LOCAL AND GENERAL

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 63, Issue 4462, 11 August 1941, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

“ We were asked by the dairy industry to stabilise the price of cheese crates, and we have done that,” said the Minister of Marketing, the Hon J. G. Barclay, at Wellington on Saturday, when he wias asked to comment on a statement by Mr J. R. Wilson, of Tawanui, that the Government was carrying out an experiment with a view to socialising the Whole of the timber industry. The Minister added that, the prices of crates had bJen stabilised at 2s 9d.

Advice has been received in Te Awamutu that the Government has stopped the supplying of accommodation for temporary farm workers. “It is felt,” runs an official statement issued by the Minister of Public JVbrks (Hon. H. T. Armstrong) “that the scheme has fulfilled its purpose by meeting temporarily the acute shortage of farm cottages brought about by the drive for increased production and that greater advantage should now be taken of the facilities available for financing the erection of a more permanent class of dwelling under the provisions of the Rural Housing Act.

The transfer to the New Zealand trade of three freighters and two tankers was announced in Press Association messages received during the week-end from Washington and Sydney respectively. No indication of the size of the ships is given. The Washington message states that the United States Maritime Commission has authorised the charter of three requisitioned Danish freighters to the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, replacing British tonnage diverted elsewhere. According to a cablegram from Sydney, the Austraian Minister of Supply, Senator McLeay, said he had received news from America that the Californian-Texas company had arranged for two of its tankers to be diverted to the New Zeai'and-Australian run.

The guaranteed price and kindred subjects were discussed at the; quarterly meeting of the Northern King Country Sub-Provincial Executive on Thursday last, but it was ended by the following assertion by Mr H Miason, which was endorsed by al l speakers in the debate: “Mr Nash has told us that he is not going to pay the dairy farmer any more. The simple fact is that there is no such thing as the guaranteed price.” Mi W. E. Waldegrave said that Mr Nash had already admitted that if he paid out 'more than he received it would constitute inflation. He (Mr Waldegrave) added that any move that would result in piling costs on to the sheep-farmer could result only in disaster. He had recently had opportunity to peruse the returns of several large sheep-fanners who were not fat lamb men, and had been amazes to find the losses being incurred.