Minister Admits Costs Have Risen

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 237, 7 October 1938, Page 17

Minister Admits Costs Have Risen

GUARANTEE PROCEDURE EXPLAINED Per Press Association/ TiMARU, Oct. 6. "In the marketing scheme, guar an teed prices and the social-securit; tcneme I see the major contribution ofr Labour to the development of Nev ’ Zeeland,” said the Minister of Finance the Hon. Walter Nash, in an addre.s at Temr.ka to-night. An audience o 6jX» gave the Minister a rousing re cep lice, and he spoke for two hour; without interruption. For the fiist hour he confined him sett to gr.arsnteea prices, giving ii detail the steps taken by the Gov ernment to ensure the return to th« dairy farmer of a price which woul< enable him to meet his commitments , The Minister said he had not met ; working dairy fanner who desired t< •wreck the guaranteed-price proced ‘ ure, He admitted that costs had risen ’ hut not nearly to the extent whici - was being made out. The Minister then dealt with thi Government's marketing scheme an< detailed the negotiations he had car I lied out during liis trip overseas. Ki particularly stressed his efforts t< induce 3ruc-in to take expanding ’ quantities of dairy produce, and tol< • how he had strenuously opposed th« proposed levy by Britain on imports , for this would have meant a heav: burden which the Government woub ] hr.ve to bear. Fortunately, Britain hnc i decided not to impose the levy, anc he hoped it would never be applied Mr Nash stressed the fact that then was an increasing demand in Britair • lor New Zealand butter. He said tha the workers of Britain were asking > for it, which was evidence of the fac 1 that they recognised and appreciatec i what the Government was doing foi 1 the workers and dairy farmers of this country. Mr Nash mentioned the trade agreement with Germany by which thej had agreed to take New Zealand butter at the London price. The fact that Canada and Germany took 100,00 C bakes of butter between them hac J kept the price up on the London market at a time when there would otherwise have been a glut, and so the dairy farmers of New Zealand had benefited. In view of these facts, he aeked : could it be said that the Government’s marketing scheme had not assisted the larmers? He characterised the marketing scheme as the finest in any ■ country in the world. The Minister spent some time on i the social-security scheme, detailed I l hie various benefits offered. He said it had been made clear time and again that the beneficiaries under the scheme would not have to pay the racial-security contribution, and ye< people were being led to believe that this was the case. The Opposition were maliciously and consciously endeavouring to mislead the electors with regard to the scheme. The Minister said they had not yet fcefn able to come to an agreement with the doctors, who argued that people who could afford to pay for medical attention should pay. Mr Nash said that in these circirmstances 1 he could not visualise all people receiving the same treatment. The total income of all doctors in New Zealand , last year had been taken out, and n he could assure them of an increased s return unde the Government's scheme. The Government would co-operatc with friendly societies and do all ir, their power to further friendly-societj work and membership. A vote of thanks to the Minister anu confidence in the Labour Govern- = meat was carried enthusiastically. TIME TO STOP ABUSE OVER * THE AIR € e CALLING PEOPLE LIARS lPer Press Association, g WELLINGTON, Oct. 6. c "It is high time that a stop was pui. :o the use of the microphone for the purpose of broadcasting allegation* 1 lhat people are liars,” declared Mr. O. J D. Mazengarb, National candidate for Wellington Suburbs, when he gave his lrst address at Ngaio to-night. He r* ceived an excellent hearing from a big ludience, a few who were inclined to r hterject being quickly silenced by the 17 rest. “Mr. Scrimgeour was the first to dl*> :over a loophole in the law of slander which allowed men to do this S9rt ~ ;hing with impunity,” said Mr. Mazergarb. “And last night Mr. J. A. Lee 3 iully exploited that weakness of the law in a clumsy attempt to get out of the difficulties into which his latest c. iterary efforts have landed him. “I am told by listeners that he kept y repeating the word ‘lies’ and similar expletives. He complained that a daily rewspaper had misrepresented him by _ ronnecting two quotations which ~ ippeared on different pages cf his ?ook. But how can you describe the nentality of a speaker who purports :o read a paragraph from his own book and leaves out the one sentence from vvhich the listener can see that the .•.hole paragraph is designed to convey :he very opposite impression from that a hich he is now trying to convey? The -entence which gives the clue to Mr -.ee's meaning and which I am inormed he omitted altogether, was this: For years New Zealand has been at oo groat pains to suggest respectable jrigins, whereas even the missionaries rere rare land jobbers.’ “Any schoolboy knows the ‘advenurers and vagabonds are not necesarily criminals. But no perspn could j~ mssibly mistake Mr. Lee s opinion of )ur pioneers and their descendants vhen he quoted from another source ■uch expressions as ‘runaway convicts,’ runaway sailors,’ and the ‘scum of tho •artb,’ and then added his own opinion hat ‘further hordes of adventurers and -agabonds’ came here and ‘left their nark on New Zealand character.’ ” “The dead whom he has slandered k annot take action against Mr. Lee. j Neither can any person whom he deames as a liar through the microI ihone. But I hope for his own sake is well as for 1516 honour of New Zaa- — and that Mr. Lee will not permit urther circulation of his book in its present offensive form. I hope alsc hat the next Parliament will give -arly attention to the law of libel and nake it impossible for any speaker to ise the radio for the purpose of naking abusive comments about living jk versons which it would ba actionable 1 o put into -writing.” (Applause.)

