STATE TRADING

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 795, 16 October 1929, Page 10

STATE TRADING

CONTROL OF RAILWAYS COMMERCIAL CRITICISM State competition with private enterone of the biggest questions concerning business men in New Zealand, was dealt with at the conference of the Associated Chambers of Commerce today, and several remits dealing with State trading and the railways were passed. These remits were as follow: ‘ That this conference would earnestly urge the Government to redress the existing public grievance of State competition with private enterprise upon unfairly preferential conditions, and would respectfully suggest as a measure of partial relief that all such • State enterprises be organised and conducted as trade corporations upon J the usual lines, after the manner j adopted by the Commonwealth Bank ! of Australia, and the Canadian Govern- i ment Merchant Marine, Ltd.” ‘ That the Government be urged to | appoint a commission to report to Par- ! liament on (1) existing undesirable in- j fringements of private rights, and (2) recommendations to rectify same.” “That in order to place the railway and other State trading departments on a true commercial basis, it is, in the opinion of this conference, desirable that they be entirely freed from political control.” „ “That .this conference protests against Government trading ventures being accorded the protection of the Crown Suits Act, and considers that where the Crown is a litigant in respect of trading ventures it should be bound by the same rules and lav/s as operate between subject and subject.” Mr. H. T. Merritt (Auckland), in submitting the first remit, spoke of the great danger which followed the interference by the State in business. No exception could be taken to legitimate trading, but the State should be subject to the same laws which governed other trading concerns. He believed that if the Associated Chambers of Commerce took the matter in hand, and followed it to its logical conclusion some action might be taken by the Government during the next session of Parliament.

Speaking of the railways as a commercial proposition, Mr. Merritt said that there were three essential principles involved before they could become a success. The first" of these was control of expenditure, the second control of prices, and the third control of the staff. Speaking in the first principle he said that capital expenditure was determined by the Government and the Minister in charge of the department. In the past, privileges and opportunities which had been conferred on the Minister had been used for political ends. This was not right. In a statement by the Minister ho had stated that this year £8,000,000 capital would be written off as a loss, and yet another £10,000,000 was to bo spent. The country had a right to know how much of this £ 10.000,000 capital expenditure had been approved by the general manager. Control of the staff was also outside the hands of the management, and it was a screaming farce. If the railways were to pay then ! the present system and control of the i railways must be abolished. The rail- j ways must be divorced from political ! control if they were to become a pay- ! ing proposition. Several efther members expressed themselves strongly concerning the control of the railways and State interference in business, before the remits were passed. FRANKTON STOCK SALE LATE RATES MAINTAINED From Our Own Correspondent HAMILTON, Tuesday. There was a large yarding of beef at the Frankton stock sale today. Kates were on a par with those ruling last week. A moderate yarding of sheep brought slightly easier prices. Pigs were disposed of at late rates. The auctioneers quote as follow: New Zealand Loan and ivtereantile Agency Company, Limited.—Prime fat bullocks, Lit, 7s 6d to £l7: lighter 6a to £l6 ss; heavy fat cows, £i'o 15s to £ll 10s; lighter, £S 17s 6cl to £lO 7s • Sg; £7 7s 6d to £S 9s; fat wethers, u3s Sd to o7s; good hoggets, to Sss 3d; baconers, £3 11s to £4; porkers '■2 7 to £2 ISs. Dalgety and Company, Limited.—Choice ox, equal to 40s a 1001 b: ordinary quality cow beef, about 36s to 38s a 1001 b; inferior fat cows and heifers, £6 15s to £9 2s 6d; very light heifers, £5 5s to £6 10s; small vealers, 235; store cows, £6 15s to 2-year Shorthorn heifers, low condition, £5 Gs; good quality well-grown yearling heifers, to £6 ss; Jersey-cross yearlings, £5 12s; short yearling heifers, £3 10s; best shorn wethers, to 275: forward four and six-tooth shorn wethers, 25s Cd; shorn woolly ewes, 19s; best baconers, £-4 4s to £4 10s; medium. £3 10s to £3 15s; light and heavy porkers, £2 iSs to £3 Gs; medium porkers, £2 10s to £2 ss; light, £2 2s to £2 12s; large-framed stores, £1 16s to £2 ss; slips, £1 10s to £1 13s; best weaners, £1 2s to £1 7s; ordinary, ISs to £l. Farmers’ Co-operative Auctioneering Company, Limited.—Prime fat bullocks, £l6 7s to £lB 3s; medium, £ls 5s to £l6 Is; light, £l2 Is to £l4 10s; fat cows, £lO to £lO 10s; medium fat cows, £8; forward cows, £6 2s Gd to £6 12s 6d; store cows, £4 5s to £5 Is; 18-months to 2-year steers, mixed colours, £6 17s; eippty 2-year Jersey heifers, £6 11s; yearling Jersey and Jersey-cross heifers, £3 7s to £6 6s; fat wethers, 30s; fat ewes, £1 8s; fat hoggets, £1 Gs Gd to £1 9s 9d; fat and forward ewes, £1 2s 9d; store ewes, 18s to 19s; good Jersey cows in milk, £l6 5s to £l6 15s; Jersey and Jersey-cross cows in milk, £l3 to £l4 15s; Jersey and Jersey-cross heifers in milk, £l2 to £l2 ss; Jersey and Jer-sey-cross heifers, close to profit, to £IG; S.H. cows, £7 5s to £lO 10s; S.H. cows close to profit, £l2 10s to £l4 10s; S.H. heifers, £lO to £ll ss; backward. AS 15s to £9 ss: Jersey and Jersey-cross cows in milk, £9 10s; heifers, £5 15s to £9 15s; Ayrshire cows, £ls; heavy baconers, £4 4s to £4 10s; medium, £3 15s to £4: light, £3 Ss to £3 12s; heavy porkers, £2 18s to £3 ss: light, £2 12s to £2 15s; good stores, £2 4s to £2 10s; slips, 32s to 375: weaners, £1 to 30s. TAUMARUNUI STOCK SALE From Our Own Correspondent I TAUMARUNUI, Tuesday. | Pigs were the only .stock that sold [ freely at the fortnightly sale today, j Wethers and hoggets showed a decided ! drop, and only young cattle were ; yarded. Prices ranged: Sheep: Shorn fat wethers passed in at 27s (reserve 295); m.s. hoggets, 19s. 3d to 23s 6d; ewe hoggets, 15s lid to 24s sd; wether hoggets, 18s Sd to 21s. j Four-year store bullocks, £lO ss: old empty cows, £4 17s; young empty cows £6 15s; empty heifers, £5 6s; cows and calves, £6; two-year-old heifers, £5 7s 6d: rough yearliAg steers, £2 Is to £4 10s; heifers in calf, £3 12s; Shorthorn heifers, £4 5s to £4 2s; yearling Jersey heifers, £5 10s to £5 15s; other yearlings, £3 14s to £4 2s; dairy cows, £ 6 to £S 19s. Porkers, i 26s to 30s; slips, 19s; weaners, 9s Gd j to ISs. CHICAGO WHEAT MARKET Australian and N.Z. Press Association Reed. 11.50 a.m. CHICAGO, Tuesday. "Wheat.—December. 1 dollar 345 cents a bushel: March. 1 dollar 42£ cents; Mac I 1 dollar 43> cents.