Edition Bobbett1. Texts by Elizabeth F. Bobbett: 1.1.3. Correspondence, Letters to newspapers
1940 Elizabeth Bobbett: Letter to the Farmers’ Gazette, 15.06.1940
National Defence1
Dear Sir. All eyes are at present turned on National Defence from the military point of view, but it is well to remind the public that Economic Defence is just as important. The first people and, indeed, the only people to be conscripted for Economic Defence have been the farmers. Compulsory tillage was declared by the Government, even though the Irish Farmers’ Federation, last September, offered the Government their fullest co-operation in increasing the Nation’s food supply, and pointed out that all we wanted was an inducement to till, but that the farmers needed immediate relief, in order to increase production, and the chief points of relief asked were a moratorium on Land Annuities and Rates.
Instead of relief, the farmer has been more harassed by the Flying Squad for arrears of Annuities and by the Rate Collectors. The wages of agricultural labour has been increased, the prices for all the items needed for production have been nearly doubled.
The Minister for Agriculture has stated recently in Cork that he cannot obtain a better price on the British marked for our butter or bacon, and he admits the present price is uneconomic, yet we must pay a huge increase for our coal, etc.
I say that never was the time more opportune for an issue of National Currency to meet the present situation. The export of our agricultural produce is the only means of bringing money into the country, yet we are compelled to export them at an uneconomic price. We have now a huge number of unemployed, who will probably be put to work, and we have a larger army to keep up, therefore these people will be purchasers of our goods on the home market. If the farmers are given relief from over-taxation they can and will produce sufficient for both home and export markets, but they cannot continue to produce at a loss. I think it is a most opportune time to adopt the No. 3 Minority Report of the Banking Commission.
1 - The same letter was published in the Wicklow People, 15.06.1940 and the Kings County/Offaly Chronicle, 04.07.1940.