ADDRESS-IN-REPLY DEBATE.

North Otago Times, Volume CV, Issue 13936, 19 July 1917, Page 2

ADDRESS-IN-REPLY DEBATE.

') SPEECH '.BY MINISTER OF 'AaRIOULTURIf DEFENCE Ol 1 1HB BOARD OF , TRADE'S OPERATIONS. v (Pet Freis Association) WELLINGTON, Jul) 18. The Hoilc lesumed at 7 JO pin

. Thc.Hon, M. MacDpnald .continued the debrtte "on the Address-in-Reply. Speaking ,of' Imperial questions, lie caul he felt confident the House was. uiiiyri-. mono in thinkjngi that the attitude adopted by Mr'>Fassey aitd Sir Joseph: Ward 'when' in Great (Britain was the 'correct; ' attitude,'"He ; paid a. tribute; to. the New Zealand troops, who, on the fields of-battle, had; created for themselves a fame which time-would.never dim. He strongly deprecated -the cry for.the ■restriction of reinforcements, which he characterised as equivalent to hoisting the white flag and surrendering to' the Huns. • -Dealing with the resources of the country, lie said the Imperial Government had ' purchased over £27,000,000 worth of our products. All this had been done without the slightest hikli, which showed how admirable the 'lUTangements were, He detailed the shipping difficulties aitd assured the House that the British Government was;'doiug nil in its power to assist the Dominion. The shipping question required the most careful watching at the present juncture, for big combines were not always what they appeared to bo. He thought public opinion was vapidly swinging in the direction that direct State action must soon be applied, as there was nothing so important to the Dominion as the .prompt, regular despatch of its produce Speaking of wheat production, he expressed an opinion that the Government would be compelled to offer more generous support to wheat-growers. In Australia, though it was a great wheatproi)ucing country, its climate was uncertain and the harvests were not to be depended upon. 'Therefore it would be better if we pay a little move and be assured that we would grow sufficient wheat for our own requirements, This was especially important in view of the limitations of transport. He defended the imposition of the butter-fat levy on the ground that there was a distinct movement amongst butterproducers which had raised the prices from Is 8d to h lid per lb., and it was not going to stay there. The Board of Trade then decided to fix the price of butter and the levy became a necessity to protect the factories supplying the towns and cities. Since then.there had been a strong agitation conducted against the levy, but he was not certain that this pressure always came from the producers. It was proposed to lift the levy on the 30th June, by which time they would have sufficient money in hand to give producers Is 7jd against lUd per lb. in prewar times, Xo alternative had ever been suggested by the farmers, Alt they seemed to want to get was themaximum price, irrespective of public interests, When he failed to come to an agreement with the producers' representatives he- could only do what any Minister would have done, determine that butter must not go beyond a certain price, and he took steps accordingly. He objected to the statement that no.other industry had been treated in the same way. The Government had purchased meat, wool, hides, and skins, and had fixed the price, which had put just as big a tax on the producers of these products as the levy had put on the butter-producers. The Board of Trade had regulated the prices of coal, rents, and meat. In Chriatehureh and Dunedin questions relating petrol, bread, and milk had been dealt with, while the State butchers' shops iii Auckland had been one of the board's greatest achievements. If it had not been for the Board of Trade flour would have been fIS or £2O a ton ere this. Hembevs of the board had been working most assiduously during, the last ten months, and while prices may not have been reduced, in increases had frequently been prevented. On the consumption of meat alone the efforts of the board had saved the people at least half a million pounds, Much has been done, but much more yet remained to be done. The object of the Government was not to create discord between classes of producers, but to make the machinery of the Dominion run as smoothly as possible by inducing the people to act unanimously* in order to win the war and to do the right thing towards the men who would be .coming back from the battlefields when the dark clouds rolled-away anil the morning of a glorious victory dawned.

Mi' 11, Poland (O.liincmuri) eongratulotfil the Minister on his good tlpfcncc of a bad cause. Yet the fact remained, and the Minister knew it, that the butter-fat levy was'a class tax, and although the money was paid back to the producers, it none the less reduced the value of their butter-fat by fd per lb. He gave the Minister credit for, a sincere desire to do something. This war more than the Board of Trade ever did. They only investigated, but neve!' did anything, while the price of almost every commodity in the Dominion had gone up, He urged better payment for soldiers at'the .front, contending! that side by side with the conscription of men there ought to have been a conscription of wealth. It was time the Government had done something in this direction-by the excess profits tax, bit' after all this only touched the fringe if the matter, for the Government Was not oven just, much loss generous, to the boys at the front and'their'dependants a home. The Minister of Defend 'luring the past ten months, had .had too •much to do, and consequently the'inanpower of the country was not organised, and the result was chaos.' Young fan., cr's were •being exompted by~tlft> courts because they were engaged in an essential industry, and- no steps had been tnkeir, by tlio Government, to- replace tliem ami let theni go to the front, while'; other people 'b forced to go.

Tin; ;spi>hkci;;>o]iien(!p(l: ; , 'liatl' been acinjingvtpp ltiiiaV; liien; as ■'"rein-:-Jorceinei/ts'! ; , Australia 'a experiences had been.tlie'same and they (Vdvised; that Ihey, might reduce.; their drafts!while we were piling.ours'up to such:ah extent that the British authorities; hfct felt• .compelled to'use thenvHe denounced the, rate of pay and'the inequalities of pensions to doldiers, whiesi liiust be' revised, the Pensions 'vA:ct'''Wiug.t'lio greatest.tissue of inconsisteicie3 ever conceived. If members went home without insisting, on jifsticc done, to the uoldiers, they would not bo worthy of the name of men. ,

; 'Mi'Tt. V. Pearee (Paten) agreed with the .action of the Government inkeeping.down' the price of butter to consumers, but,it-'was done in eucli a" niiuidling way as. to/annoy all producers, "It simply meant that money was -being .taken from the makers of cheese to'pay it to tlie makers of butter, and'.many small farmers, were being heavily taxed to do it. Dealing with finance, Ire wanted to know w liat policy tlie Government was prepared to adopt in regard to paying for the war and pensions. He advocated a local loan, aiuNhought it/should be floated as soon as possible, as, owing to the uncertainty 'of investments, a great deal of money had accumulated in the Dominion, and a loan of several millions would be taken up at once. The cost of the war should be defrayed out of loan rather than out of taxation moneys, because the war was being fought for future generations as well as the present. He opposed the excess profits tax as a hardship oiuprogress, and the export tax as unfair to the producers. Taxation ought to be aimed at extravagances, which the Government had (lone nothing to cheek. He favoured an amusements tax and increased taxation on liquor, motor cars, drapery, tea, tobacco, and cigarettes; but on the whole he thought the income tax the fairest way of arriving at an equality of sacrifice. He thought six o'clock closing was not a prohibition movement,, but a movement of moderate men, who were disgusted at the Government's neglect to check waste, and were determined to stop waste" going-on in liquor. Ho would support early closing of hotel bars provided a clause was inserted in the Bill that the loss should fall on the owners of the licenses, and not necessarily on the occupiers, In that way the big brewing companies would be, got at. The Anti-Shouting Act aviis a farce, and he would support its repeal.

.Air J. ).[. Dickson (Chalmers) dealt with the treatment of returned soldiers, also with taxation on'similar lines to the majority of previous speakers. The Government would shorten the debate if they would only say .that they would abolish' the butter-fat levy and return the money. He favoured six o'clock closing, and warned the Government that nothing less would satisfy the people of the soAtlicrn parts of Xew Zealand..

The debate was adjourned on the motion of Mr Vigor Brown (Napier), and the House rose at 11.15 p.m.