WAR EMERGENCY BILL

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVII, Issue 23226, 13 June 1945, Page 5

WAR EMERGENCY BILL

Ruling Japan By Decree (7.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, June 11. The Tokio radio stated that the Lower Chamber of the Diet had passed the amended wartime Emergency Bill giving' the Suzuki Government virtual authority to rule by decree. The House approved the measure after a six-hour delay caused when a member of the Diet objected to certain of Admiral Suzuki’s remarks. The House of Peers will, it is believed, pass the amended Bill.

consequently, the functions of county agricultural executive committees will progressively be limited to that of affording leadership, help and advice.” Mr Hudson’s target figures are described as meaning "up horn, down corn,” or more livestock and livestock products and less cereals. Targets in terms of food mean increases of 175,000,000 gallons of milk, 32.000 tons of beef and veal, 12,000 tons of mutton and lamb, 88,000 tons of pig meat, arid 27,000 tons of eggs. Mr Hudson told the Council: “We. believe that the inescapable facts of our economic and financial position for a good many years to come will force us to husband our foreign exchange resources and make the fullest use of our own natural resources. Unfortunately, these are few—mainly coal and the food we can produce from our own soil. That still leaves many needs, notably raw materials for our industries, for which we will be dependent upon imports. We shall have plenty fo, do in trying to build up our exports to pay for these essential imports without adding to our burden unnecessarily. “I believe, therefore that it is imperative in the national interest for British agriculture to maintain the food production effort which contributed so much to our victory over Nazi Germany. There will be some change of emphasis. The important thing in future will be not so much the saving of shipping space as saving foreign exchange. “Therefore, our policy must be to change over to a greater concentration on those products which it would cost us most to buy from abroad, rather than on those which are bulky In terms of shipping space. This means more livestock and livestock products and less cereals.” Big Targets Set Saying that the targets for 1946-47 were big, Mr Hudson continued: “We must do our utmost to achieve these figures. The change of emphasis from cereals to livestock is not only in the national interest, but also in the longterm interests of agriculture itself, because predominantly we are primarily suited to the production of livestock and livestock products. “Some people may say ‘Oh! but that is only a short-term 'view.’ But on looking further into the future I believe that British agriculture can and will become so efficient in relation to other agricultural systems abroad that It will be able to hold its own in fair competition with agricultural systems abroad with no greater assistance from the State than is claimed by any other industry in this country. “I believe in the future of agriculture. I believe its maintenance and prosperity are necessary in the national interest, that provided the agricultural community justifies itself in peace as it has done in war, the opportunity is now there for British agriculture to establish itself firmly and securely as an integral, essential part of our future national economy.”