DAIRY CONTROL

Southland Times, Issue 19897, 16 June 1926, Page 12

DAIRY CONTROL

ASSOCIATION OBJECTS DEPUTATION TO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT THE PRESENT VOTING SYSTEM. (Per United Press Association.) Christchurch, June 14. To-day a deputation representing the Canterbury Butter Factories’ Association waited on the Canterbury members of Parliament Committee to put before it the objections of the association to dairy export control. Mr C. P. Agar, who led the deputation, said that those present represented all of the Canterbury butter factories except two small ones and they were all agreed on the points under discussion. The first question they wished to put before the committe was that the association objected to the present voting over large areas and favoured the ward system. The present areas were so large that people could not possibly know who to vote for as their representative on the Board of Control. The association favoured six divisions in the North Island and three in the South. Then everyone would exercise an intelligent vote. What was right in principle in Parliament should be right in dairy control. An overwhelming majority favoured the one man, one vote. The dairy industry on the whole favoured a tonnage basis. The association opposed compulsion because it did not admit the right of any one organisation to take control of the property of others. On the Control Board at present only one man had had actual experience in the industry. Mr Agar said he understood that Mr W. A. Veitch was introducing a Bill into Parliament this session asking the Government to refrain from controlling the dairy produce. To Mr 11. S. S. Kyle Mr Agar said that two companies not represented had not made the whole of their views known. Mr H. T. Armstrong: You don’t suggest that a dairy company should go in or out of the dairy pool as it wished. Mr Agar: Let. those who desire to pool do so and those who desire to stay out stay out. We have connections at Home of 38 years’ standing. With control all individual brands will be thrown overboard and we will all be on the same level. Mr Agar continued that the “against compulsion” vote was growing: Mr D. Jones asked Mr Agar if he could give figures to show whether New Zealand butter had suffered during the last year. Mr Agar replied that he could give confidential figures from London which had guided his business. Prices had suffered because of the power of buyers at Home.