Manawatu Herald TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 1891. Fewer Stock Sales.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, 2 June 1891, Page 2

Manawatu Herald TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 1891. Fewer Stock Sales.

All at once our fanners are being called upon to take an acuive part in the formation of Unions on the cooperative principle. Owing to the natural bashfulness of the countrymen, the public are in the dark as to the steps the promoters of some of these companies purpose taking, and it has been left to a Wellington company to come boldly before the pub ic with a prospectus. We think that the promoters of the purely country Unions have only their secretive action to thank for an opposition arising, as their own want of faith in themselves has naturally caused a further want of faith in the outside public. At present we believe three or four new companies are competing for one lot of shareholders. The farmers have one source of loss to them open to immediate alteration if they would only insist upon a reform, and that is, the abolishing of the almost daily stock sales now held. We believe that no district has such a number of sales as are now held between Marton and Foxton, and it is easy to see who has to stand the expense of them. We have never been able to properly understand why so many were first • started or why retained. No farmer can possibly spare the time to attend them, and the one or two sales a month he does attend may not be representative, owing to something occurring at the previous week's sale. That -which would be of the greatest benefit to the grazier would be the establishment of monthly or fortnightly sales in the district, in yards belonging to the town or company, for the use of which a light charge would be made, and at which sale every auctioneer on the one day would take turns to sell his client's stock. The attendance both of stock and buyers would be larger, and prices would rule higher and steadier, as the speculator would not have the ; off sales to buy at and to sell in, and the party wanting stock would be less likely to be run by him. It may be said that this would be likely to 1 be a disadvantage, but those who understand the sales, know that the times stock are bought cheap by the speculator is of more frequent occurrence, to those he forces the other buyers to pay more. Two large and central sales would permit the farmer to regularly attend, thus preventing him losing the opportunity to purchase any line, which he has had frequently to do, owing to his being absent. We are assured that to all parties such a revolution would be of great benefit, and we think that some such proposal should be submitted to the two leading firms of auctioneers, so as to lead them to adopt it. As we throw out this suggestion for the consideration of those most interested, we do not care to go more fully into details, but we should be

pleased to see the matter discussed, and would gladly make further suggestions to overcome, what may at present appear, difficulties.