WELLINGTON NOTES.

Hokitika Guardian, 21 July 1924, Page 4

WELLINGTON NOTES.

REFORM OF LIQUOR TRADE

(Special to “Guardian”.)

WKI.LINGTON, .Jnlv Ist

A Licensing Rill is promised for tho present session, and just wlmt tins nature of the Hill is to lie no one knows. In the meanwhile a new scheme for the reform of the liquor trade is proposed and propaganda work in eonueetion therewith has been started in a pamphlet published hy the New Zealand Licensing Reform Association, whose headquarters are in Wellington. It is suggested in this scheme that the third issue of State Purchase find Control on which the electors hare won the privilege to vote should he eliminated find Corporate Control substituted. ruder this system the ownership of every branch and section of the Liquor Trade would he exclusively vested by Act of Parliament in a Corporation. The various sections of the trade to sell their businesses to the Corporation, which is to have ft nominal capital divided into shares equivalent in amount to the value of the businesses and assets acquired. The capital is to be divided into “A” shares and "11” shares, "JO per cent of the total being “A” shares and Hi per cent "li” shares. The whole of the •*A” shares are to he allotted lo the Covenimenl of New Zealand without any payment in cash, and tiro lo stand equally with the 'll'' shares tor dividends. All dividends accruing to "A” shares shall from time to time he applied towards payment for the same until such dividends shall have reached in the aggregate. the e.ominai value of the shares. The "I!” shares are to I-• allotted to the vendors in proportion to the ascertained value 01 such businesses lespectivoiy. '1 be dividends on all shares are restr'.eled to 10 per cent, and fill profits over that are to l.e applied to National purposes, such as the extinction ni the National debt, payment of hospital subsidies, and maintenance of main public highways etc. 'I he Gnvernmonl is al fill times to have ft majority on the Hoard controlling the operations ol the Corporation. The Corporation to act. its the sole authority for the issue and continuance of permits to sell alcoholic liquors, subject always to the right of appeal before a magistrate by any person affected. The Corporation to have no power lo alter by increase or reduction the total number of licenses, nor tlk* hours provided by Statute for the sale of liquor. The powers of the Corporation are not to apply to Chartered Clubs. The Corporation is to he empowered to grant special licenses for the manufacture of wines within New Zealand, but such trines must l.v sold exclusively to the Corporation. The above are life outstanding features of the scheme and presumably once the Corporation comes into existence there will lie no more voting on the licensing question, and there would he no further use for the New Zealand Alliance. The scheme is not taken seriously in Wellington, and some people profess to see the influence of the LTqtinr Trade in the ■scheme. DFCLINF. OF WHEAT GROWING.

The president of the Council of Agriculture, Mr W. Perry, at the annual meeting gave very good reasons why the heavy duties, the ciuliargo and other forms of (iovernuie’it interference in respect to whent should end. lie stated that land that had grown a big crop or two of wheat* would afterwards fail to give a good yield of grass, until it was heavily dressed with manure. When «:!!:■ took into account the heavy cost ol production, ami the depletion of soil fertility, it was astonishing that anyone grew wheat, and it was easily understood that it required a very large price to compensate the tanner, lie maintained that sheep, cattle and dairying were a sounder proposition so long sis they yielded le.i.-onable re turns There Mils a time in the history of New Zealand when wheal was our important staple produce ranking a*- high, if not higher than wool. • . That was AA to tn years ago. betor<»j «e knew anything much alioin the freiyting or dairying itidu-lries. Wheat growing is unprofitable because costs of production here are greater than in other wheat-growing countries—-Aus-tralia for instance—and it i- just common sense to admit the laet and lace the pn.s;itii t. instead of penalising the people in a vain effort to maintain an unprofitable industry.

DAIRY I’RODI'C.TIOX. Taking l Ik 1 dairy produce your as beginning on August I, eleven months ol' tli:- nim-iii your expired on June All, nii-1 tin- grading ol lull tor which probably more correctly represents tlio country's product ion than liny otlior room'd slums tlmt in tin? olovon mouths tin- l,nttor graded totalled 1.120,72.1 owl, as against 1 ,tltD.OOii owt ill the corresponding olovon mouths of tlie* previous son son, 11 (h-orouso ol AJ-pS'S.t owt.. while the gradings of cheese lolnllod 1,1711.A1D out. US against 1,21*v.V21 out., an inoroaso of 2T7.770 out. Thus the of a(I i H}ts of hut tor and choose eoinhiued show n small inoroaso of :il,ss7 owl. Hut when those figures are oolivortod into huttcr-lal. equivalent there is a dooroaso ot ('hiß per roll! which is said to have horn duo to the dry weather experienced dui-iii": the season. Some people anticipate a further shrinkage in the coining season, owing to the tact that a number of farmers have reverted to sheep. Thi- no douht is an important factor, hut against this must he set the hotter yield from the cows, the results of herd testing. In the moanwhile it is interesting to note that iho values of both butter and cheese are living well maintained and the surprising feature of the market is the remarkable evenness of the prices. New Zealand salted butter, Australian, Argentine, and Irish are all over ISOs' per cu t, the margin between the different brands being a low shillings. New Zealand unsalted butter and T).,„ish butter are both quoted at 201 s, while not so very long ago the difference between the two was as much as 2(55.