LABOUR’S LAWS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19364, 30 June 1937, Page 15

LABOUR’S LAWS

POSITION OF FARMER ALLEGATIONS OF BETRAYAL NATIONAL PARTY CONTENTION What ho referred to as the betrayal of tho small farmer in New Zealand under Labour legislation was tho main tlicnio developed by Mr. 0. C. Mazongarb, of Wellington,'in an address given at Bulls on behalf of tho National Party. Tlio biggest of all.surprises at the last general election, said Mr. Mazengarb, lav in the fact that so many farmers voted for Labour. The term “guaranteed prices” was ingeniously designed to eonvev a comforting assurance and to eliminate the dread of State ownership and control. Thus tho votes of the farmers were won. But in a little more than a year they found themselves sadly disillusioned and the victims of clever political tactics. State’s Profit Prom Cheese It did look for a a time as if the guaranteed price for butter was in excess of the world price, said Mr. Mazengarb. The present indications, however, were that the farmer had received scarcely more than tho net amount obtained bv the Government on sale. But, while "Government intervention had given him hardly any more than he would have received for his butter on a free market, the farmer found that his costs had gone up by 2d a lb butterfat, or about £2 a cow. Tho cheese producer was in a much worse position. The actual pay-out for cheese was about 7s to 8s per cwt. less than tho market return. This meant that the Government was making a profit of about £7 to £8 a ton on approximately 90,000 tons of cheese, and at the same time had increased the farm and factory costs of tho clieeso supplier by about 3d a lb. Women in Cowsheds Quoting from an article by Mr. C. Morgan Williams, Labour M.P. for Kaiapoi, Mr. Mazengarb said that Mr. Morgan argued and urged the case for State farms as a means _ “to wean the farmer from his individualism.” But he had admitted the real effect of his party’s recent industrial legislation by saying that he had no doubt that, tnc improvements in wages and conditions, not onlv on farms but in industry gener ally, had made it impossible for many small farmers to employ labour, and had had the effect in many instances of driving the farmers’ wives and children into the cowshed. Complete Socialisation Mr. Mazengarb quoted Mr. .Williams ns saving that economic and social forces combined had doomed the small farmer to destruction. Mr.'Williams had further stated that the farmer in New Zealand would remain to tho end an. opponent of Socialism and the last pillar of private enterprise. “The one grain of comfort for the farmer.” said Mr. Mazengarb. “is that he will bo tlio last to go. The actinpI’rime Minister may reprimand bis colleague for this premature revelation that the Government is working for complete socialisation in this generation, but lovers of freedom and those who bate the idea of regimentafion will thank Mr. Williams for his engaging frankness.”