SHEEP PURCHASES.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13744, 27 May 1910, Page 2

SHEEP PURCHASES.

j PROTEST AGAINST RINGS. An interesting discussion on the operations ol '•rings' of purchasers at _heej) sales took place at the Provincial Conference of the Farmers' Union yesterday afternoon. The subject was raised in tho following remit, ionvarded by the Oxford branch of the Union:— ••That ihe Farmers' Union strongly support the auctioneers in their endeavour to prevent the cutting up purchases of tat sheep and lambs for freezing nurposes, it being inimical to tlie interests ot competition." The adoption of the remit was moved by Mr J. O'Halioran. He said that a farmer might send 000 sheep to the -•lk-yards. and they would be purchased .-it auction. The purchaser, however, would divide up the number into lots ot oO or 100 each, or even less, with <<ther buyer*; who had not made a hid. This reduced tlie competition, and it -iva.- absolutely against the interests of the fanners- " He had on ono occasion suffered a loss through the practice, and after that he never sent another .beep to the particular yards at which the incident occurred. He believed that th**- auctioneers had done something to amend the practice, but it should be abolished altogether. Mr Clothier seconded the motion, which he said was a step in the rigiit direction. It was wrona that certain men should form a ring to do away v/ith competition. The buyers, he knew, had sometimes got almost to blows over these transactions, accusing one another of bidding against the '"ring." Mr G. Sheat said that he l>elioved the auctioneers were against tho practivV as much as tlie farmers were, and during the past three weeks had refused to have anything to do with the cutting up. They insisted on giving delivery to only one man. The' auctioneer could not do more than that. It was impossible for him to utterly prevent this form of co-operation. Mr Leadiey said that the system had been pretty bad in his district at tne fat stock sales. He had known us small a lot as 60 lambs to be divided iuto two lots. The system destroyed fair competition, and was not in tlie interests either of the auctioneer or the farmer. It was ui-_icult to devise a scheme to stop it, but it was acting detrimentally to the interests of tiib trade. It would be in the interests of tlie farmers to send their sheen to the ! wcrks direct rather than send them to tho yards, unless they could get fair competition. Mr Patterson said that a buyer could divide a lot with whom he liked. He did not see that tho Union could do anything. He had seen a nice lot of lambs at Addiifclton knocked down a ir.onth ago at i.ls 6d—and there was only one buyer who put in a hid. Mr Evans (president) said that the auctioneer should not lend himself to the division of these lots. If the auctioneer did not assist the buyers to share the farmers would get the market price for their lambs. Air T. 13. Howson said that he had noticed the presence of the system at Burnside more than at any other yards. Other delegates agreed that if the auctioneers refused to recognise any division, but looked to the one purchaser for settlement, they would be doing all that was possible, and that this would do much to defeat tho "ring." The motion was agreed to.