VOICE OF THE PRESS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19626, 21 October 1933, Page 9

VOICE OF THE PRESS

NEW ZEALAND OPINIONS. The Empire Marketing Board. Of the value of the Board to the Dominions nothing is said in Britain, and surprisingly little has been said here. Granted that the High Commissioner’s office and the British represen- f tations of the different exporting l groups are doing excellent work, the d fact remains that the Empire Marketing Board performed work the value c of which is not likely to be fully rea- j, lised until after its cessation. Apart a altogether from the research work c j carried out at the board's various sta- „ tions, which in itself embodied a close s degree of inter-Empire co-operation, e the publicity side of the board's acti- t vities enabled the general propaganda s , in favour of inter-Empire trade to be disseminated in a much more cornpre- j, hen ire manner than could be achieved g by the Dominions acting individually f on behalf of some particular product g or group of products.—“Waikato Times.” p r Local Government. t If half a dozen boards are to be t entrusted with a job that could be un- . dertaken by one authority it is a waste of money to establish them, but the habit of delegating functions to com- v mittees, and councils and commissions g was contracted from a Government 11 which had no faith in its own judg- 1 ment and sought inspiration in other e directions. Frequently we have been c promised reform in local government which means a reversal of the policy 1 which created hundreds of useless s authorities, with their expensive staffs. * For years we have been advocating a s return to the principles of provincial government, the whole of the powers p now exercised by boards and councils * being vested in one supreme body with, 1 perhaps, two or three subsidiary ones. 1 —“Southland Daily News.” r f Milk Quality. I The point that has been raised at i several dairy company meetings this ' year is whether the suppliers sending a s milk that has a higher proportion of v constituents other than fat are receiv- F ing a fair return for their milk. They are paid on butterfat content, and they 1 maintain that instead of this they t should receive payment based upon the amount of cheese derivable from the t milk they supply. They contend that t the milk with less fat and more casein f has to “carry” the higher-testing milk a which they allege makes the smaller f quantity of cheese, and yet, so long as 1 the butterfat basis of payment con- 8 tinues, may return more to the sup- 1 plier than the milk which gives the a greater output of cheese. It is a sub- ° ject that is well worth investigation b apart altogether from the "battle of v the breeds."—"Taranaki Daily News.”jF i: The New Zealand Farmer. t The New Zealand farmer is prepar- a ed to listen to all that Mr. Baxter may t have to Lay on the subject, but he can- £ not be expected to accept the extreme i urgency of the case. He knows that it 1 will take more than one season for British cheese manufacture, upon the t scale contemplated, to function pro- i perly. He may take the liberty of i wondering if his agreement to restrictions would be followed by requests to i Denmark for greater limitations than ’ were contemplated when the Danish 5 agreement was signed. Thus far he t may express the view of the individual l whose fortunes are wrapped up in the i dairying industry. But as a patriotic < New Zealander he must evince con- j cern as to the effect quota restrictions : would have upon the solvency of his 1 country. Can the Dominion be expect- i ed to discharge its heavy obligations 1 to the Motherland if a limit is to be 1 placed on its production?—“New Zea- \ land Herald." 1 i Piecework on Relief. j To pay by results is to favour the i able-bodied worker and to put a pre- , mium on physical strength as distinct a from skill, for the task commonly v chosen for relief purposes is of the , unskilled kind If the payments be , so apportioned that they are fair to < the average man the strongest will do r exceptionally well and the weaker will s be left behind. Fairness would sug- |. gest a classification of men employed < on piecework schemes thus removing \ as far as possible an objection of this kind. How the Unemployment Board t proposes to meet the position is not yet known but it is stated by Mr. < Jessep in his further outline of the ; proposed policy that the amount of , money to be paid out will be the same i as at present. There Is no intention t to reduce it or to increase it. The i aim is to get better value on the level i of exixmditure as it now stands. This * would make it clear that if some : workers are to increase their enrnlngs, i as is intended, it will be at the expense j of a reduction to others,—“Auckland i 1 Star." ,