NEW ZEALAND' PRODUCE

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 2, 2 July 1919, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND' PRODUCE

REPLY TO A MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

TO IHE EDITOR. Sir,—My attention has'been drawn to' a statement in your issue of 10th June purporting to be made by Sir James Allen, in which he refers to certain remarks made by me at the annual conference of the National Dairy Association at Palmerston North.

Sir James Allen states: "The remarks of Mr. Morton that Mr. Massey promised to discuss certain questions with the Food Controller, and did not do so, are, so far as my knowledge goes, incorrect. If the reference by Mr. Morton is to the question of insurances, then Mr. Massey did deal with it."

I regret that Sir James Allen should have made such a statement on an incomplete knowledge of the actual facts, which are as follow:—On 24th April, 1918, the Dominion Cheese Committee waited on Mr. Massey, who was leaving for London within a few days from that date, and discussed with him certain questions in connection with the conditions attached to the sale of dairy produce to the Imperial Government, and after fully explaining these questions to Mr. Masse}' they asked him to discuss them with the Food Controller personally, and endeavour to nave the terms relating to the purchase amended so that.in any future contract the conditions then suggested would apply. This Mr. Massey readily promised to do. On his return to the Dominion he was met by the same committee, and in reply to my question: "Did you" discuss these matters with' the Food Controller?" Mr. Massey replied, "No," without, any qualification or any explanation as to why he had not dona so. The question of insurance mentioned by Sir James Allen was one of the matters to be discussed. And yet after Mr. Massey said he did not discuss this with the Food Controller, Sir James Allen says Mr. Massey did deal with it. Seeing that the matter of the committee's request was one of great importance to the dairying industry, and that had the various points asked for been agreed to by the Food Controller, it would have saved the dairy farmers of the Dominion something like £100,000 per annum, the committee did expect that the Prime Minister would have done his utmost to get the Food Controller to agree to the amended conditions. To say that they were disappointed with Mr. Massey's reply of "No," is putting it very midly indeed. The only possible explanation of his failure is put very plainly in his letter to the committee's official representative, written in London on 22nd June, 1918, in which he said "I have a thousand other matters to attend to besides the contemplated sale of New Zealand dairy produce to the British Empire." In Sir James Allen's statement be endeavours to bolster up the position, which he has apparently already taken up with regard to the Equalisation Fund, viz.; that the establishment of the fund was, agreed to and approved of by the representatives of the dairy industry themselves. Sir James Allen should know full well that the dairy industry, arid its representatives, have never ap- ; ' proved of the principle which the Gov-i eminent laid down, viz., that the cost of equalising the price of local and export butter should >be borne by the producers.' They have always contended .that if butter had to be sold von the local market at less than its value for export, then the Consolidated Fund should be liable to' make up such difference. And because the Government failed to recognise "The justice of this contention and actually commandeered butter at less than it cost to produce, and aj; even less than the price they themselves had fixed as the price the factories should receive, the representatives of the butter companies agreed to equalise prices in order that this flagrant injustice should not be perpetrated at the expense of those factories supplying the local market. And now the Government, after having virtually; compelled the dairy companies to adopt the principle of equalisation, seeks +o shelter itself from its just liability,by saying that the industry agreed to the. principle voluntarily, which is a gross injustice and; an absolute misrepresentation of the actual facts.

Finally; Sir. Jauies Allen makes an allusion to the forthcoming General Election. Let me assare him that the Party, of which Mr. Massey is the leader, has had no more loyal supporter that I have been for the past thirty years. I am, etc., ■ .

ARTHUR MORTON,. ■_. President National Dairy Association. 28th June. ■