AUSTRALIAN WHEAT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17530, 13 July 1917, Page 6

AUSTRALIAN WHEAT.

PARLIAMENT DISCUSSES PURCHASE.

FARMERS UNDER FIRE,

[From Our Corhesf-ohdekt.]

WELLINGTON, July 12

A Ministerial statement on the Australian wheat purchase- was followed by a long discussion in the House this afternoon, not so much in criticism of the purchaso as of the unsatisfactory economic position generally. The Hon W D. S. MacDonald stated that before lie' went to Australia lie had been negotiating for whoat. The Imperial Government had' bousrht (5,100,000 bushels of wheat in Australia, but had difficulty in getting itl away. The Australian Government, which controlled the whole supply, quoted him 5s 6d a bushel. At the time there was a Berious shortage, especially among Dunedin millers, sorao of whom had only three days' supply. The Australian Government sold us a .million bushels, to be delivered over a period of three months. The first shipment was sold to New Zealand millers at fls 3d at ship's side. The second shipment, 4500 tons, was already sold on sample to Auckland millers, where it would be landed. Another 40,000 to 50,000 bushels were coming by direct steamer for millers at Palmerston North. Mr Wilford: Is it up to sample? Mr MacDouald: The sample was sixty pounds to the bushel, but the actual delivery is 631 bto the bushel. Ho added that negotiations wero made awkward by tho fact that when Australia temporarily wanted wheat last year wo offered it at 7s 6d a bushel, and then would not let it go. Mr Anstey: There were 4,500,000 bushels grown in New Zealand. Where is it? Mr Brown: Holding for a rise. Mr MacDonald said that some milters, strong financially, bought large quantities, ono he knew of having 70,000 sacks, but others had hardly, anything. It seemed to him that in futraro the Government would have to buy tho wheat outright, delivering it pro rata.

NEXT SEASON'S OFFER, There was a shortage of labour, which would require organisation to overcome. Farmers in the North Island who never grew wheat were sowing 10,000 to 12,0!JO acres. Some large landowners between Wellington and Hawke's Bay had offered thft Government land rent free to grow wheat till tho war was over. The offers had been accepted in one or two cases. The Government was offering 5s lOd a bushel for all good milling; wheat. The question had yet to bo decidod whether this Avould be free on board or free on trucks. Mr ,Witty said that the statement was so important that tho House should discuss it.

This suggestion being accepter], Mr Witty complimented the Minister on his explanation, and on the work he did to induce wheat-growing. We had, he said, boon in too big a hurry to purchase wheat, but he could not blame the Minister for it, as he had done his very best. >" Mr MacDonald: Wo couldn' t see far ahead in shipping. Mr Witty said that though a good bit of wheat was going in this year, the total.would be only normal/ When Australia was short of wheat New Zealand growers failed to secure Government permission to sell to Australia ai 7s 2d. Inquiry should have been made regarding stocks held here. He knew men who held wheat three years old. one declaring that ho would hang on till he got 10s a-bushel. Merchants had sent in absolutely false returns of stocks, this causing loss upon the Canadian wheat. "It cost us £50,000 more to buy this wheat,'' added Mr Witty, " than if we had played the game and let Australia have the wheat when we had it last year. Wo should have mixed barley with our wheat to save importing." Ho was of opinion that all wheat should be commandeered by the Government, which could make a deal with anybody.

Mr. MacDonald: And we could have lost. money like them.

THE BITER BPr. The Hon D. Buddo said he rose in defence of the Government. After looking at all the surrounding circumstances be was obliged to state that the Government did the right thing. There was always a million bushels of milling wbeat in store in New Zealand, because millers wore under an obligation to keep the bakers going without interruption. It was unfortunate that we had left a bad taste in the mouths of Australians over last year's incident. The Government ought to have trust T ed the House. There would have been no danger in Jetting Australia have 1J million bushels to tide over a bad period. Mr Buddo went on to.expressthe belief that the House would support the Government in preventing the price of foodstuffs soaring to an unfair extent. Ho did not think that a dissentient voice would he heard among producers at such a course. Dr Thacker expressed'the opinion that had the Government, instead of establishing efficiency boards taken mombers of Parliament into their confidence,, the Canterbury members, who all were good farmers, could have arranged to get all the wheat required for New Zealand grown in New Zealand. " I believe," added Dr Thacker, •' and I hope the Minister of Agriculture will deny it if my statewent is not correct, that had the Government, and especially the Prime Minister, not delayed we could ha/e had an option with the Australian wheat we required at 3s 9d per bushel." The farmers of this country ought to be ashamed of themselves if they were not able in war time to grow all the food the country required, added Dr Thacker. ATTACK ON GROWERS.

