to my letter, your correspondent has signed himself "A Great Deal Afore British" than "Britisher.' He might more fittingly hare signed himself. "A Great Deal More Socialistic than the British." For. by his frank statement "that he heard particulars of the buver» of one firm, which has cleared about £S(t.O00 on one season"* operations," he might even be induced to own allegiance to the Socialist Labour party of New Zealand, which has a decided anti-British policv, and a marked sympathy with Soviet Russia. Such remarks are conclusive evidence of my contention that our business men have been woefullv snbjected to the gross indignity of being "painted as greedy, cunning, rapacious exploiters and parasites, living on the producers of our Empire. Assertions of this character without advancing conclusive evidence are wrong, and even wicked. At the same time they fit in exactly with the virulent class-conscious propaganda of the Socialists, which is deliberately designed to create a cleavage in the ranks of the people of our Empire. For the producers to assume, as they have done in New Zealand, that they have a claim to interference in the marketing of butter in Great Britain is a silly misconception. It might as well be that the American tobacco growers hive a claim to interfere with the smokers of lie world, the Chinese rice growers with the rice consumers in New Zealand, the peanut growers with monkeys, the rabbits with fur-wearinji ladies. The hypothesis is obviouslv weak and hopelessly incorrect. Markets, "which are groups of customers, surely belong to the, business men who create, serve and retain them. For producers to attempt to interfere with these markets and usurp the place of the owners of customers, such tactics must onlv end in dire failure to the producers, and at the same time earn the resentment and antagonism of the owners of these markets. And this is exactly what has happened with the British butter market. The State-authorised Dairy Board, by its policy of interference, has apparently ruined for the time one of New Zealand's main avenues of revenue, as the following facts will substantiate, viz.:—The average weekly sales made by the board to date is 25,00 ft boxes. The estimated arrivals of this seasons production is 1,400,000 boxes to April. Assuming that the export quantity this year will be 70.000 tons, which is a reasonable expectation, some two years will be required to clear the output- But it must be taken into consideration, in addition to this debacle, another negative factor will operate against our chances. From now on the production from the Northern Hemisphere will come into the market. In other words, New Zealand has passed the peak of her selling period. Her main chance has gone. Nothing, it may be said with certainty, but an absolute miracle can save a disaster in this year's sales. At this time of the year hardly a box of our butter is left unsold. It must be conceded by inyone with average intelligence that there is something radically wrong in the Dominion of New Zealand, to smash the only market for our butter. ' BRITISHER.