WOOL COMMANDEER

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 241, 29 June 1918, Page 8

WOOL COMMANDEER

PRODUCERS AGREE POSITION AFTER THE WAR MR. LYSNAR RAISES OBJECTION THE CASE FOR AND AGAINST The committee representing the woolgrowers of New Zealand met in Wellington yesterday to consider the offer recently made by the Imperial Government to purchase New Zealand wbol for the period of the war, and for one year thereafter. Following were the members of the committee:—Messrs. W. D. Lysnar (Poverty Bay, Hawke's Bay, and Dannevirke and Woodville districts), C. de V. Tesehe-maker-Shute (Marlborough, Nelson, and Westland), G. V. Pcarce (Wellington and Taranaki), L. C. Gardner (deputy, for Mr. G. Gould, Canterbury), and W. D. Hunt (Otago and Southland). An apology W(\s received from Mr. H. E. Worsp (representing Aucklnnd). When it was proposed that the committee Should be set up, all the branches of the Farmers' Union, of the Woolgroivers Association, and all agricultural and pastoral associations were circularised, and as the outcome of that action tho above committee was electpd. So that there can be no doubt about the. representative character of the committee. An official statement made l.y the members of this committee' runs as follows: "Amongst other business the committee considered the offer recently n;sdo by the Imperial authorities for the New Zealand clip. The committee interviewed the Minister in Charge of. 'the Imperial Supplies Department, and informed him that it agreed in the main with the conditions of the offer. It also made suggestions regarding some details." The Minister (the Hon. I). H. Guthrie), in a statement to a reporter after the interview, gave a little more information. He said that the members of the committee had been of opinion that the proposed terms of purchase, which were the same as tr.o.ie for the clip of toft year, were quite satisfactory to tho wool producers of New' Zealand. The representative of Poverty 'jW and Hawkes Bav, however (Mr. Lysnar), had urged that after the war the commandeer should not be continued, oven for one year. Mr. Lysnar said that the nu.tter hud not been fully considered in his districts, and that opinion was divided upon the question at present.-' Tho producers were all -in entire agreement on the point that the commandeer should stand for tho period of the war, but he considered that after the war the producers should get all the profits on tho free sale of their wool to manufacturers in England, seeing that the benefits would go not to the Imperial authorities but to the manufacturers. In every other, respect, continued Mr. Guthrie,-; the committee seemed to be of opinion that the actions of the Government in connection with the wool requisition seheiuo had the full approval of the wool-grow-ers. In they took the responsibility of answering for tho people they represented. There was a little discussion about the valuation of inferior and seedy wools and crutchings, for which classes the prices allowed have not been considered satisfactory. Assurance had been given that the New Zealand Government would do all in its power to place rhe dealings in these wools on a satisfactory basis. He promised that their representations should be communicated to the Prime Minister in England, who would place them before the purchasing authoiities.

This wns nil that Mr. Guthrie 'had to say about the matter. It is important to note the exact terms of the offer made' to the Now Zealand growers. The price is to lx» 55 per cent, advance on the New Zealand prices in January, 1914, and the offer is to buy at this price until a year after June 30 . following the cessation of hostilities. Almost inevitably, this will mean that two Now Zealand clip 3 will be commandeered after the war, as it seems to be most probable that the fighting will cease in some year at the end of the summer or autumn,'say about August or September. It may be. therefore, that the woo] commandeered will not all be sold in England until three years after the cessation of hostilities. "Regarding this wool, there is th» possibility that an impoverished world will not bs able to pay go much for its clothes, in which case a slump in price would come, or that there will be such a 'tremendous world shortage .of wool tlmt there will be unprecedentedly 1-iph prices. One of the conditions' of the existing purchase agreement is that if ary wool not required for war nurposes should be sold in the open market at a profit after allowing for all charges. 5(1 per cent, "of the nrofit made is to be returned to the New Zealand producers. In practice it has happened that no profits have been returned, probably because all the wool is sold at fixed prices to manufacturers, who have to make up with it a certain quantity of 'khaki and other army woollens also at fixed prices. Mr. Lysnar and liia friends are quite willing that their wool ehould be taken for the period of the war, but they think that after the war the producers should be given whatever advantage there may bo in a free market. He suggests that a conference ought to be held.

Presumably tho reason for the Imperial Government purchasing tho wool for such a period aften the war is to ensure that none of the wool .shall go to Germany under any circumstances, and admittedly it would be difficult to prevent German agents from purchasing the wool under any other conditions. There is 110 certainty that there will bo such a demand for wool after the war that it will be impossible to meet it. When Now Zealand begins to take off the first clip after the cessation of hostilitios there will be an accumulation of at least a clip and a half;' There is more than a whole season's clip in the stores now. . The same condition of affairs will prevail in Australia as well at tho end of the war, so that if there is. shipping available there will be enough wool to satisfy a very big demand indeed. The chances aro that there will not be such a supply of shipping, even allowing for the help that will come by the cessation of submarine activities. To lift the wool and other produce in New Zealand now, from seventy to eighty big cargoes would have to be loaded. Ships will have to come here to return' our men, and they will want-back loading, but it is too much to expect

that there will be ships in such large numbers as will bo required to lift that accumulation of produce after the war.