The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1889. Trade and Credit

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 2, 20 June 1889, Page 2

The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1889. Trade and Credit

The associated Chambers of Commerce, viz., Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, Dunedin, luveicargill, and Canter bury, have issued a circular to retail dealers, giving the terms of trading and credit to come into force on the Ist of July next. There are no material alterations made in the cash system, probably for the powerful reason that Cash can generally make its own terms, but there is a change in the modes where settlement is made by bill of exchange or promissory note, and there is one clause to whiuh most dealers in our district will take strong exception, viz., "For goods sold and delivered during any month, bills or promissory notes shall be drawn at three months from let day of month following sale and delivery of such goods." An exception is made where "Any single invoice may be drawn, for at four months from date of invoice, or date of delirery from ship if such goods have to be landed." It is not so much the alteration of from four to three months bills for goods which grates with our retail dealers, but the fact that the new rules come I into force while bills for goods purchased under the old system are still current. There is no question the united wisdom of the Chambers of j Commerce was entirely at fault when they made this blunder. Taking a broad view of the document which now lies before us, we are inclined to think it may be specially applicable, if not useful, to wholesale dealers who have certain retail dealers " bound to them" in that way in which hotels are generally bound to certain brewers and spirit merchants, but it wont do in cases where the storekeepers are independent. There are many places in the colony, and we are proud to say Feilding is one of them, where the financial positions of the local dealers are such as to leave them free to order and obtain their supplies direct from the product r* or manufacturers, without the intervention of middle men, whether members of " associated Chambers of Commerce" or not. The position is this : — The retailer can do without the middle man, but the middle man can not do without the 1 retailer. All he can do is to become a retailer himself. That leads us to comment on an evil which every up country storekeeper has to contend with. We refer to the unbusinesslike grab-all-custom some nominal wholesale houses have of flooding the land with Commercial Travellers who will not only " do a line" with the retailer, but will sell articles at the same prices to farmers and settlers living adjacent, on whose custom the retailer depends for his profits — and the cash to pay the (nominal) wholesale dealer's bill at maturity. Up country retailers cannot impose a " penalty of fifty pounds" for this breach of faith — but they can quietly discontinue business with the offending "house." If this course were adopted in a few instaaces, the evil would soon disappear and shop keepers be allowed to reap the honett rewards of their labors and enterprise. A reason given for the new system of credit is that it will lessen the number of small bankruptcies. If it succeeds in doing this it will do a great thing, but we have our doubts.