Dealers' Commissions On Sports Licences Discussed

Press, Volume C, Issue 29510, 11 May 1961, Page 17

Dealers' Commissions On Sports Licences Discussed

Considerable discussion centred at last evening’s meeting of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society's council on a motion that the commissions paid to sports dealers on the sale of fishing and shooting licences should be discontinued in future.

Mr F Gorton had given notice at the March meeting that he would introduce the motion. It had then been deferred until this month’s meeting of the council. His motion, which had been seconded by Mr R. Ellis, at the March meeting, was that commissions on adults’, women’s, and juniors’ fishing licences be paid to sports dealers for the 1960-61 fishing season but that for the future, including the 1961 game season, no commissions be paid Mr Gorton finally withdrew the motion last evening after the matter had been argued at length. Money Lost

A member said the idea that the sale of licences attracted custom to dealers was •’hooey.” Dealers made nothing out of issuing licences when the work entailed was taken into account. In fact they lost money as the society did not provide envelopes for the licences to be returned to t society’s office, he said.

~lr E. Farmer said the society could not expect sports dealers to issue licences Tor nothing. “We are expecting somebody else to do the work for nothing but are not prepared to do work ourselves for nothing. I am very much against the motion," he said.

Mr R. Ellis, the seconder of the motion, said he had supported it because the society had been very concerned about its financial status. The Otago society did not pay commissions to dealers on licences issued, and thus saved £5OO annually, he said. “This money is more use in the society to help ts work and financial position than among the dealers,” he said. The president (Dr. D. McK Dickson) said that since the notice of motion had been given, licences had been issued for the present shooting season and commissions would have to be paid on these. “Unfair” He could not accept any alteration to the notice of motion, but it would be distinctly unfair to pass the motion at this late stage. Dr. Dickson said. “The council has given so little thought to its financial position. It will have to find ways and means

to foot the bill for commissions. We do not want to cut down on money for our work if we can help it, and we cannot use our reserves for this expenditure."

Dr. Dickson suggested the best thing the society could do in the meantime was withdraw the motion and “have a fresh go at the question of licence commission payments before the sale of next season's fishing licences.”

Mr G. Mugford, who spoke against the notice of motion earlier in the year, said the society would get more revenue when it did more for each particular sport administered by it. “If we can give value for money we will have no worry about income,” he said.

“As far as the present game shooting season is concerned we cannot do anything but pay the commission as in the past,” said Mr Ellis.