N.Z. MEAT NEGOTIATIONS

Grey River Argus, 16 October 1936, Page 8

N.Z. MEAT NEGOTIATIONS

ATTEMPT TO SPIKE THEM? Mr. Coates’s Statement N.Z. SECOND FIDDLE TO AUSTRALIA. (Per Press Association). WELLINGTON, October 14. “It seems to me to be a case of '.he cap fitting,” said Mr Coates n (in interview, to-night, concerning the reply made by the Acting-Min ster of Marketing (Mr Lee Mart u) o his comments regarding the meat exports to Great Britain.

Mr Coates said he would have com' merited on the position earlier but for the fact that the first public, iniimation of the objective of Mr Nash concerning the meat agreement had been given in a Press report on Monday morning. The statement that Mr Nash hoped to conclude a new meat agreement then called for some com merit, and after investigating the position he had made his views public at the earliest possible moment. “Let me say that nothing in my remarks can be constructed as indicating anv personal animus or peev’sh pettiness,” Mr Coates continued. “The Australians, to all intents and purposes. have concluded their agreement as the result of negotiations in London this year. New Zealand was represented at those negotiat’ons, and the basis of supply for Australia would have to be fixed with due to the imports to be permitted from New Zealand. That must mean that oi” own basis of supply is virtually (kxed. There is also the important question of the proposed levy on meat imports into the United Kingdom. That has certainly been sett’.d,’ Reply to Mr. Coates HIS “CAP AND BELLS.” (Per Press Association). PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS, October 15. A further reply to the statement made by Mr J. G. Coates M.P., regarding the marketing mission of Hon. W. Nash to Britain, was made by Hon. Mr i Lee Martin to-day. Mr Martin said: — Mr Coates is again incorrect when he says that the first public intimation of the objectives of Mr Nash concerning a meat 'agreement had been given in a 'Press report on Monday morning. More than one month ago, it was announced that, at the request of lhe Meat Council, Mr Duncan (manager) and Mr Fraser would accompany Mr Nash to London to participate in final negotiations; but, even on the assumption that Mr Coates imagined that he was right in his assertion there still was ample time, during the thirty odd hours from' the appearance of the original Press statement and Mr Nash’s departure from Auckland on Tuesday afternoon, for Mr Coates to huve issued his pronouncement. Instead of doing that, he waited to fire his shot after the Minister of Finance had loft, and could not reply personally. “I am content to let the public judge as to the desirability of such controversial ethics. “Mr Coates is aga’n wrong in stating I- said in the Waikato a month ago that a meat agreement had been reached. What I did say was that such a quota had been expected, but that as the result, of negotiations that have taken place, it had been decided that a quota will not be applied. In fact, there had been an increase of tqn per cent, in the beef allocation, and a large increase in the bacon a location. “We are not. claiming credit for what has been done in the matter, but it has been alleged that, as the result of lhe Labour Party coming into power, the credit of the Dominion would be destroyed; that the goodwill of people overseas would be lost; and that we w’ould bring ruin on the country-. Actually, the indications are that there was a return of confidence, and an era of prosperity. “There is a little scepticism on the part of the public regarding Mr Coates’s further statement that his only motive in commenting on the position was to put forward tacts, as 1 see them, for the benefit of producers, which is pardonable in the circumstances. “If Mr Coates believed that the interests of the producers immediately concerned, or of New Zealand as a whole, can possibly be served by attempting to throw grave doubts on the good faith and sincerity of the Dominion’s ambassador to Britain at the commencement of a mission o great importance to the economic n e of the country, then the obliqueness of his political vision must be phenomenal. If he expects the public to swa.low his assertion of single-mindedness, his estimate of its credulity must be immense. I agree with Mr Coates that it seems to be a case of the cap fitting, but only too obviously the head it fits is his own! In this instance it is “not merely the cap, it is the cap and bells; and, even allow'ng for very inexpert tailoring and an unambitious conception of cranial measurements, it still adorns fittingly and' becom.ngly the head of its creator, and s worthy of the foolish and fruitless publicity escapade on which he so futilely embarked.”