DAIRY CONTROL TROUBLE

Evening Star, Issue 19583, 15 June 1927, Page 13

DAIRY CONTROL TROUBLE

m PATERSON ALLEGES RESENTATION WOULD LIKE INQUIRY [Pek United Press Association.]! WELLINGTON, June 14. Messrs Morison, Smith, and Monson, solicitors for Mr Stronach Paterson, late Government representative on Hr London agency of tlio New Zealai’ Dairy Produce Control Boar o-day forwarded the following letter to Mr William Grounds (chairman of the Now Zealand Dairy Produce Export Control Board) : Dear Sir, — We write to you as solicitors for and under instructions from Mr Stronach Paterson, until lately New Zealand Government representative on the London agency of your board. Mr Paterson has had brought under his notice - various Now Zealand newspapers, including Hio ‘New Zealand Dairy Produce Exporter ’ of March 26 last, containing what purports to bo your version of tho history of Mr Paterson’s actions in his capacity ns Government representative. Yon were, of course, aware at the time when you made your attack upon Air Paterson that even if lie desired to reply it was impossible for him to do so for a period of at least several weeks. To reply in detail now, after such a lapse of time, is obviously of very little use, particularly because such reply might well give rise to further controversy; and, again, Air Paterson’s reply to you _ could not ! by reason of bis absence in England be published until the lapse of many weeks after the publication of your own statement. Air Paterson, therefore, does not consider it necessary or desirable_ that wsaghould at this stage enter into a discussion of the merits or demerits of price fixation of dairy produce in London. That issae, he points out to us, is already settled, unfortunately at tho | expense of New Zealand in general ; and the New Zealand dairy farmers ' in particular. Nor does Mr Pater- |

son regard it as i concern at the moment to answer what bo regards as the specious propaganda circulated by yourself and some of your supporters, whose policy has brought to naught the actual results achieved by price fixation, to the dairy industry of New Zealand and the interests of the dominion as a whole; but it is his concern—and it is for that purpose that this letter is written—to repudiate what he regards as your gross misrepresentation of his actions as the New Zealand Government’s representative on tho London agency of the Control Board, and in that connection Air Paterson would welcome the opportunity, before a Royal Commission or other appropriate tribunal appointed to inquire into the reasons for the failure of the board’s policy of absolute control and price fixation, of having his own actions fully investigated. Air Paterson also desires us to remind you that, while you were in London, you had several conversations with him under a clear and definite pledge of confidence on both Sides. He desires us to point out that, for the purposes of your attack upon him, yon have not hesitated to refer freely to those conversations. In his view your attack contains some complete misstatements of fact. It distorts and represents both his confidential conversations with you and the general aims and effect of fi’s words, and it insinuates responsibility on his part for many happenings with which he was in no way concerned. It would be useless to attempt to carry matters further at this stage, because, as we have already said, Mr Paterson is still in London, and unable by reason of his absence to continue a

controversy with yon now; but he expects to be back in Now Zealand not later than October, and if you then desire any public investigation such as that, for example, which would be afforded by a Royal Commission, into the affairs of the Control Board, and the true history of tiio actions of its chairman and certain of its members, and of himself as Government representative on tho London agency, and info the real causes of what ho alleges are tho disastrous results of tho board’s policy, we assure you that Air Paterson will he delighted to join with you in endeavoring to have such an investigation brought about, hi view of tho fact that your attacks on Air Paterson have been of a most public character, we are instructed to hand copies of this let ter to the'newspaper Press, end we arc accordingly adopting that course. CHAIRMAN INTERVIEWED. Air W. Grounds, interviewed tonight on the matter, made tho following comment; — “There has been no misrepresentation and no misstatement of fact, and if a commission of inquiry could remove the harm that has been done, I would gladly welcome it; but the damage can never be repaired. I shall be prepared for tho fullest investigation at any time.”