STATE AID

Grey River Argus, 22 February 1947, Page 5

STATE AID

FOR BRITISH FARMERS To Avert Hunger and Debt LONDON, February 20. In the House of Lords, Lord Teviot moved that the Government be urged to assist the British farmers to increase production with the aim of saving £100,000,000 in foreign exchange, in view of the rapid exhaustion of Britain’s dollar credits and the large gap present and prospective in her balance of payments.

Lord Teviot declared that an economic tornado had hit Britain. It appeared that the export target could not now possibly be achieved. The American loan was dwindling far too rapidly. Britain should “go all out” to increase production and the distribution of coal, and to increase home food production. Both meant the conservation of the all-important dollar. Earl de la Warr said: “We have experienced a shortage of coal. We have not yet experienced real hunger, but don’t let us deceive ourselves. The danger of it is there. Hunger is a too grim and ugly word to use without taking careful thought. I use it now deliberately, because the only way of avoiding what it represents is to face it now. Food production in Britain is tending to decline”.. GOVERNMENT VIEW

The Earl of Huntingdon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food, said that to achieve the figure of £100,000,000 saving in foreign exchange, would mean a 25 per cent, increase in British production. Every £1 sterling of food produced in Britain did not necessarily mean £1 sterling of foodstuffs saved in dollars. It would be impracticable to attain Lord Teviot's figures for a long time. He agreed that Britain vitally needed to expand her production. Lord Addison agreed Britain needed more production. She had to produce as much as possible. He did not think a saving of £100,000,000 could be made good. On behalf of the Government he accepted the motion without that figure. He would like to say that in time to come there might be considerable justice about Lord Teviot’s warning about a food crisis. Four aircraft are searching the North Sea for icefloes. Scientists aboard a research vessel, Sir Lancelot, discovered a temperature two degrees below freezing point almost down to the bottom. They believe that this will result in a big reduction in fish three or four years hence, because of the cold killing young fish now.