WHEAT DUTIES

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 47, 24 August 1931, Page 6

WHEAT DUTIES

(To the Editor.) Sir,—lt seems that wherever representatives of producers or manufacturers from Canterbury and Otago meet on public busi. ness, whether it be city council'meetings or manufacturers' conferences, the- wheat question is brought:up. The fact of the matter is that tha wheat interest!) of the bouth sheltered, by prohibitive duties have been living in peace at the expense of the rest of the Dominion. They rcaiite at, we do that these duties should be abolish* ed, but unfortunately thin will not «tiit their pockets. The southerner interests are in fear and trembling that the «hJ of the wheat duties is in sight, and hence we see them endeavouring iq -bltttt-the community by. springing theM-.fluentJotis without notice on the New Zealand Manrf' faclurcrs Conference,. endeavouring n<j doubt to obtain the implication th«t their views are accepted by .the. New Zealand manufacturers as a whole. It is not right-that a handful of *Wt^ growers should be protected whilst every other producer has to compete with tfi'e* worlds markets. It in not right that irf order to protect thcae wheatgrowers every citizen of the Dominion should pay dmibU for his bread. It is not Tight that thousands of poultryrnen should pay high prices for poor quality fowl wheat, an 4 by this restrict the best avenae for eJossr' settlement that this Dominion -possesses, liiven cheap wheat poultry products coufdi be made a valuable export, and at the same time help to relieve the distress itt the cities. A poultryman .could (rapport a family, on one acre of land which n«e<f not be of. very good quality, and aitn« same time be a nource'of wealth to the country.. If the duties were ret*ise4 on flour and abolished on wheat it weal* not mean unemployment as; the flour wWrf be manufactured in this; country; and should not affect the millfng industry.—l am, etc., - ■ ' NORTH ISLAND. (To the Editor.) ' Sir,—During: a discussion on the wheat duties that took place at the. New Zealand Manufacturers' Conference, Wellington, on the.2oth.inst., and as reported in the Press, Mr. • AVoolf airily , disposed of any claims which, poultry keepers. might; have for consideration by remarking that "there were , over 6000 wheat growers, while there .were only . 130 individuals affected who made a living entirely by poultry farming." It would be interesting to learn from Mr. Woolf how many of the 6000 wheat growers make their living entirely from that source. Probably, if poultry-keepers were guaranteed by a paternal Parliament 2s 6d per dozen-for their eggs all the year round, and wheat growers had to sell i on.the open market without any guarantee, the number of their respective dependants would be' reversed. . ~ - . .;,. •

In the matter of actual comparative, annual value of products may I point out that official Government estimates assess1 the annual value of poultry products I (eggs and table poultry), at, £2,700,000. i The value of last season's wheat crop of! 6,660,000 bushels even at an inflated price of 4s 6d per bushel was about £1,500,000. li the poultry industry is so insignificant aa the speaker,implied why, is it. called upon to subsidise the virile (?) wheat industry to tig tune of.about £150,000, per annum throush the sliding scale? Mr. Woolf said that the wheat grower receives only 4d out of the price of the four 1b loaf. Possibly so, but wnen the poultry-keeper has paid for the wheat to produce his eggs and table poultry about all that he has lett for himself arc the shells and featheis,. t The president, Mr. Geo. Finn, is reported to have said that "the price of wheat had been on the high side, but' that had now been rectified." Will he explain how and when the price was rectified? Mr Finn evidently thinks that the present duty of 4s 3d per bushel on fowl wheat costing 2s 6d, equal to 170 per cent on cost, or equal to a landed cost of 7s-9d pei\ bushel, which means a , guarantee against 'outside competition up to that price, whilst eggs are selling in parts of the Dominion to-day at Is per dozen, is a rectified" state of affair's, and represents an equality of sacrifice between these two sections of primary, producers! Poultrykeepers had reason" to expect some sympathy from Mr. Finn in their time of ■tress, because some year* ago he occupied the honourable position of president of the .New Zealand Poultry 'Association. Quoting from the official report of-.nis presidential address to the Poultry Conference at that time.. Mr. Finn said:— While our boys at the Front were being bowled over by bullets our poultrymen in New Zealand were being knocked out by the high pnee of feed.". Mr..Finn might well have adopted i a similar' - line 'of thought on Thursday last, and' said something like this: 4>oultry-keepers are 'still in no man's land; they are being shot to pieces by high feed'prices, and, sniped at by business men under a smoke screen ofpropaganda.—l am, etc., ■ - v j: n. mtjEan, Organiser ,N.Z. Pdultry Assoc. Wellington, 21/8/31. i , '