PRICE FIXING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12063, 19 July 1917, Page 4

PRICE FIXING.

THE BITTER-FAT LEVY

MR MACDONALD DEFENDS HIS departmi:: .

SHIPPING PROBLEMS

[Per fRKSS Association.]

WELLINGTON, July 18

In tlio House of Representatives this oveiling, the Hon \\. IX S. Mac Donald continued tlio debate on tlio Addross-in-Ileply. Speaking of Imperial question?. ho said ho felt confident thatt]io Houso -vvhs unanimous in thinking that the attitude adopted by Mr Massoy and Sir .Joseph Ward in Britain was the correct attitude. Ho paid a. tribute to the New Zealand troops, who on tho tlio fields of battle, had created lor themselves fame which time never would dim. Ho strongly deprecated the cry for restriction of reinforcements, which lie characterised as equivalent to hoisting the white flag and surrendering to the Hun. Dealing with tho resources oJ toe country, he said the Imperial ment had purchased over .£'21,000,000 worth of our products. All this had been done without the slightest, hitch, which sliowed how adminicle the arrangements were- He detailed shipping difficulties, and assured the House that tho British Government was doing all in its power to assist the Dominion's shipping. The question required most, carol ill watching at the present juncture, for big combines were not always what they appeared to bo, and he thought, public opinion was rapidly swinging in the. direction that direct State action must, .soon bo applied, as nothing was r;o important to the Dominion as tho prompt, regular dispatch of products. Speaking of wheat production, ho oxpressed the opinion that the Government. would be compelled to give more generous support to wheat growers. Australia, though a groat wheat-pro-ducing- country, was subject to climatic uncertainty, and its harvests were not to bo depended on, therefore it was better that wo should pay a little more and be assured that we would grow sufficient, for our own requirements. This was especially important in view of the limitations of transport. He defended the imposition of the but-ter-fat levy on the ground that thero was <•' distinct movement, amongst huttor producers to rai>*e. prices from Is 8d to Is lid per lb. and the movement was not going to stay thero. The Board of Trade then decided to fix the price of butter and a levy became a necessity to protect the factories supplying the towns and cities. Since then there had been a strong agitation conducted against the. levy, but he was not certain that this pressure always camo from the producers. It was proposed to lift tho levy on June 30 by which time they would have sufficient money in hand to give the producers Is 7£d against 11.2 d per ib in pre-war time. No alternative ever had been suggested by farmers. All they seemed to want to get was tho maximum price irrespective of the public interests. When he failed to como to an agreement with the producers' representatives he could only do what any Minister would have done—determine that butter must not go beyond a certain price, and he took steps accordingly. He objected to the statement that no other industry had been treated in the same way. The Government had purchased meat, wool, hides, skins and fixed the price, which put ,iust. as big a tax on the producers of these products as the levy put on butter producers. After referring to the work of the Board of Trade the Minister said that much as had been done much more yet, remained to be done. The object of the Government was not to create discord between classes and producers, but to make the machinery of tho. Dominion run smoothly as possible, inducing the people to act ii»animously to win the war and to do tho right thing towards the men who were com- | ing back from tho battlefields, when derJlt with. Tho spankers are" Mr the morning of glorious victory had Pawned.