SHIPPING PRODUCE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 230, 23 June 1920, Page 8

SHIPPING PRODUCE

INDEPENDENT LINE SUGGESTED

DAIRY ASSOCIATION TAKES ACTION

Ip; By Telegraph—Special Reporter. ' ■ Palmerston North, June 22. i;£ : Tito question of shipping was discussed at considerable length by the conference ffS of the National Dairy Association tof ':- day, when Mr. TV. D. Forsythe (Eltham) proposed a motion urging "that the time Has arrived when the Dominion producers should,. along with our Government. ; have a controlling interest in the fleet > for the carriage of our produce, nnd that it be a- recommendation to the executive of the'association to co-operate.with the I South Island Dairy Association, also with p.. 'wooJ;•••meat,''and other producers, to approach the Government, with' a view to if: ■ getting financial assistance or baching; and legislation .providing for a lovy on i.:- 1 • all exports to provide funds for the pur- ' pose of obtaining an assurod and reli-' ||>"..Vttble slipping service at reasonable rates g.- v of freight, or establishing an Independent j' . -shining lino if such becomes'necessary f- i The mover estimated that on the basis ef thirty millions a tax of one per cfent. t' would produce a tax of 2 per &F : cent .{600,000, and a 1 tax of 21 per cent. V .£"50,000. <■ ~ Mr. W. D. Powdr'ell, in seconding tte : motion, pointed'to the.success of the GisA borne farmers' soheme in purchasing l a 7 cargoliner, which ;had earned £29,000 in freijht on a hardwood cargo from Aust tralia on its,initial trip to New Zealand. ■ ' Tho freight on the steamer's run Home i' r was estimated to produce ,£90,000. .'. ■ ' iv .. A Vicious System. k:' ;•. -Various speakers supported the project, i. . ■ Objection , was raised by Mr." Moss 0 ■ (EketahunaV to. introducing the vicious f., - /.system'of'taxing tho producers. Once a f; ■ levy was imposed.it would bo very hard to get- it removed. The'burden should > not all be placed on tho prodilcors, If ; the factories would' amalgamate, as the .'o Gisborne farmers had done, they would ■ have no need to run to th« Government £. ■ for assistance. < In the course of a general discussion r: ' the opinion was expressed that the proposal as it stood- was too cumbersome. There was unanimity of opinion that aV ■ some measure of control of shipping > ./; should be obtained in the. interests of the producers, but that if the Governor' 1 • ment were asked to bear.the lion's share ? • the scheme would break down of its own ■ V ; weight. • Mr. MTarlano pointed out that the fc'c Shipping Eing was such a strong corpora- !' tion that the producers would shortly j feel the effect of its. operations.' The ttime for Government moving in the matter bad passed.- The dairy producers j.' : - should combine with tho wool producers s';'- and freezing companies in the matter., S . * Mr. Maxwell (Taranaki) said that once i; - the principle of an export ..tax was inv: it would lie made to apply to . many things.'. It'-was ridiculous for the i.'V':" producers to imagine that an. export tax f . : . would bo confined to the proposed levy. Ho also raised the question whether producers.were really exporters. Would '. theynot be crowded out in the scheme 1 by proprietary interests? Others than r: producers would, hold the control of ; . , shipping. . . "Nobody Wants to Pay." f According to .Mjr. Powdrell, almost everyone in the room was in favour of • tho scheme, but nobody wanted to pay ■ : for it. Cries of "Hear, hears," and "That's the j : . . . stuff to give jihem." • Mr. Powdrell said that if the produc- : - . ers pledged, say, a halfpenny in the t. . pound on their produce, they, would re|V ' coup the outlay, in the saving effected in freights. V; - ; Mr." Wright said that hitherto the op- : ■ ponents of a producers' shipping line were the proprietary freezing companira. These companies were being financed from America, and the could prove it. intimately Ithe. motion was carried ! ' unanimously, after being amended by ir the deletion of all reference to a tax or !;/) ' levy and the addition of a recommenda- {.••• • tion _ "that some scheme be devised to i : ■;'provide the necessary funds."