I.—loa.

30

r H. BOND.

will have absolutely done with it after it leaves our factories, and, as has been said, we are called upon to do the dirty work while some highly-paid officials will be called upon to do the pleasant work. I think we poor farmers have done fairly well in the past. I can produce a balance-sheet where we got Bd. a pound ; but now by our management of the industry we have been getting far more than that. I have here a circular from the Dairy-farmers' Union, Waikato, issued in 1918, and brought before the dairy farmers in my district, which says, " Our own Government have taken what butter is left in the Dominion and is selling it at 3d. per pound below cost of production to the consumer. Are we getting fair play ? Is it right that one section of the community should be penalized in this way ? " That was under control when we were getting good payable prices. Now we are going to have this industry taken from our hands, and we do not know what will be the consequence. 1 would call your attention to the provisions of clause 16 (e), under which the moneys received by the Board are to be paid into a reserve fund to enable the Board to carry on its operations. I will not deal with that point at present any further, but you can look it up for yourselves. Now I have a few notes to deal with. I would first call your attention to Mr. Grounds's statement in the Dairy Farmers Advocate, where he says that at Palmerston North 105 voted for the Bill and 52 against it. My count recorded at Palmerston was 101 for the Bill and 50 against it. He is trying to get many that he is not entitled to. It may be a miscount on his part. He states, " The conference at Palmerston North was largely made up of delegates from Taranaki, Wellington, and Hawke's Bay. Of the three factories that voted against us at North Auckland, one is now in favour. One factory that voted against the Bill at Dunedin is now for it. There are indications also that other factories in Taranaki will abandon their initial opposition to the Bill." I have proof positive that Mr. Grounds is going back, and back badly. Take one factory in my district. The chairman of that factory wants control because he is hard "up against it," and he will always be, because he cannot farm. I have seen three of the directors out of the five, and those three gave me permission to record their votes against the Bill. That factory recorded its vote for the Bill at Palmerston North, because the chairman of directors was using the big stick. He was supposed to give me authority to oppose the Bill, but he has not done it. We farmers have been let in for a lot of expense. I have never spent as much time in Wellington as on this occasion. Now, I will go on to deal with the National Dairy Association. I think that had they performed the functions for which they were put there I would not have to be here to-day. I see here the secretary of the National Dairy Association. We have paid our subscriptions this year to that association. Ido not say we have not had good help from it, and Ido not say anything against the secretary, but you see him here working for the Council and being paid by us, the opposition. Then we have Mr. Ellison, who was connected with the C.W.S., and he tried to push it down our throats to join up with the wholesale society. Any factory has the right of joining the co-operative marketing association, and they have been rather badly hit who did. Now, I put two and two together and see that they want to draw us under it. We are doing better than the co-operative association to-day. Our factory had something like £400 to refund, and the Kuku factory (same output) they had something like £3,000 to refund in 1921-22. That must show that it has not been the success it should be. Then there is Mr. Ellison, the National Dairy Association's manager at Home : he gets £750 from the National Dairy Association and £750 from the Marketing Association. It has been said that " a man cannot serve two masters." He was successful, no doubt, in bringing about the marketing co-operation association, but what about us who turned it down with an overwhelming majority ? It is the business of the National Dairy Association to push that on to us ? We already had enough on our shoulders to carry. I have to be'very canny as to how I use my shillings. Mr. Grounds said at Palmerston North that, like Watson's whisky, he was still going strong ; but I prefer Buchanan's, because I believe in going canny, and I like a wee sleep before committing myself. I repeat that I have followed this proposed Dairy-produce Export Control Bill, and I have known the mother of this proposed Bill—that is Mr. Goodfellow. I heard him in Palmerston some eighteen months ago, but the father I only met on the 20th June Mr. Grounds ; and I am sorely afraid Adam, as of yore, fell a victim to Eve's superior fascination. I here come to Mr. P. J. Small, the president of the Dairy-farmers' Union at Palmerston North. This body of organized farmers has declared in favour of the Dairy Control Bill. This is a newspaper cutting : " Commenting on the remarks made by Mr. P. J. Small, who presided at this week's conference in Palmerston North of representatives of dairy factories who discussed the herd-testing question and the bacon industry, a well-known dairy-farmer in the Pohangina district informed a Standard reporter that the chairman's remarks apropos of the deplorable condition of New Zealand herds at the present time would be regarded by all dairymen with the best interests of the industry at heart as being most opportune. "' There is no doubt about it,' said our informant, ' the position is very serious, and something will have to be done if we are to improve our output.' Discussing the question of the proposed dairy pool, he scouted the possibility of this proving as beneficial as its advocates said it would be." It goes on to say that if you want to boost the market you must keep a regular make of cheese and butter. Now, the Dairy Produce Bill does not say anything about the making but only about the disposing of it. Here is another quotation : " The New Zealand dairy-farmer has now absolute control of the British markets for dairy-produce at any time, and he can put the price of butter down to 9d. retail, or he can put the price of cheese up to 2s. wholesale. This position has not come about through any magic or witchcraft, but it is the result of the enormous increase in the output from this country. So, if the producers choose to make all their milk into butter it would be retailing in the Old Country at Bd. or 9d. per pound, and there would be an end of the margarine business, and no more half a million profits to be divided amongst the shareholders of the big imitation-butter companies. So it is with cheese :if we decided that only cheese should be manufactured from our milk, Canada would perforce have to get out of the business, for she could not produce butterfat anything like so cheaply as the farmer in this Dominion can. Our big supplies would completely