The Dominion. TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 1901. ANTI-TRUST LEGISLATION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 854, 28 June 1910, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 1901. ANTI-TRUST LEGISLATION.

> In the course of his speech at Winton the Prime Minister referred to the methods of a Trust which operates in New Zealand, and he has promised that an anti-Trust Bill will be submitted to Parliament during the coining session. The operations of the particular Trust indicated by Sir Joseph Ward are stated to be singularly effective in securing the maximum of profit at little cost. The procedure at present is somewhat as follows: Stocks of kerosene arc maintained at local oil stores, and a merchant wishing to purchase five, ten, or twenty cases of oil must send cash with the order. Business is done on the prompt cash system. For the cheque the merchant receives an order to obtain the quantity of oil for which payment has been made. This looks simple and satisfactory until one discovers the other conditions. The merchant is bound to sell to the retailer at the price fixed by the Trust and the price so fixed just now is stated to be practically the same as the buying price. That is to say the merchant has the buying and the selling prices fixed for him, and as stated both prices at present are practically the same. The merchant, however, • when dealing with the-re-tailer, is by trade custom bound to allow the .retailer 21 per cent, discount if the account is paid by- the 20th of the month following delivery. Thus the following position arises:

The merchant buys oil at, say, lljd. per gallon spot cash from the Trust. Tho merchant sells to the retailer at IU<L per gallon, less 2i per cent.

But the Trust is not yet done with the merchant, for it does not want its customers to go without any profit. Therefore the merchant receives a rebate of one penny per gallon on the oil purchased during six months provided he signs a declaration that he has nolj sold any other imported kerosene. The retailor receives a rebate of a halfpenny a gallon from the Trust on the same conditions. To obtain a signed declaration from all the retailors would involve the Trust in a good deal of clerical labour and expense, and it saves itself this trouble by getting the merchants to do the work. The merchant is required to obtain from his customers the .required declaration, which involves a separate record being kept of tho sale of kerosene, and there is the postage, etc., to be paid. The Trust, however, is benevolent to the extent that it does not want anyone to work for jt without fee, and so the merchant is allowed one-sixteenth of a penny per gallon, or a halfpenny per case, for doing this special work. The declaration required to be signed by the retailor reads as follows: Form L. 122. Wellington Territory, Ist. April, 1910. I havo neither bought nor sold any imported keroseno other than ■ keroseno (except —— for uso in oil engines) during tho six months ending 31st March, 1910, my purchases of being cu.es, made on tho following dates, and purchased from Signed Address ■ Date- No. Cases... This form must bo completed ' and returned to tho merchant from whom tho keroseno was purchased, as soon after April 1, 1910, as possible, but not later than June 30, 1910. If purchases havo been made from more than one merchant, separate forms must be filled up.

1 It is stated above that the merchant receives, at tho end of six months, a penny per gallon or Bd. per case, but out of this has to come the cartage charges, the bulk store and delivery charges if the oil •is sold to up-country storekeepers, and there is also tho i\ per cent, trade discount. These together, it is said, absorb about a half-penny per gallon, so that the actual profit is reduced to a half-penny per gallon or 4d. per case, equal to less than 5 per cent. And in this calculation no account is taken of leakage, the loss of which falls on the merchant.

Monopolies have been dealt .with by the Commonwealth Parliament in the Industries' Preservation Act which provides:

Part ll—Eepression of Monopolies. 5. After Section 7 of tho principal Act the following sections aro inserted: "7A.—(l) Any person who, in relation to trade or commerce with other countries or among tho either as principal or agent, in respect of dealings in any goods or service? gives, offers, or promises to any other porson any rebate, refund, discount, concession, or reward, for tho reason, or upou the condition express or implied, that tho latter person— ;■ (a) deals, or has dealt, or will deal, or intends to deal, exclusively with any person, either in relation to any particular goods or services or generally; or (b) deals, or has dealt, or will deal, or intends to deal, exclusively with members of a commercial trust, either in relation to any particular goods or services or generally; or (c) does not deal, or has not dealt, or will not deal, or does not intend to deal, with certain per- ' eons, either in relation to any particular goods or' services or generally; or (d) is or becomes a member of a commercial trust, is guilty of an offence. "Penalty: Fivo hundred pounds. "(2) Every contract made or entered into in contravention of this section shall bo absolutely, illegal and void.

"(3) It shall bo a defence to a prosecution under, this section and an answer to an allegation, that a contract was mado or entered inlo in contravention of this section, if tho party alleged to'have contravened this section proves that the matter or thing alleged to have been done in contravention of this section was not to the detriment of the public, and did not constitute competition which was unfair in tho circumstances. "7B.—Any person who, in relation to trade and commerce with other countries or among the States, either as principal or agent, refuses either absolutely or except upon disadvantageous conditions to sell or supply to any other person any goods or services for the. reason that the latter person— (a) deals, or has dealt, or will deal, or intends to deal, with any per(b) deal's, or lias dealt, or will deal, , or intends to deal, with persona who are not member. , ) of a commercial trust; or (c) is 'not a member of a commercial trust, is guilty of an offence. "Penalty. Five hundred pounds. A fine of £500 might prov<; lnsuflicient to check a largo and powerful monopoly. It might ho advisable also to have authority to wmtisciitc goods, and the question of imprisonment would have to'lie considered as a deterrent. Incidentally, it might he. well for the Pp.imk •Ministmi.lo give soiuo consideration (<i the methods of State monopolies; and also of State trading concerns which compete with the private trader. The subject is a wry large and a very ■difficult one to deal with satislactorily.