A Farmers’ Excursion

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 29, 29 October 1934, Page 11

A Farmers’ Excursion

Si r —I £ ee from an advertisement in the Press that a firm of shipping agents is organising a trip to Europe for tamers. The trip is to occupy some fouinonths, and the inclusive (minimum) cost is to be £242/10/-. To' this jaus be added personal expenses. And it we put these down at the very moderate figure of £5O (plus exchange), the cos. is° brought up to over £3OO But this is not all, since .it may be taken for grained that many of those farmers wives w 9 insist on accompanying their husaands. in which case the double ticket will cost nearly £7OO. Now, we have been ton! repeatedly by Mr. Coates that the reason he was obliged to peg the exchange at pl- cent, was to save the farmers from rum. But surely if a farmer (and. there must be many of them to justify thus trip) can afford to splash from £3OO to holiday, his condition cannot be so desperate as Mr. Coates would have us liew. True there are hundreds of small farmers who have been so smitten by th degression that without some State aid they must walk off their and it is only right that such should be assisted at the present time, but that every primary producer who ships his produce abroad—be wo°l, xnutton, Iniiter or apples—should receive from the Government a bonus of 25 per eent. bis receipts is manifestly unjust. It is unjust not only to the farmer who sells his produce within the the unemployed, the aged, and above all, to the hard-pressed taxpayer, that his money should be taken from, mm am givenf maybe, to a wealthy station owner to finance his trip to Europe! The unfortunate who is out of work must fid up a questionnaire before he can recMv unemployment relief; the. aged h they can obtain thff.r pensions must sW that without it they would starve Why then is the primary produce exporter not treated in like manner? Why should he rmt ‘similarly be obliged to render to the Government a statement of his and expenditure before becommg ekgible for the 25 per cent, bonus? If this were done not only would justice be done to others, but thousands of pounds, of the public’s money which at present is. bein o gifted to those in comfortable circumstances would become available either to relieve the taxpayer or brighten the lot of the poor. —I am, etc.,