Who Holds Wheat?

Tuapeka Times, Volume XLV, Issue 6219, 9 December 1914, Page 3

Who Holds Wheat?

PREMIER ALLEGES OTAGO FARMERS TEE' CULPRITS. Speaking at Grey Lynn (Auckland City) on Thursday nignt Mr Massey said he had had a wheat census taken and the report just received showed that there were a million bushels of wheat at present held in tha Dominion by Hour-millers and by certain Utago farmers. .None Was held by northern farmers, despite statements to the contrary. iNesv Zealand required for her own consumption hail a million bushels per month, so that there were two months' supplies in sight. The new crop, however, would not be in in two months, so it was necessary to provide about four and a-haff weeks' supplies from abroad. That was why supplies from Canada had been ordered. He had noiilied the millers and tanners referred to that they would not be allowed to store wheat for a I rising market. lie would have the names of these holders soon, and if any oi them showed a disposition to keep back wheat against llie interest of the bulk of : the population they would not be permitted to do it.

iSIK JOSEi'li WAiiD ANU .THE WHEAT COliMilt. in the course of a speech in the Town ilall, Wellington, on hriday night Sir Joseph Ward said the .Reformers had descended to another method oi trying to discredit him. Mr Oney, the K.eioim candidate lor i\ow Plymouth, had suggested that the people should ask hrrn (bir Joseph) how wheat His |hrin had m store waiting for bigger prices. Now, he (Sir Josepjii) had heard a similar inference before. While he was in the .North a prominent Kefonner in the South had made a similar statement, lie had taken action regarding that Ueiormer, who, when faced with the statement, denied having made it; but he knew how to deal with people who went round hinting at things like that, lie had wired to his linn in lnvercurgili to find out what wheat they had actually in _ store, and the answer was that in twelve months they had purchased So sacks of wheat to sell as seed to farmers. He and his hrm had never been operators in wheat, but he. wondered il Mr Okey had operated in the oil companies to which the present Government were now lending public money.