THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 1924. THE SUGAR QUESTION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19258, 23 August 1924, Page 8

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 1924. THE SUGAR QUESTION.

It is to bo acknowledged that the arrangement that was entered into between the Government and the Colonial Sugar Refining Company under which the public of New Zealand was assured of supplies of high-grade sugar at a reasonable cost during the war period, was of great benefit to the community. By virt&e of it, consumers in New Zealand had their requirements mot regularly at prices considerably below those which the company could have obtained in other markets. It was attended, however, by the disadvantage that it retarded a policy of de-control, and it seems, moreover, to have habituated the Colonial Sugar Company to a system under which the Government became its protector against competition from other quarters in New Zealand. Whether it should continue to enjoy that protection is a question which was warmly debated in Parliament last year and, as will have been seen from our report yesterday of the proceedings in the House of Representatives, again debated this week. The Colonial Sugar Company alleged twelve months ago, and still alleges, that, in the absence of a measure of protection, it is unable to compete with the sugar that is produced in Java and that consequently, if the duty on sugar is removed, it must close down its works at Chelsea, Auckland, and retire from the field. The issue is not free from complications. Some hundreds of persona are employed at the Chelsea works and they have petitioned Parliament to continue the protection which has been accorded to the company as they fear that otherwise they may be in danger of being thrown out of employment. The Labour members in Parliament, who might he expected to be in sympathy with the sugar workers in Auckland, oppose the extension of fhe protection to the company. Their own sovereign plan is that the State should take over the refining works at Chelsea. In the meantime, since that policy is unacceptable, they would apparently be prepared to let the workers in the industry stand the risk of losing their employment. Another factor of importance is that sugar in Java is produced by cheap black labour, and it is also asserted that it is not so suitable as the Colonial Sugar Company’s product is for use by confectionery and preserving industries. The main ground, however, upon which it was proposed and agreed in Parliament—the votes on the subject showing that the House divided pretty closely, but not entirely, on the usual lines, with the Government in the majority and the Liberal and Labour Parties in the minority—that the duty on imported sugar should be continued was that it was desirable that the labour employed by the Colonial Sugar Company in Auckland should be protected. But since the Labour members in Parliament were not moved by the petition of the workers at Chelsea in favour of the continuance of the duty it is pertinent to consider whether the imposition of a tax oh the whole of the public is necessary in the interests of these workers. In other words, of two evils which is the greater,—whether all the people of the dominion should pay a price for their sugar higher than they would have to pay if there were no duty or whether the workers at Chelsea should seek another source of livelihood than that offered under a company that allegedly cannot afford to continue in business in New Zealand unless it is subsidised by the taxpayers?