1.—13 a.

Mr. O'Leary.] I take it from your remarks that you would not want to discipline your own members ? —No, our own members do not occasion us very much trouble. If the Bill becomes law and you are able to discipline the people you desire to, what form is the discipline going to take ? —Well, it would vary according to the circumstances. His supply would be cut off if you thought it necessary ? —Not necessarily, but that would be a most effective method. The discipline, to put it plainly, would be by boycott ?—No, no. It would be wise discipline ; the first step would be to speak to him nicely. I suggest to you that the discipline would really be by boycott: you would cut off supplies ? — That would be an effective means. It would be an extreme measure as a last resort. You think that this Act will give you the power to increase prices ?—No. All we want is power to deal with the person who is cutting prices which he has agreed to maintain. And you would deal with them in what way ?—According to the merits of the case. Your association is the same old merchants' association that was in existence many years ago ? — I wish it was, but times have changed. When did you come into existence Ido not know exactly. I have been in the merchants' business for thirty-five years —the merchants were fined £10,000 in the sugar case, and the association discontinued. Did the association go out of business then ?—Yes. This association is possibly an association reconstructed of similar people. The people whom I represent —National Distributors—say this : that from 1931 to May, 1934, they were endeavouring to be placed on the best wholesale list with this Australian Dried Fruits Board, and that in May, 1934, they were placed on the best terms ?—Yes. That their being there did not last very long, and their being taken off the list followed a visit to Australia by Mr. Paterson, president of your association, and Mr. Fraser : Do you suggest it had some connection ? We have no say whatever in who goes on that list. Mr. O'Leary.] They say that they were taken off the list after a visit of Mr. Paterson and Mr. Talbot to Australia. You were to go, but you got ill ? —Yes. They were informed that the Board in Australia was induced to take them off the list by Mr. Paterson, and that it was represented to them that if they were not taken off the list New Zealand merchants would wait on the New Zealand Government in connection with the matter. You were not there ? — No, but I know that we would have no power to influence the Government (of New Zealand) in that direction. The person who could tell us what happened is not Mr. Fraser I—Mr.1 —Mr. Paterson could tell you that I was in touch with the whole business. If you appeared in a Court of law, I suggest that your evidence would be ruled out as hearsay.

New Zealand Master Grocers' Federation, by J. Heaton Barker. I would at the onset point out that, having regard to persistent requests made to the Government by the New Zealand Master Grocers' Federation to amend the Commercial Trusts Act, it has been actuated by a very earnest desire to give effect to its policy—namely, not merely to live and let live, but rather to Live and help live —I repeat myself—to live and help live. Whilst in seeking an amendment to the Commercial Trusts Act we are here very definitely in the interest of the grocery trade of the Dominion, we, we would like it to be distinctly understood, are actuated by a very sincere desire to conserve the interests of the general public. In other words, we claim the right of any industry, without interference, to govern itself wisely and in the public interest. To the thoughtful mind it must be abundantly clear that the price-cutter is not helping to reduce the cost of living because his practice is totally uneconomic. Price-cutting destroys the sound trading that importers, manufacturers, and distributors have built up by years of careful well-managed marketing and advertising, and to reduce all concerned to the one lever of unprofitable trading is wrong. Summed up, the benefits ofjprice-cutting to the public are fleeting : its depredations to trade permanent and profound. Price-cutting, by whatever name you call it, smells just as rotten. The Commercial Trusts Act as at present constituted gives full license to the baneful price-cutters. Because of this fact, the federation seeks to secure amending legislation. Grocery and the Provision Merchant, one of the leading trade journals published in England, points out that the price-cutters' main objective is to enrich himself at the cost of the landlord, the housewife, and her children, whether they be babes in arms or youngsters in their teens. His motto in life is invariably, Damn my relations, friends, and acquaintances—business or otherwise—provided lam all right. The said journal goes on to state that maintenance of price-levels does not mean profiteering, but it does mean assuring the public of sufficient, funds with which to buy daily requirements. I respectfully submit that the manufacturer should have an inalienable right in the goods he manufactures from the time they leave his factory until such time as they reach the consumer. He should have the right, seeing that the goods are his, to sell them on such terms and conditions as he considers expedient. The purchaser still remains free to decide for himself whether the terms offered

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