HELPING THE FARMER

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19830, 20 June 1934, Page 10

HELPING THE FARMER

MEASURES TAKEN BY THE STATE PRIME MINISTER DEFENDS THEM By Telegraph—Press Association WELLINGTON. June 19. "I feel in looking back over the record of what has been done that the measures taken were necessary for the successful carrying on of the affairs of the country,” said the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes) at the opening of the Royal Agricultural Society’s Conference, referring to the actions taken by the Government to mitigate the plight of farmers during the last few years. "I have no doubt at all that the farming community bore the heaviest end of the depression," Mr Forbes continued. “The Government had to realise that this was the most important industry in the country, and the first duty of the Government was to aid it. We have been criticised as being a farmers’ Government. It has been said that all we see are the wants and woes of farmers, but this is the basic industry of this country and if it failed all others would come crashing down with it, so in supporting farmers we have been strengthening the foundations of the whole of our industries. Unfortunately an attempt is being made to drive a wedge between primary and secondary industries. Anything creating a feeling of disunity and hostility is doing a disservice to New Zealand. It has been said that if we could give Great Britain more favourable consideration in regard to tariffs we would get better treatment from her, but conditions of entry of British goods into New Zealand are 50 per cent, better than in other countries. In any case, it has been made very clear that there can be no bargain that is not common to the w’hole of the Dominions.” Speaking of necessity for combating the encroachment on the wool market by substitutes, Mr Forbes emphasised the urgency of improving the quality of the natural article. In Germany, he said, there were two new synthetic fibres which it was claimed were the nearest thing to wool it was possible to get. Growers could not sit down and let these others get ahead of them. New Zealand wool had many natural advantages, but a great deal of it was not up to the standard demanded by manufacturers. There had been much talk of improving the quality of dairy products, and the same should be done for wool.