NO- CONFIDENCE MOTION LODGE’S VIEW OF ITS l DOMINION COUNCIL Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Oct. 6. Court Sir George Bowen, Number 5004. A.0.F., last night passed the following resolution: “That owing to tha failure of the Dominion Council of Friendly Societies to keep members advised as to negotiations with the Government in connection with clauses in the Social Security Act, 1933. dealing with friendly societies, this meeting has no confidence in that body and considers it unfair and unjust that on the eve of the election the friendly societies should be in ignorance of the full intentions of the Government with regard to friendly society membership.” LIVELY BLENHEIM MEETING BLENHEIM, Oct. 6. Mr E. F. Healy, National candidate for Marlborough who is attempting to regain the seat he lost to Labour last election, addressed a large audience in the Town Hall last night, when had a lively reception from inter sectors. Interruptions were frequent right from the start. It appeared that the candidate might experience difficulty in completing his speech, and as a consequence the chairman of the Blenheim branch of the Labour Party, Mr W. D. Sanders, anticipated the Mayor, Mr C. T. Smith, who was presiding* in appealing for a fair hearing. Hu pointed out that Labour speakers al- . ways accorded attention and bespoke justice for the opposition. From this on the meeting was more orderly until question time, when the pent-up feelings of Labour enthusiasts found expression in a barrage of questions which kept the candidate busy for over half an hour. A well-known Labour supporter moved a vote of thanks, which was carried by acclamation. RIVAL WOULD NOT GET A HEARING LABOUR EXPLANATION CHRISTCHURCH, Oct. 6. An explanation of the statement b; the Mayor, Mr R. M. Macfarlane, who is Labour candidate for Christchurc! ttorth, made on Tuesday night. “I car* promise you that after to-night Mr Holland will not get a hearing in Christchurch North,” was giVen by Mr Macfarlane last night. “I consider the whole report to be misleading,” declared Mr Macfarlane, “It conveys the impression ttict tHis was an orderly meeting, but anybody who was there will know what took place.” Mr Macfarlane said that the audience included a number of hostile young men who had attempted to break up the meeting at Papanui. There were also prominent member of the National Party in the crowd When the chairman rose to speak he was greeted with cat-calls and jeering. “When I got up to speak the uproar was so great that I debated with myself at the end of five minutes wheth ar I should close the meeting,” Macfarlane continued. “Then I though t should give those making the disturoance a chance to come to their sense and recover their sense of responsi oility. I told my audience it appearec to me that an organised attempt wa. being made to stop me speaking. It that was intended as a challenge 1 could promise them that Mr Holland would not get a hearing in Christchurch North.” Mr Macfarlane said he had made the remark about Mr Holland no«. getting a hearing, but he contended that what went before placed an entirely different complexion on the matter. From when he made that statement, added Mr Macfarlane, he received a reasonably fair hearing at the meeting.