FALLING MARKETS AND RETRENCHMENT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 10283, 12 January 1922, Page 3

FALLING MARKETS AND RETRENCHMENT.

“To a certain extent we are in difficulties,” said the Prime Minister, when speaking at Waiuku last week.’ Mr Massey said that the limes we wore now passing through were somewhat analogous to those of the eighties, but he did not think we were going back to that. There was no' occasion for despondency. In a period such as this, when we were recuperating from (he effects of the Avar, retrenchment was inevitable. The country had been called upon to face a heavy burden," and now it had to meet the interest and sinking fund on the tremendous sums borrowed. Other obligations were for those maimed in the war and their dependants. During the war period, too. employees in many of the State services had been granted bonuses to meet the cost of living, and the time had now come when the Government had to ask them to accept less. Expenses had to be cut down in other directions. In a couple of week* full details would be given of what had been done and what it was proposed to do. Retrenchment was a difficult matter at any time, continued Mr Massey, but when it had to be done in face of falling markets it was a most difficult (ask. Referring to produce prices, he said the butter slump was not permanent. He thought the quantity in storage in England would ho consumed in a few weeks. At present a conference was being hold in Wellington to discuss what to do in connection with our butter at Home, and he was hot going to interfere with the producers. Healing with moat, he said that the position had reached such a stage that the Government recognised that it had to do something to bring things into a hotter state. He showed how Reproducers’ share of the prices realised hud dwindled from SO per cent, to 46 per cent. He did not say that, the fault was all on the other side. The cost of production in this country must he reduced, and he hop”d to be able to reduce freights on .m> railways in time. The desire of lieGovernment was to see I lie primary producer getting a fair return for belabour and capital invested. II was a time for co-ordination and organ istiou. He refuted the idea that lie. meat pool proposal was a socialistic experiment. This was an occasion when the Government thought it right, that the State should he used to benefit the producers and the people generally. U was not Socialism, it was co-operation.