BUTTER BONUS

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 136, 6 December 1919, Page 11

BUTTER BONUS

CRITICISM BY HON. G. FOWLDS,

(EI TELEGRAPH.—SPECIAL TO THB POST.)

AUCKLAND, This Day. The decision of the Government to pay £340,000 to the butter producers by way of a bonus was criticised by tbe Hon. George Fowlds on Thursday night. He said that although the actual quantity of produce shipped from New Zealand during the war years was less than before, the producers of this country actually received £46,580,000 more for their produce than they would have received at the 1914 prices, while the same producers had also received at least £15,000,000 more for that portion of their produce sold in New Zealand. In face of this, to go along to the Government and ask for a gift of £300,000 from the purse of the taxpayers was, in his opinion, a wrong thing. " Still," he added, " that is exactly what you can expect if a Reform Party under the control of the squattocracy of this country is returned to power at these elections." (Hear, hear, and applause.) At question time, a member of the audience, who explained that he was a director of a co-operative company operating for the small farmers, statethat the average income of those men was about £150 a year. Had the Government declared outright that it was going to requistion all the butter at la a lb there would have been no complaint, (but it did not. Instead it put on an export tax or butter levy of Jd per lb, and all that was being done now was the repayment of this money taken away from these farmers. "It simply means this," added the director, "that the farmers of the country have said to the Government, 'you have p.ot to pay that money back again, or we won't send a single Massey candidate bad: to Parliament.'" (Laughter and cries of " Oh, oh!")

Mr. Fowlds agreed that it was unconstitutional for the Government ( to make a levy without Parliamentary sanction. He was entirely opposed to unauthorised taxation, and fie promised to look further into the matter of the butter levy. If the Government had not taken Parliamentary sanction for the butter levy he would withdraw his objection to the payment of the £300,000, though he would maintain that the Government had lamentably failed in dealing adequately with the cost of livh-g and the matter of prices. (Applause.) A member of the audience :■ "If the farmers threaten not to send any Masseyite to Parliament unless they are paid this bonus, then I hope BiU will put a levy of 2d on them." (Loud applause and laughter.) Mr. Fowlds: " Bnt I am sure that Mr. Massey would not be gnQty of bribing the farmers." (Renewed laughter.)