SERIOUS CHARGES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 269, 13 November 1935, Page 19

SERIOUS CHARGES.

ALL REBUTTED.

EXPORT trade attacked. premier "opt OF STEP." (From Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, November 7. , feff weeks ago Sir Stanley Argyle, V nf Victoria, returned from a °T£ « Omtrv. He o„c of tnP na+ representative and influential \ la ],ad t0 say abont 113 at Jme has teen heard with attention 'n r /rtumitelv, what he had to say ; w t ri" S tValian export trade when ' I back here was of a nature caliß.g, ,to drive all patriotic Austrat0 frenzy. He went publicly ! ani U a list of our chief primary proSWto say that he "damned them •n, faint praise" would be a very mild describing the treatment that he them He asserted that Australian Sh beef'is distinctly inferior to the S that Australian lamb fairs far Snff Xew Zealand lamb in quality; It English peopie do not like Austra•7n butter; that Australian wines are tadlv packed; and that they are labelled ■Loire" and not "Australian"; that Australian fruit ,is badly graded and «rcles«ly packed; and that one sliock- ££& bad shipment had destroyed Australia's reputation on the egg market completely' .- So serious were these charges, and so iama"ingwas the impression which they sroduced that Dr. Earle Page, as Federal jliiister of Commerce, felt compelled to take Sir S. Argyle severely to task. He read to the House of Representatives a lengthy statement of over 3500 words, in which' he!discussed all Sir S. Argyle's charges categorically and rebutted them seratium. As to the attack on the meat trade- Dr. Page pointed out that Australia is now the second greatest supplier of beef, mutton, and lamb to the British market; that the most elaborate pains are taken to inspect the cargoes and keep them up to standard; ml that as to chilled beef recent scientific advances already allow us to compete with our most dangerous rivals at Home with- every prospect of success. Second Only to New Zealand. As to butter, I)r. Page told the House that this attack would not have been made "by anyone who had. any knowledge of "the position." Already Australian butter is sold in over 40,000 British shops, and "the-number is increasing weekly." In four years Australia has increased ier<"'export of butter to the United KiSg(topi. by over 100 per cent, and during-the current year she has been surpi(s|?i-'oflly "by New Zealand. As to 1 ™~,thft*an]pression conveyed by Sir S. Argyle's remarks is that Australia holds a low place in the British wine market, and apparently deserves no better. The truth is that Australia comes third on the list of countries exporting casked wine to England, with 2,800,000 gallons, as against 3,300,000 gallons from Spain, and 4,000,000 gallons form Portugal—while France and South Africa export yearly to Britain about a million gallons of casked wine apiece. As to fruit, Br. Page was able to quote against SirS. irgyle, the evidence of Mr. C, J. Parnham, a well-known imp'orlferjwiib las just come back from London 'with the news that our fruit exports 'are growing steadily in popularity and success at Home, while he personally lias hooked large orders and has-had a most successful season. "Who," asked Dr. Page, "should he regarded as the better informed—the ,public man, who admits that he made opjy .pne >yisit- to Covent Garden, or the experienced trader, who has just come bn,ck from a successful selling trip!" "... !•'

. •• Unfortunate Egg Shipments. ; ■As to eggs, Dr. Page was able to show that Sir S. Argyle's charge was rased upon one or two unfortunate shipments sent Home in 1934 by unscrupulous exporters who deliberately evaded the regulations for inspection and for the time ruined the reputation of the Australian egg trade. But our : 'p Merchants have since got the better « this mishap and it is most unfair to them and to this country to drag tins solitary lapse into the light of day "j? 1 ! 1 use it as an excuse for Mixing a stignia to an important section our primary producers. A" l eMom that an y Federal Minisr has had the opportunity of making rompiete an "expose" of the malicious .. ""founded charges by which a cern class of critics systematically injure the prospects or and -i • SNWtii of our oversea trade; of d 3 111 os ®' regrettable that a man bwii +T, [Sale's standing should have Bmt j 6 CUl P rit - ® r - Page in his statetmru es f ( nbe d Sir S. Argyle's allegalmiiiorß ~ y, er - v and totally Dnwic ' finally as "unsound, ! unpatriotic," and nobody tip nff 66 ? 5 *kink tliat he handled ma +a 7 .^ 00 roughly. It is not for that *' le Remarkable blunders ZJ™ taDlejr I,as committed or to liaMn +T, i^ or them. But it is undeat in certain Australian circles Brifict • closel y connected with the fspeciallT lm - POl t ln " trade—and more strontr t i ln °^ our ne, there is a "colonel™ depreciate all things Products' ;' nC, " ding . even our primary Rood,J? comparison with British ciatiol, J 1 **- this persistent deprepart t n 0 i CO products is due in feirp i, 16er s ycophancy or to a selfish the i) ; ,°. Monopolise our markets for irom ft trade wll!le excluding us Tallv j' T market, the result is N im-,,v SCre i , table t0 01lr detractors . 0 I>es t commercial Wealth r interests of the Common-