ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express SATURDAY, JULY 31, 1920. FARMERS AT VARIANCE.

Marlborough Express, Volume LIV, Issue 180, 31 July 1920, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express SATURDAY, JULY 31, 1920. FARMERS AT VARIANCE.

It would not be a good thing for New Zealand to have the producers quarreling among diemselves as to the lines along which their oversea, markets should bo developed, and it is to be hoped that the difference of opinion that has arisen between the f-i'cepowners' Federation and .the Farmers' Union will speedily be compo.sed to tho satisfaction of both sides. The contention seems to have left the Prime Minister and tho Minister for Agriculture, in. somewhat of a "fog." but they will, no doubt, make it their business to master the merits of tho case forthwith. In any case there appears to be an urgent need to clear

the atmosphere in regard to the danger of the meat trust and the handling of the Dominion's trading

interests in the direction of America. There is far too much vagueness, and

it is tho duty of the Government to give the country a well-ordered and fully intelligible policy, and enable the producers to got on to a thoroughly organised footing. The

cctopuses must be rigidly excluded, l>ut, on the other hand, whatever bogies there are must be intelligently exorcised, and foolish panics avoided, -he bogies may do almost as much mischief ,as the roal thing. The resolution passed at the Farmers' Union Conference, was proposed by Mr Ljs-nar,' and reads as follows:—"(a.) Ihat this Conference views with alarm the efforts now being made to irgo the Government to grant a moat export license to Armour and Co., and would strongly urge the Govern- | ment in the best interests of this Dominion to absolutely refuse to grant the same; and (b) that the Government be requested to see that, steps are taken to stop Vestey Bros, (trading under various norn de plumes) fiom operating as freezing works ; owij-ers and meat exporters; in the i Auckland and Poverty Bay districts, as they are a too^-powerful combine to be allowed to operate in this, Do- | minion; mid, further,, that the Government take steps to enact the necessary legislation as suggested by the Parliamentary .Committee in older to keep the trusts and combines from operating in this -Dominion." Subsequently Sir Walter .Buchanan and Mr J. D. Hall, representing the Council of Agriculture-, waited on -he Farmers' Union \ Conference xo seek support fdr a proposal to appoint one commissioner, or two^ to make full inquiries a« to possible trade for New Zealand meat and wool hi tho American or any other market. Various opinions were express- . <?d as to how such an investigation should ;be financed, one suggestion "being-made .that the funds should be ■raised by a levy on sheep, another that the producers should be invited to subscribe, voluntarily, and £till another that the jGovernment should find the money.

Sir W> Buchanan said the question beforo the producers jusfe now was whether-: they were going to put their hands .in their pockets^ whether they were going to federata to i3rot<x:t their own interests, or whether they were going to lie down and takfe what ..came "tQ them from ; shipping combines, .'njeaii combines, ;or from "people who wepe out to piofitjeer, it did not matter at whose e&pejnse. The outlook regarding wool and meat was us m.certain as it could be, and they di«l not know what ilie prospects were regarding, space jind freights.. ■ The meat producers- (should,have been <;up and doing" long ago' to look after their o,w-n interests. The trouble wan that they could not get farmers generally to" stick together. The result of this / discussion was a resolution that tho Government be asked .to fiiianco<the cost of.-.sending a, comlrission'/jabroad. Then delegates from the lfa'iTOeiV Union, boufei eneo waited on -jthe Sheepowners' Federatiort to see if sonio ;amic-ablG arrangement could bfe carried"aut,. and they returned with the report.that they had failed entirely to come to a eettlelr.ent. 'The shefepowiiers 'wore "absolutely out for Armour and C 0.," they said, and felt that an injury had been done to them by the Conference in urging ;that a.license should not Le granted to the company. Tho Farmers' Union thoa-'cametl its ease to tlie Piime Minister,, who,, in his reply to the deputation^ -'sensibly sugyjestevi that New Zealand could trade with Amei-icad without placing itself in t)ie hands of tlie trusts..... "I don't quite 'Understand- what; the Sheepowners 1 Federation is aiming at," Sir Massey added. j ( ;Now tho Federation: has is^ sued aiv official statement hx which i,r, objects to "a mixed organisation such as the Farmers' Union Conference, many members of which ,i*epresent dairy interests and a. great many other pursuits not concerned* with sheep-owniiig, interfering in matters concerning, mutton, lamb, and woo-L" It*'accuses tht> otiior side of indulging in camouflage in the interests of local profiteers, who,, it says, wanb to play tho. part of middlemen between the sbeerp-grower ajid tho American trust. What the -general public- wo.uKl like to know, of course, is whether it is an octopiis or a bogey that the Dominion has to contend with.