GREEDY ROBBERY

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 September 1917, Page 2

GREEDY ROBBERY

HIGH SHIPPING FREIGHTS. IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT IN ■CONTROL. STRONG LANGUAGE IN THE HOUSE, tlty Electric Telegraph—Special to !, Star.”] WELLINGTON, This Day. “Greedy robbery i” was a phrase used by Mr Pearce, in protesting in the House yesterday against the increased English shipping freights to £lO a ton. He. asked the Government to cable to the English authorities protesting against such irreedy robbery by the shipping companies. He hail understood that prior to this that when the Minister of Finance was at the war conference he had secured an undertaking from the Imperial, authorities to supply continuous shipping at cheap freights to and from England. Was this carrying out that policy? . He understood from the best authority that cotton was now selling at 3s per Hi. in America, and that if New Zealand wool were, allowed to be sold in a free market its price would be 4s 6d, though the Government had gazetted it at 5s 6d.

This added Mr. Pearce, is what New j Zealand is doing for the Old Country. Are we going to allow our producers to he robbed to the extent of about £5 per ton? He hoped the Premier would cable Home and protest. Mr Massey replied that the Government had already taken action, but the rate of freight was fixed not by the shipping companies,, but by the Imperial authorities. Mr Pearce; That makes it all the worse. Mr Massey: I am not apologising nor am I in a position to explain, but the Government has already asked for an explanation. With regard to the price of wool, the position is very simple. It is all very well to say the price of wool would be very much highed if it were placed on the European market but it cannot get there. That s the trouble. Scarcity of shipping makes it impossible for the producers to get their produce to the English market unless carried in British ships under the control of the English Shipping Controller. The scarcity of shipping has been brought home to mo in a verv practical manner this morning, though I had better not disclose the icaron for it at present, but I don't want to cause unnecessary alarm. The British Shipping Controller is going to keep bis word. He would do everything possible to take mir products to the English markets especially those for which the Imperial Government is responsible hv purchasing from producers.