The Daily News FRIDAY, MARCH 8. CURRENT COMMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 57, 8 March 1907, Page 2

The Daily News FRIDAY, MARCH 8. CURRENT COMMENT.

From the revelations recently made in the Old Country by the, Loudon "Times" and other papers. i| appear- that there was uigorit need for the passing ol the An to prohibit the giving ol secret commissions or Tti,is measure ha-, cursed more than usual interest in ihis colony on account of the pointed reference that has been made by Ihe Wellington Crand .Jury and the Press to Urn existence of similar practices in this colony, and because of the Attorney General's statement that he will br.ng forward a similar mea&ure this coming session. Ail secret commissions are, in ell'cct, gven as br.iitos ' or extorted as blaektnad, as we have before pointed out. J?raud of some sort is of their essence or intent, and no reason is obvious why the iaw should be more tender to tlieni than it is to other and not more mischievous forms of iraud. Detection, of course, often dillicult, but the fear of it might compel business people of the baser sore to be honest m spite of themselves. Any honest man who conseicnt ousiy doubts whether in given circumstances lie may or may not give or take a commission in any form can easily 'juiet his scruples by asking himself whether the transaction is one which he would hesitate to disclose to his principal or to acknowledge before the world. We are afraid some Tarauaki people we know of would not care to make the test.

The London Chamber of Commerce was responsible for the passing of the English Act, which is very drastic i« its operations, though not unduly so. Any person who gives to an agent or any agent who accepts or obtains or agrees to accept, any gift or consideration as an inducement or reward for doing or for having to do, or for showing favor or disfavor to any person in relation to business dealings is liable on conviction to a term not exceeding two years or a line not exceeding £SOO. The London "Times" gives some instances of the existence and growth of the malignant canker. We take the following:—The chairman of a railway company wrote: "Some years ago 1 wished .CIO.OOO of my marriage trust funds invested in the debenture stock of my railway. In going through the accounts of my railway 1 observed a charge of X">o commission paid lo my own solicitors for being good enough to a low my -own money to be invested in the railway. J drew their attention to this charge whereupon they were obliged to dsgorge it." A pharmaceutical eh"ini>t stated that: "Secret commissions are g.ven by chemist* to medical men on their prescriptions supplied to p:uicuts in some cases amounting to from 25 to 50 per cent, on the price charged by the di.-pcising chemist." An optician, jeweller, and s lveivmith wrote: "i have had about 50 year* of I»um-ne-s experience. About -15 years ago it was customary for travelers to g ve buyers fees of 10/ti and more in the electro-piate trades at the expense of the maker-. Recently a man of .-ciciiUlie eminence in Scotland received very large commiss ons for recommending a certain make of microscope. It ,s an open secret that ho.-ptal doctois receive commissions from makers of snrgjcal instruments.''

A steward on a big estate s -nt the j\>!Jow : ng:—"On paying th* first tailors bill for liverii'-i. he received fi-oni the iirm --upply.ng tneai a present in kind, which he returned. !I is c:erU inform ed hiin ihat a-man wJi.» ua> ue:_<,.:aiing for the purcim-; 1 of -nine groundrents had olicred liiui (Ihc c.erk) L'"> to u-e li's inilucihv will) th • steward to let him have the reins eiic.ip. Another man who was negotiator: untile purcha-e of soni.' hn Idin-. Li:ni wanted Jiim to increas-* ji\s pric.- C>o p'T acre, and lo h-t hint uln- negotiator) have the CSH for hini-eijV 1 A wellknown guuMnitlu whom he toil that no commission mu-c be p:iid to any ol the servants, said that on such terms lie must decline his cu-toni. 'The practice,' lie said, 'is growing for the Muweyov or engimer employed ou the one side to be paid by the Other as well; for ex-.iuiple. railway companies pay the surveyor* and inspedor.-; of those owners who-e land they lake. Lessees of collieries often pay ic-sor.V advisers for arranging the terms of leases, &c. The practic is bad." A draper in the north of Fngland wrote calling attention Jo the bribery amongst co-operative store managers, and gave a striking instance to the ell'cct of this on tlk* business done by a traveller who represented lirst a bribing and sccondiv a non-bribing house. Jlc said: k 'The co-operative .-tores have been the hotbed of the system, and 1 can give many eases where .C 25, CHI. C">. Hitches of bacon 4 chests of tea have been given to managers for orders, in some ea-e* a.- much as 5 to II.) per cent, discount on the total account, which has not appeared on the receipted account. has been taken by the managers, \

In the retail 'trade it lakes the form of 'drink's' more than of anything el-e." The head of a large firm of printers wrotc:'*Thc principal trade in which ! have evidence ol the cxi-Jence of these commissions 1o a serious extent is the manufacturing of printers' ink. i understand a regular commission is given t.v the foreman or workman in tne printing otlice. In addition to a regular percentage, present-, loans whiHi are not oallel in, and other presents are given (o persons who can in--1 iluehcr orders. Ink makers have (old m.' extraordinary stories of the corruption going on and of the international wa<te of ink iu order lo increase the use of if, and so increase the commission." These arc but a -few of the cases mentioned. They, however show the necessity for an Act like the one passed and which came into operation at the beginning of the present year. It is to be hoped the Xew Zealand Legislature wiil go and do likewise and deal a death blow to the practice, wluch is dishonest to fair trading and dishonest to the fair employer, breaking down ;*s it does that principle of monopoly which ought to be preserved among men who desire to cultivate and deserve honest v.

'J'he ias| mail bi'ought reports on 'British iratle dunng l!)D(i. which are of lhe most encouraging kind. From linn- to lime we have receiwd cablegram messages indicating a yenr ot el'eat prosperity, but the totals now to hand are none the surprising. The total trade for lhe year reached tin: gigantic total of ,e*L(Hi!»,IJUU.OUU. .noi only so. bin the exports have increased more largely than the* import*, th. imports ivlain.'d having increased by o'V;.', million-, while the exports ».»f I!iii;sh pi'odnee athlcd to their bulk. 1 ,- ur!liei'inoie. the exports of nianuiacluied goods Inne grown out of all proportion t.o th.e imports ; sjmilar conimodities. The im[iort< of inanutac.ured good- retained are but th of millions in the manufacture' j •Miorteil. Tin- exjiorts of raw mater- I iah and arfiele- mainly mauufacttireil, I on the olher hand, have increased by ■inly seven millions. What a different po-ilion lhe la-, lew years have made may b.* -hown by I lie following comparison. Three years ago. Mr Chamberlain could show (hat ISrilish trade Tfas not keeping pace villi the growlii of the population. The lS7:!-l!)i>:i period, he lamented, showed a growth of only per cent, in "British exports, as figain.-t an increase of 30 per cent, in Lhe population. J3ut the period IKTii)<)o(i shows tlie enormous increase, of 83 per cent, ill exports, as against 'tlie same growth of population—3o per cent In tho 1K72-IUO2 period, again, there (ippcnredf a deplorable decrease of •') per cent, in Ihe exported mauufact ur-s; in the period ISTO-IiMO, however, fine is an increase of no less Ihan 0o.;> p"r cent. It does not. of co'urse, ftdlow thai Mr Chamberlain's views were in'correct. As one authority puts it, if British prosperity has been

due to the Preclrade system, ''Protectionist countries and preferential colonies would have sutl'cred fur their here- . t ical leanings, whereas, as a fact. most j of thorn exceeded the Brit sh Isles in the increase of foreign business they transacted."' There can, however, he no doubt that British trade has been enjoying a period of ramirk;ibte prosperity.