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(Hi) Proceeds of Sales £ Sales to 31st May, 1946 .. .. .. .. 4,189,306 Sales for year ended 31st May, 1947 ... .. 529,704 £4,719,010 (c) Royal Commission During the year a Royal Commission was set up to inquire into and report upon certain matters arising out of the acquisition and disposal of surplus assets by the Board. The report of the Commission, dated 23rd September, 1946, has already been before Parliament. (d) M.T. Parts and Accessories : Tires M.T. parts are disposed of by sale to the major distributing organizations at prices based on current landed costs. This system has worked smoothly and well. It has resulted in substantial clearances of surplus holdings and has ensured an equitable distribution throughout the trade as a whole. The sales to 31st March, 1947, total £226,566. However, there are still very large holdings of M.T. parts generally, including many " slow-moving " parts for which there is little or no demand. The disposal of new tires is the function of the Ministry of Supply, but the Board has taken over the responsibility for the disposal of used and unserviceable tires and tubes. The method of disposal has been by tender. Considerable quantities have been disposed of with very satisfactory results. 13. General Stores Section (a) General The General Stores Section is designed to take charge of all disposals other than buildings and building-materials, and motor-vehicles, parts, accessories, and tires. It therefore embraces a very wide range and variety of stores. It is assisted in its work by a General Advisory Committee and several other Advisory Committees, each dealing with specified groups of commodities. Except in the case of certain special items, neither the Board nor Government Departments are in a position to make retail sales of common user items direct to the public. In fact, the Service Departments, particularly Army and Air, are experiencing the greatest difficulty, because of staff reductions, in effecting bulk deliveries in accordance with sales made by the Board. The general policy of the Board is to market surplus stocks of new goods through recognized trade channels, usually by tender, and to sell used goods by tender or auction. In all cases the requirements of Government Departments are satisfied before other disposal action is taken. Welfare organizations and community groups are given special consideration to enable them to obtain their requirements direct from the Board without having to compete with other consumer interests. (b) Auctions Sale by auction has proved most satisfactory for many classes of surplus stores. Up to 31st March, 1947, a total of 202 auction sales were held, the gross proceeds being £284,027. (c) Stores ex United States Forces In my last report reference was made to the purchase by the Government of all United States surplus stocks held in New Zealand. There have been substantial clearances of these stocks per medium of transfers to Government Departments, sales by tender through trade channels, and sales by auction. However, the remaining stocks are still considerable and include certain slow-moving lines which will be difficult to sell. 3—H 27

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