PRICES OF TIMBER.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 426, 8 February 1909, Page 5

PRICES OF TIMBER.

. ALLEGED RING. ,(BY TELEGRAPH—SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) Chrlstohurch, February 6. From what several timber merchants told a "Times'' reporter, thero is no prospect of a reduction in the price of timber in Christ-, church, which draws its supplies mainly from the( West .Coast. The merohants, however,' are doing very little business, Ono of thbm said that thero were practically no orders coming to;; handy. The /-stringency..; of ■'.; the money:market had to a large, extent stopped. ; building;for. the present.. i/:. ; r'.;-;■'.; : /':p.' -. builders are by: no means satisfied/that the- prices-charged for timber at. .affair -level;;;.' They) 1 stated Merchants': Association isitf;effect a.;"ring," ; ■thatiit'has a; understanding'with thesawmillors under/which it is able to discourage • competition,' and .that; in other -ways, it:is ; operating tp.securea;niohopbly : :tnat-is ; npt' fa- tile, public interest'■;A;builder told: a., reporter that; some' time ago''a, company started business in Christchurch to' sell Australian jarrah timber, and it looked as though the. company would' do a good trade. Before' very-long, however,;the company 1 went.out of. business, as .far ..as Christchurch , was:' con-, cerned,.and the sale.of jarrah timber became a part of the of the timber merohants concerned in tho ring. • They had bought out the other company on condition that; the ,sale:.of jarrah .remained in their hands. Tho price was .raised to builders and the public, although .there; had -.been', no corresponding increase in the. Australian prices pr.the freight '-charges;'. .-;:•;,'■': -.; -.. •'*'".'■ ■'.;■'■ -.; ,'. Another: story told by the builders suggests that some agency is. distinctly acting ''in re-: str'aint of trade.'-'.; ,Some .builders who.; were Working in tho northern.part of the'city ,be- . gan .to; get their .timber, by way pf Kaiapoi. The timber, was carried -from, the'' original port of shipment in small; sailing craft, and it; was cheaper, to get'the timber discharged at Kaiapoi and carried by rail to Papanui, than to send it on to liytt«lton by'iwater and pay the; charges.for.:the; longer rail journey round through; Christchurch. . The .builders,, who were saving a; little' money by this scheme, presently found .that the price ■'■■ of their>timber had'been : raised ..by the'.'-.- sawmillers to an extentf-sufficient to,..make 'it , cost the same as' if it had come through Lyfc. telton; The difference in;the. cpst.of freight and: transport by; the two routes, had been .addadJ';;; : --'-v.-v:^' : ;;^o;'-^-' : :.. ; V v'Thiß.storywasmentioned-.to two timber merchants, '.'and both stated that,:they hail I not heard of any such'transaction, and did not think it probable that it had occurred.