CHICKEN FOR MASSES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 163, 12 July 1928, Page 5

CHICKEN FOR MASSES.

DIET IN NEW ZEALAND.

SATURATED INDUSTRIES.

DUEL WITH THE MINISTER

A brief but incisive debate took place between the Minister of Lands (the Hon. A. D. McLeod) and Mr. W. J. Holds - worth, president of the New Zealand Land and Development League, in the course of a deputation which waited on the Minister from the latter body this morning to express a desire for an extensiod of the land settlement policy in New Zealand.

Mr. Holdsworth at the moment was syeaking of the development of small farming, and he commented on the fact that in a recent statement the Minister had stated that in the matter of poultry raising and other small farming the Dominion had almost reached saturation point.

The Minister: Not almost. It has reached saturation point. This is not a question of guesswork but the statement is based on facts.

Mr. Holdsworth: Well, how can yon claim that when eggs are «old at 3/6 per dozen that we have reached saturation point, at least in regard to the poultry industrv?

The Minister: At what period have they been selling at that figure?

Mr. Holdsworth: During the winter months. And in any ease poultry is one of the items which very rarely appears on the tables of families in New Zealand. It is an item which is almost confined to first-class hotels. Only at banquets and on such occasions do people in this country have the chance of eating chicken. You can go to America and find that there it is a general item of food. I consider that it should be equally as available to the people in New Zealand. Another of the small farming industries which might be developed is the production of pork. We learn that 90 per cent of the pork used in England is coming from other countries. We should be sending our pork to Britain.

The Minister: We have to prove that we can get it there first. Mr. Holdsworth: If we have it we can get it there.

The Minister: Oh. We have it here all right.

Mr. Holdsworth went on to say that inquiries were frequently received from people of moderate means, who desired to come to New Zealand and go in for small farming. Under present conditions there seemed little opening for such people here. On the other hand they found that moneyed men were taking up big areas and doing very little with them. If they could get these people of moderate means to come to the Dominion it would make a wonderful difference.

"As chairman of the Auckland Electric Power Board." said Mr. Holdsworth, "I am inundated with people from England, who are looking for jobs. Many of them come out with the intention of becoming farm labourers, but instead they herd into the cities. Something should be done to provide better facilities for newcomers to get on to the land. We have information that private enterprise is prepared to invest monev in such a scheme and, if the Government cannot do so, wc consider that private enterprise should be allowed to help."' In conclusion Mr. Holdsworth made out a strong case in favour of setting up a board of inquiry to make recommendations to the Government on the vitally important matter of a land settlement policy for Xew Zealand.