THE WHEAT DUTIES.

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LIV, Issue 21, 17 March 1933, Page 4

THE WHEAT DUTIES.

The agitation against the wheat duties continues to simmer in Auckland and the latest evidence is a meeting of pretest convened by the National Council of Women of New Zealand. The meeting expressed strong disapproval of the Government's action in setting up the Wheat Purchase Board "for the purpose of protecting the interests of a small group of wheat growers by artificially maintaining the price of wheat, at the expense of the community in general." The agitation in the north against the duties and the Wheat Board has been very persistent and the wheat farmer* will have to watch the situation very carefully to protect their own interests. The duties on wheat are just as necessary to the farming community as any of the high protective duties on imported goods which compete with similar articles manufactured within the Dominion, are to the manufacturer. The latter, if an analysis were possible, might be found to be a greater factor

in the present cost of living than the wheat duties. No one can say that the price which the grower is receiving for his wheat today is a high one and there are not many farmers who will make a profit out of their grain this season. Wheat growing is a vital factor in the national economy of this country, and anything which will have the effect of discouraging the farmer from growing his regular crops of wheat will react to the detriment of the country generally. Not only is there a large population in Canterbury, North Otago and other wheat growing centres dependent upon this industry, but it is one in which it is necessary that the country should be made self-reliant. There are other branches of farming less expensive and more profitable to the farmer than wheat growing and he is just as entitled to protection from outside competition as the manufacturer. There are other price factors to be taken into consideration along the line of processes of manufacture from wheat to bread, and an investigation into these might be worth while in any effort to reduce the price of the latter commodity to the city consumer.