SUGAR INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1615, 5 December 1912, Page 5

SUGAR INDUSTRY.

—S PLAN TO REGULATE PRICES MINIMUM WAGE. i(y Toieeraph-Press Associatlon-Oopyrlnhl { Melbourne, December i. ( Tho report of the Commonwealth Sugar < Commission states that the figures supplied by tho Colonial Sugar Company ' showed 'that the business produces high j profits. The Commission, was opposed to tho nationalisation of the sugar industry and , the Commonwealth competing with existing concerns. . r With a view to keeping down the price . of refined sugar, while raising the price of raw sugar, the report recommends the amendment of the Constitution to enablo the Commonwealth to control the prices of raw sugar and sugar cane, and that thereupon the price of raw material be ( fixed on a sliding scale by an inter-State , Commission, the price of cane to be fixed by the board for each mill. A minimum wage of Bs., an eight-hour ' day, and better conditions for workers aTe recommended; also the retention of the rebate of the sugar duty on exported manufactured products, and a special excise of £2 per ton. on beet sugar when the production exceeds 10.000 tons. ! , MINORITY REPORT. THE COMPANY DEFENDED. (Rec. December 3, 10.5 p.m.) ' Melbourne, December 4. The minority report of the Sugar Commission, signed by Mr. Crawford, one of , the Commissioners, strongly defends the Colonial Sugar Company and urges that the beet industry of Victoria should be encouraged as far as possible as it is unlikely that the requirements of Australia will be .met by the production of cane sugar in New South Wales and Queensland for several years to come. Mr. Crawford's conclusions include the following: That the excise duty and boun--1 ty on white-grown sugar, in conjunction with other measures, have fulfilled their purpose; that the profits of the niill- . owners' and refiners, while sufficient, are not excessive to the'consumer; that the ' primary producer will do better by serving under existing conditions than he , would under a system of small independent refiners- by which farmers would not receive an adequate return for their labour and enterprise. The recommendations of the minority report include the abolition of the excise and bounty and the prohibition of coloured labour, an increase in the import duty on sugar to £7 a ton, bit if the excise and bounty are retained an inj crease in tho import duty to .£9. It is also recommended that wages and conditions of labour should be regulated by local boards. , I'.' ■ . •