CORRESPONDENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 April 1927, Page 7

CORRESPONDENCE.

BANKS AND PRODUCE. (To the Editor.) Sir, —The newspapers, a few nights ago, referred to Sir George Elliott’s ( statement in connection with merging tlie 'meat and Dairy Boards when the last quarterly report of the Bank was ' brought down -with reference to the Control Board. I was once connected with a factory financed by the Bank of ’ New Zealand, and naturally they wished to consign through them, and thinking ’ we were dodging Tooley Street, we consented but our adviser pointed out that- the bank had no . facility to handle it at Home. On the bank being approached, we discovered the bank wars the local. agent for a merchant in Britain, and as many of the large firms financed by the Bank of New Zealand are local agents for the, different British produce firms, the Bank is also indirectly interested. It Sir George could give an approximate statement Of the amount the bank has received in commissions from these produce dealers and an approximate amount received in commission by the firms the . bank is financing, say, during the last ten years, the amount would be so large that the producers would doubtless realise for themselves where the shoe was pinching with regard to Sir George Eliott. However, Sir Geo. is the greatest control champion in connection with finance. The representatives of s'x banks sit in Wellington, and they, practically speaking, control the capital of New Zealand, rates of interest, etc. Sir George’s greatest /concern is the amount he can extract in interest for his shareholders, and as the profits of the Bank of New Zealand this year were about £3,000,000, it speaks well for Eliott’s system of controlled capital. In fact, Sir George could give us an interesting lecture on the capital cornered by the Big Six. Sir George knows perfectly well that last year the Northern Hemisphere produced and forwarded to Britain more dairy produce than ever before, and through more up to date farming and with a favourable season it is expected the supply will exceed the demand to ■ such an extent that sufficient will go into cold storage to carry them through three months of their winter. Every country increased its output, except Argentine. South America’s supply 7 met such a poor market that a large amount was left in store, and now they are arranging a co-operative system of control. Canada increased its production of dairy produce by 3,ooo,ooolbslast season. As. the Russian troubles have ceased, Siberia, which has thousands .of square miles of the best land possible in the 'world at the price, will again forward large quantities to Britain, and as Danish experts, arc in Siberia the Danish system of handling, their own produce may be adopted. However, these countries can supply the British market at a profit at one shilling and one shilling and threepence lb. If New Zealand is the dearest farm land in the Empire, and we are 13,000 miles from the world’s market, the dairy industry firstly requires the very best men procurable on the Factories’ Directorates, men with at least some ability that can provide the suppliers with useful information and not men who adopt a yes, no attitude. Sir Geo. Eliott advocates merging the meat and dairy boards. I admit, that David Jones as a party organiser and collector of shares was an undoubted success. What has David Jones’ and Co. done to save the meat industry of this country? We all realise that the farmers’ co-operative meat works have gone as the sailor would say, to David Jones’ Locker. Previous to the Taranaki Farmers’ works closing, the -producers of Taranaki supplied about £40,000 in share capital bjP way of a small present to Sir George Eliott and Co.’s bank, and the few co-operative works still in existence can stand only as long as the produces keep taking up fresh share capital to keep squaring up the banks. The meat board state these conditions are brought about by the apathy of the are brough about by the apathy of the ahareholders, while members of Parliament .have been telling us what was happening to the meat industry. A refrigerated meat company, in introducing its last balance sheet, said they could not this year pay a dividend, owing to the attitude adopted -by other large meat interests. This company is controlled by some of the ablest and wealthiest men in New Zealand. In the Bank of New Zealand’s report previous to the last, they stated that the meat industry of New Zealand was apparently in tlie hands of four large firms. If such is the case, what service could David Jones be, to the long-headed managers of these firms? If the meat board is no longer required why not disband it? If these gentlemen cannot save the meat industry, who foster them onto dairymen, who require their ablest and most profound thinkers to carefully consider the dairy producers’ interests and try to save the industry from falling into the hands of the proprietory concerns.—l am, etc., w. f. McCullough. Warwick Rood Stratford, April G.