FARMERS AND LEVY

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 53, 26 November 1930, Page 12

FARMERS AND LEVY

Will They Share Benefits? POSITION SERIOUS Deputation Seeks Relief The strain to which the Dominion’s finances are being subjected was dealt with by the Hon. Sir. Apirana Ngata yesterday, when speaking to a delegation of farmers who waited upon the Government to seek relief in various ways, and who also expressed anxiety as to their position in respect to the unemployment lew. The Ministers present were the Hon. Sir Apirana Ngata, Minister of Native Affairs, who represented the ActingPrime Minister; the Hon. J. G. Cobbe, Minister of Customs; and the Hon., S. G. Smith, Minister, of Labour.' The Hon. IL Masters, Deputy-Leader of the Legislative Council, was in attendance. The deputation comprised Messrs. D. B. Higgins, president of the Matamata Farmers’ Union; P. Hawke, chairman of the district ratepayers’ organisation; and Mr. K. N. Gouk, a member of the Farmers’ Union. Mr. Higgins said the matters upon which they desired to speak were more of necessity than demand. In Matamata they had arrived at the position that the more they increased production the more money they lost. The position had been brought up by the narrow vision of the Government, and by the burdens which had been placed upon the farmers. They were getting up at 4 a.m., and working all day. Their wives and children were helping with the milking and dairy work, and they had been compelled to decrease their staffs and decrease production in order to reduce losses to a minimum. Unable to Pay. At a meeting in Matamata the delegates voted for the repeal of the unemployment poll tax, he continued. .While they did not agree with it, they felt it was the most direct way of getting the money, but they contended that they, as farmers, should not be called on to pay the levy for those men who did nothing. Where were they going to get the money? They would finish up on the wrong side of the ledger this year, and had not the ability to pay. If men could not work through illness they, should be given orders for the necessities of life, for where money was given it was often spent on things which could be done without. He wbuld not say they would advocate refusing to pay the poll tax, but they did ask that no money should be paid unless work was given in return. By next May or June many farmers would be in the position that the necessities of life would haye to be obtained on credit, and he would like to know if farmers would be eligible for the emergency or sustenance allowance if in need of it. If one section of the community was to be protected, in regard to the necessities of life, the primary producer had every right to be protected in the same way. , Segregation suggested. Mr. Hawke suggested that there should be segregation of men who were willing to work, and wanted work, from men who wanted wages and no work, and others who loafed about, their only care being that they had sufficient to keep them alive. What the Government, should consider was ways and means of‘getting the people from the town into the country. There were blocks of land which wanted reading, and men should be employed in that way. Something should also be done to keep a check*on the men employed. Each unemployed man should have a book in which should be entered the last employment, date of starting and finishing, with space for the remarks of the employer as to whether the man was a good worker, when paid off, and why. Those were points exercising the minds of farmers, who felt that the sustenance allowance might be given, and no service rendered. Plenty of Work in the Country. Mr. Higgins mentioned the case of two men who, in the last fortnight, were employed in his district. They were asked to get up in the morning and go into the field with the horses, giving the farmer eight hours’ work on the land, for which they received £2/2/6 each a week. They decided that they would rather go on relief works at 14/- a day and no work on Sundays. Farmers were just approaching the harvest, and could employ many men. It was going to be ji strenuous time, and farmers were' calling upon their families for help. They contended that wages for relief work should not be as high as the standard wage. There was. plenty of work in a country like this, and there was no reason why men should be out of work. Circumstances Beyond Control. Sir Apirana Ngata said that he appreciated the extreme difficulties of the small farmer, but largely they were due to circumstances beyond the control of anyone in New Zealand. He meant the unexpected and severe drop in the prices of primary products. Time was when they could depend on one “leg.” If wool was down, butter prices were generally pretty fair, or if butter was down there was usually some compensation in the prices for wool anil meat. To-day everything was down, so that the difficulties, already great, were accentuated and they could not blame the farmers if they felt they had a grudge against the Government. He thought they would find that many of their apprehensions in respect to the levy would be explained satisfactorily. Resources Strained. In the cities, unemployment was caused largely by men coming in from the country, thinking the cities would find the solution of their ills, said the Minister. The development of the land was not a new suggestion, but they had to look at the amount of money available. Apart from the levy the resources of the Government were strained to the utmost "in order to provide work. The amount of £400,000 had been raised, and they were within £4OOO of the end of that. The idea was that as the fund petered out some portion of that burden might be taken up by the Unemployment Fund, which had been started with a grant, of £lOO,OOO from -the Consolidated Fund. Sir Apirana Ngata explained how the small farmers had been met by putting those whose unimproved values were below £7500 on the same basis for taxation purposes as those whose incomes did not exceed £3OO. He added that the Government had not only been finding work, but accommodation. The bulk of the so-called relief works were the ordinary public works of the country which had been accelerated to meet the needs of unemployment. Schemes considered •12 months ago had had to be reconsidered, as finances, instead of improving, were steadily getting worse. While conditions here were not so bad as in some other countries, they were up against it, added the Minister. It was stated that another meeting was to be held in Matamata shortly, and. it was hoped that the Hon. S. G. Smith would be able to attend and explain matters connected with the unemployment levy.