UNITY REQUIRED

Taranaki Daily News, 20 December 1932, Page 5

UNITY REQUIRED

DOMINION DIFFICULTIES MR. W. D. STEWART’S APPEAL NEED TO ASSIST FARMERS PROBLEM FOR GOVERNMENT FINE SPIRIT OF PEOPLE By Telegraph.—Press Association. Dunedin, Last Night. He did not share the extravagant views of some that a miracle was going to happen at the Ottawa Conference nor the extravagant fears of others that all the bargaining and haggling meant the break-up of the Empire, said the Hon. W Downie Stewart, who was entertained’ by the Dunedin Manufacturers’ Association to-night. . . The real value of the Ottawa Conference was the recognition by each part of the Empire of the aims and ideals, of the other parts, continued the Minister. It was clearly reedgnised that agricultural and pastoral countries had the right to develop industrially as part of their national life and that Great Britain was entitled to protect her farmers to the extent she thought fit. , Dealing with the position m New Zealand Mr. Stewart said everyone knew the distressing plight of farmers and the difficult problem of how to save those difficulties while world prices remained at the present disastrous level or continued to fall. The changes taking place were so profound that they did not yet know whether it was possible to reestablish the way of life to which they had for so long been accustomed. “A new order of society will have to be painfully evolved out of the present chaos,” said Mr. Stewart, “but what is important is that -we should try to keep a steady view and not indulge in recrimination and mutual bickering. No thrift and no economy could have provided an adequate safeguard against the present onslaught. In any case it seems to me to savour of hypocrisy to single out the farmer for criticism when we all more or less followed the same line of conduct, thinking the long summer days would never cease.”

WARNING AGAINST RUMOURS.

The Minister said he wanted to issue a serious warning against hysterical rumours and wild reports that were so apt to meet with credence while the public was highly strung and nervy. It was difficult to know how to prevent them. If one spoke he was accused of undue optimism or undue pessimism, varying with the point of view of the critic. If one said nothing one was supposed to be hiding something. The plain fact was that Parliament had adjourned for the reason stated by the Prime Minister—that the proposal to help the farmers by exchange had not materialised and other methpds would have to be considered which could :/>t be properly examined or dealt with in the short time before Christmas. Whether any satisfactory measure of assistance for the farmers. could be evolved by legislative or .political action remained to be seen, but there was one £.»od thing emerging that filled the speaker with admiration, and that was that all around him he saw and heard every day of splendid examples of mutual help and neighbourly assistance by individual citizens—the poor helping the poor and the rich helping the poor—and in short the re-emergence of all those virtues which seemed to be dormant in prosperous times. Some people out of the merest pittance were sparing a few pence a week' to help families that were still more hard pressed. • > “National unity is vital and urgent,” said Mr. Stewart. “We can only hope t oovercome our unprecedented difficulties if all classes and all interests, whether rural or urban, rich or poor, realise that a crisis threatens our whole social organisation. The times call for national unity in the same degree as did the Great War. I “I have abiding faith that our people will -rise to the occasion and by their patience, courage and endurance enable us to win through,” concluded the Minister. “I appeal to the manufacturers with confidence to bear their share.”