"Who is to blame for this tinkering?" asked Mr Isitt. "The farmers," he added, " who, when the Government interfered, squeaked, whined, fought and struggled in a most disgusting, way. Why did the Minister at that Christchurch meeting have to appeal to the tarmors to manifest a patriotic spirit r Mr Anstey: I didn't hear it. Mr Isitt: "Where were your ears? Ho appealed twice." Mr Isitt added that before he left the meeting he t»cceeded in sotting the farmers agjainst themselves, some of them telling him that they were ashamed of their representatives, and a big grower_saacy os was an abundant price and os oo would be generous under existing difficulties. Given a normal harvest, ne would be glad to grow wheat at ss, and he would make a big profit. Members: It's not a normal harvest Mr Isitt added that ho recognised that farmers were in tho hands of financial institutions, but 5s ICd was an excessive price. No section roado mora i profit from the war than tho farmer. ] No section mado so little profit, no class of persons worked harder, than small farmers, but the fact stared 'vs' in tho fajbo that upon no main isr'ihe eominuni{|l did the burden of war rest, , more heavily than on the towg/wox!"iwfe man. 1 . . f "yvLCi Mr Vigor Brown said it wits pleasing | to hoar such a straightforward Ministerial statement. He did expert. farmers t& call meetings ffigf pati^ I —l 1 "~ fin iiini

purposes. They called meetings to got higher prices for their products. They wero the greatest class in New Zealand. Next to them, wero the woqjlcn factories. The* Government should have taken charge of wool, butter, meat and everything else. , Members: Brewers, too, Mr Brown: Yes. everything; including lawyers. (Laughter.) Ho reminded the House of professional men who gave up largo incomes to go to the front. ' FARMERS DEFENDED.

Mr Forbes' said h 0 believed the production of wheat per acre in New land could be considerably increased if the Government could secure for them well-cleaned seed and cheaper manure., He resonted the imputation of greed against the farmers of New Zoalajad and lack of patriotism. He believed ■tlftit there was as much quiet patrfofyism among the farmers of this country as among any other class- Farmers, again, .had a-preponderating influence in Parliament, and the Now ,' Zealand Parliament "stood up among tho Parlia. ments of the world for its patriotism in, this war. , : Mr Dickie also protested tho soverity of the criticism levelled against farmers for lack of patriotism. The wheat question' was surrounded with complex problems, and ™ mers had been somewhat bewildered by the different customs of the Government. Tho Minister, when gazetting the price, would suit the farmer betlter if the price were made on truck or at mill instead of free on board. There would be. a greater acreage sown than the Minister had been given to understand would be tho case. Mr Scott asked why the farmers of New Zealand were not offered the price which the Government paid to Australia. .„ Mr Anstey said that Dunedin millers were grinding wheat which, owing to the limitation on the . price of flour, would result in a loss of £1 per ton. Even if the millers were allowed to raise the price it would not meet the difficulty, because people who had been clever enough to buy wheat at) 5s 7d would always undorsell, and oven if the price wore raised to '£l6 it would have to bo done at the expense of tho Government. The Government should either have left tho thing alone altogether or clone tho whole thing. Mr M'Combs strongly condemned fanners for lack of patriotism in demanding 66 per cent on pre-war prices for their wheat.

In reply, Mr MacDonald read portions of his speech to tho Christchurch Wheat-growers' Conference, showing that ho made no setioffer. Two hundred and twenty thousand acres of wheat had been sown in tho Dominion, and probably over 800,000 bushels had been used for seed, so that at tho present moment there was practically very little surplus wheat in the country. At the end of November, 1916, there wero only 1,600,000 bushels in tho Dominion, and, with the exception of 250,000 bushels held by farmers, it was all in tho hands of speculators. In answer to Dr f hacker's suggestion that an option could have been obtained on Australian wheat at 3s 9d a bushel, tho Minister declared that the member's information was absolutely wrong. Not a moment's delay occurred. Mr Massey was strongly of opinion that we should pay for the wheat on the basis of prices being paid by tho Imperial Government, which was not 3s 9d, but 4s 9d, but surely Australian authorities were justified in charging for the "storage of the wheat from ihe middle of 1916 to the middle of 1917.