WOOL PURCHASE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17862, 7 August 1918, Page 6

WOOL PURCHASE.

DEPUTATION TO MINISTER. A deputation from the Farmers’ Union Conference met tho Minister in Chargo of Imperial Supplies on Saturday to bring under his notice the resolution that had been earned by the conference in relation to the wool agreement. Most of the case which the deputation wished to present to the Minister was left to Mr W. D. Lysnar, who was the author of tho resolution at the eonierence. The points made by the deputation were those made at the conference, lhe speakers were all oaretul to say that tney did not consider that the prices paid to tho New Zealand growers generally were poor prices, or that tney wished to have them increased at the expense of the British .Government or tlie British consumer. They did consider that tho British manufacturers using our wool were making undue_ profits through being able to obtain it at much less than the current market valuet ■ Mr Lysnar said that the growers had 1 been called upon to sacrifice in profits a prodigious sum of monoy since the war began, and he thought that at least tho country should get credit for this sacrificOf Mr Lysnar made out by figures which ho had prepared that the amount of the sacrifice by the New Zealand producers was upwards of seven millions on tho wool of the 1917-18 clip. In the past two years he estimated that they had given to the Imperial authorities fifteen millions sterling, of which, say, seven millions had been lost to tliis country in taxation, lie emphasised that they did not complain about this while the war continued, but they wished to have it ended as fioon as possible after tho war. Tho Minister,, in his reply) said that from all sides ho had heard that there was no question about tho commandeer during the period of tlio war. But thero was evidently a section of the producers—ho was not prepared to say that it represented a majority of them —who desired that tho contract should bo terminated at tho same time as the meat contract—three months after the war.

The figures produced by Mr Lysnar were quito familiar to him. They had known from the first moment that they agreed to sell their meat to the Imperial Government that they were making a sacrifice, if sacrifice wore to bo considered to bo the difference between the prico actually paid and that which might have been obtained on the open market. But had the New Zealand^ producers made any real sacrifice? Would it have been possible for New Zealand to have sent away sixty-nine millions worth of produce but for the commandeer? The Imperial Government had given the country great assistance in shipping. The argument was used that Now Zealand had given millions ofpound? to the Imperial Government. If it was the case that most of the sacrifice made by the New Zealand growers had gone not to lieln the Imperial Government or the British consumer, but to help the profiteers, there might be something to be said for the contention. It was certainly a deplorable fact that the war had afforded the profiteer his golden opportunity. He would send to Mr Massey the request of the Farmers’ Conference, and he would include in his mail to Mr Massey tlio statement, that had been made by Mr Lysnar. But Mr Massey knew that the whole crux of the position was shipping, and that if the ships had not come hero we could not have got our produce away from here, and could not have got for it the prices that had been realised. • H© was quite _ certain that the matter could bo left quite safely in Mr Massey’s hands, especially after his attention had been drawn to it. Mr Guthrie stated, also, that a new arrangement was being made for the issue, of wool for civilian manufacture, which would have the effect of increasing the prico to be charged for this wool to the manufacturer, and this would increase the share of profits to come to tile New Zealand producer.