WATERFRONT DEUYS CAUSE PRICE OF WOOL IN WANGANUI TO FALL

Wanganui Chronicle, 27 February 1947, Page 4

WATERFRONT DEUYS CAUSE PRICE OF WOOL IN WANGANUI TO FALL

“You will only be running your head against a stone wall,” said Mr. Glenn. “Why not get at the root of the evil, get the produce shipped out of the country? You will find your troubles on the waterfront.

So declared Mr. W. S. Glenn (Kakatahi), at a meeting of the Wanganui Provincial Executive of the Federated Farmers of New Zealand yesterday, to support his statement that wool at Wanganui fell three pence a pound at last Friday's sale because buyers cannot get the wool shipped. "The day before the wool sale in Wanganui last week there was a report published in the newspapers of the London wool sales," said Mr. Glenn. “The official report said the sales opened with good competition, ended with good competition, and in favour of the sellers. Yet we have witnessed a drop or threepence a pound in the price of wool at the Wanganui sale. Why? Because the woolouyers cannot get the stuff out of the country. The trouble is on. the waterfront." The discussion arose when Mr. W. J. B. ’Tripe (Fordell) said that the New Zealand Government was receiving £lOO per ton for top grades of tallow from Great Britain and yet was paying only about £25 a ton for it in New Zealand. He urged that this did not induce increased supplies being sent forward. That was disturbing when it was realised that people were actually hungry in England. The speaker suggested that representations be made to the Government on the subject.

“While we are going on like this you will never get the .produce out of rhe country," said Mr. Glenn. The only thing we can do is to see the Government and endeavour to get our produce shipped more quickly.

“It is no good beating about the bush in regard to prices. It would not worry us so much if we knew the position was going to get better, but to make representations simply about prices is, to my mind, just a waste of pen and ink, stamps, paper and everything else." Mr. H. J. Donnelly (president): We all agree with Mr. Glenn, and I think the waterfront business is now everybody’s trouble. Mr. Glenn: Think of the awful position of shipping leaving the country and going somewhere else—empty! On the motion of Mr. Glenn, seconded'by Mr. B. U. McKenzie, the executive decided to approach thg Dominion executive, asking ihat the Government be approached to see if any improvement could be effected in the speed of the loading of ships taking export produce from New Zealand. DAIRY FACTORY SHORT OF SALT.

“Why can’t we get the material coming into the country more quickly, too?” asked Mr. A. R. Laird. "My dairy company has been borrowing salt, a bag from this company and a bag or two from that, all up and down the coast, in order to keep manufacture going, and our salt is on the waterfront and cannot be handled because the perishable goods have to be handled first. We have just about reached the position when the factory can’t continue to keep manufacturing. The agents have been trying every day to get the salt and they can't help us at all.”

The suggestion was made that there should be included in the motion a reference to the shifting of produce on the waterfront coming into New Zealand and, this being agreed to by the mover and seconder, was incorporated in the motion, which was then passed in that form. On the general agreement of the meeting, the question of the disparity in the prices received by the Government and those paid by th Government for tallow was left to a meeting of the meat and wool section of the provincial organisation. Subsequently the executive had before it a survey of the centralisation of shipping at various main ports in New Zealand, as against decentralisation, the survey having been produced by the federation's survey officer In Wellington. The secretary, Mr. A. R. Donaldsonn reported that it had been submitted to the Wanganui Harbour Board, and had met with approval there on questions of decentralisation dealt with therein. The executive discussed the circular generally, and a sub-committee was set up to bring down a report to the next meeting of the executive. In order that specialised opinion might be brought to bear from several angles, the sub-commit-tee was asked to co-opt Ihe ooinions and aid of various shipping and exporting Interests within the district. “It should be noticed that the Wanganui watesiders are placed second highest in New Zealand per gang per ton tor the shifting of cargo," commented Mr. A. R. Laird. “They might have had two extra men per gang, but it must be remembered also that they have not the facilities in cranes and so forth that are available at the bigger ports." Mr. Glenn: “Yes. you must be fair. By all.accounts the Wanganui watersiders have done a fairly good job.”