FOOD FOR BRITAIN

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 6, 7 July 1938, Page 9

FOOD FOR BRITAIN

PREMIER EXPLAINS

NEED FOR REGULATION

(Received July 7, 11.10 a.m.) LONDON, July 6.. j The Prime . Minister (Mr. Neville j Chamberlain) explained his references! to food supplies in his speech at Kettering to a meeting of members of Parliament representing agricultural constituencies. He said he felt that in the light of the defence preparations there was no need to embark on artificial expansion of home production. Moreover, vthere could be nothing worse for agriculture, than such an expansion, which it was certain could not be maintained. The Government's policy was to enable agriculture to be prosperous in time of peace and capable of expansion in time of war. He added that the Ottawa Agreements had convinced him of the necessity for. regulating the production and importation of agricultural products in the interest of stable prices. The members, in thanking the Prime Minister, expressed the opinion v that the statement would remove misunderstanding. Referring in his speech at Kettering to the assertion* that all*'the-, foodBritain needed should be grown at home, Mr; Chamberlain said: "This would ruin the Empire arid foreign countries which are dependent on our markets, and destroy their purchasing power." He also declared: "The idea, that we can be starved out in wartime seems to me entirely fallacious. . We can depend on our Navy to keep the trade routes open, thus enabling us to import food and raw materials indefinitely."