i.—l 2.

54

C. A. MYHRE.

8. To Mr. Graigie.] The two grievances 1 have are (1) the cheap rubbish that is coming in, on which the tariff should be raised, and (2) labour. The constitution of the rubbishy goods has to be stated in the invoices. I do not favour the Government advertising for tailoresses at Home and giving them cheap passages. If a tradesman or agricultural labourer at Home comes out here with his wife and family it will have the effect of bracing up the position in the labour market in the Dominion. Figures show that wherever there is one hand employed others follow. There has been some prejudice against colonial tweed. 1 feel that that prejudice, which was very marked before the war, will be lost now. Retailers who used to stock large quantities of imported material say that, whatever the price, they will not stock it now. From the point of view of economy it is better to buy a good suit of clothes and have them cleaned up and worn out than to buy a cheap suit. It is cheaper in the end for the poor man to buy a good suit. After all, the colonial article is not an expensive one. It would be a bold policy and to the advantage of the people to put on a tariff that would not, allow any Home goods to come into the country at all. The wool is grown here, and our tweeds are beyond reproach; but you want labour, and that is where you come to the sticking-point. We want labour and a higher tariff—a dual tariff. 9. To Mr. Sidey.] I cannot say how much shoddy came into the country before the war. If we place no restriction on the importation of shoddy goods it is not likely to bring about in this country the production of a lower quality of article, because apparently the woollen-mills are able to make a tweed down to a certain point. 10. To the Chairman.] The cuttings from New Zealand tweed could be worked up in New Zealand. It requires special machinery. Other people beside the mill-owners could take up the work. 1 think it would take a large amount of capital and a large manufactory to deal with it on its own. As our union is only a Christchurch union we did not suggest any maximum duty on a man's suit per garment. It is a question for the association to discuss. 11. To Mr. Veitch.] My firm turns its goods over two or two and a half times a year. Sidney R. Cowley, Manager, Dominion Compressed Yeast Company (Limited), examined. (No. 33.) We are engaged in the manufacture of pressed yeast, which is used, in the first place, for fermenting bakers' dough. We would like a cheaper and better means of transit throughout the country for our product. In England the average cost of carriage is one-eighth of a penny per pound; in New Zealand it is 2Jd. per pound. We make use of the parcels-post. Pressed yeast is something of the consistency of putty, and is generally put in hessian bags or moulded, in bars like butter. We send all over New Zealand, and have cool stores in Wellington, Auckland, and other places. There is a big demand for the product. We estimate that 37 per cent, of the people in the Dominion are eating bread made with pressed yeast. About thirty hands are employed in the factory in Christchurch. My request to the Committee is for quicker and cheaper means of transit for the perishable productions of the Dominion. We do not suggest that the postage-rate should be reduced. We prefer to get the railway and steamer freights reduced. At present we must send our consignments by passenger-train. The difficulty lies in the fact that the present arrangements compel us to send the yeast either by goods-train or by a slow passengertrain. It is only in very rare cases that we can get the Railway Department to accept parcels to be sent by Main Trunk trains. That has compelled us to adopt the parcels-post system. Parcels sent by parcels-post always get through before parcels sent by the train. When we send goods across Cook Strait we have to adopt the parcels-post system. We could not have reached our present position if it had not been for the parcels-post system. 1. To Mr. Graigie.] The value of the article is Is. 6d. per pound. We employ thirty men at present. It is a growing business. 2. To the Chairman.] In regard to the production of commercial alcohol, at present we are throwing away some thousands of gallons of worts, or the liquors that are specially suitable for the production of alcohol or ordinary industrial spirits, and it is of a very high quality too. We threw away last year a sufficient quantity of worts as would have met the whole of the present industrial requirements in regard to this article. At present we are making vinegar of a portion of this waste liquor—pure malt vinegar. 106,568 gallons of industrial spirits were imported into New Zealand last year. With a plant costing £5,000, with a 500-gallon continuous still, you could make about 4,000 gallons a week. We do not ask for a monopoly, but at the same time two or three distillery plants should be the limit for New Zealand at the start. 3. 7'o Mr. Craigie.] We use electric power; it is a splendid thing. 4. To the Chairman.] The present price of denatured alcohol—that is, wholesale—is Bs. 6d. The Customs Department said that if the plant were in accordance with their ideas they would grant us a license. I think the machinery could be manufactured in New Zealand. There is ho patent in connection with this particular style of still I am going to recommend the directors to adopt. In regard to wheat that is milled into flour for breadmaking, I have had considerable experience as to that. I recommend that the Government should recognize the research work which has been carried on at Lincoln Agricultural College. They have produced a superior strain of wheat for breadmaking. By growing larger quantities of this wheat an improvement in the quality of the bread can be brought about, Our wheat is too soft for that purpose. If my suggestion wore adopted it would do away with the importation of wheat from Australia. The estimated production averages up to 20 bushels less to the acre, or an equivalent of 2d. per bushel. Our suggestions are — (a) That the Government shall so recognize the research of such eminent scientists as at Lincoln Agricultural College in particular as to subsidize a number of prominent agriculturists to grow, over a period of years, some of the strains of wheat that the College authorities have produced, and which, without fear of contradiction, can be shown to be