CARTRIDGES FOR GAME SEASON

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23946, 13 May 1943, Page 3

CARTRIDGES FOR GAME SEASON

REASONS FOR HIGHER COST Reasons for the higher cost of the cartridges issued to acclimatisation societies for the shooting season by the Department of Internal Affairs are given by the secretary of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society (Mr G. L. Pomfret-Dodd) at a meeting of the council last evening. He was replying to a member who said that the cartridges were 50 per cent, dearer than last year, and asked if the Government received the increase. Mr Pomfret-Dodd said he understood that the Government did not receive the increase. The price fixed originally for the local market was 7s for a box of 25. and the price for those issued was 9s. All the 140.000 cartridges released for the whole of New Zealand had been loaded with buckshot for export, and they had to be reloaded The additional charge of 2s had been allowed by the Price Tribunal to cover the cost of reloading. The president (Dr. D. McK. Dickson) referred to the method of distribution of the cartridges, and said that it had worked out pretty fairly. After 1000 cartridges had been set aside for returned servicemen, the remainder were distributed on the basis of 10 cartridges to each licence holder. When it was suggested that the allocation of cartridges might be increased if there was a surplus. Mr PomfretDodd said that a number of licenceholders had not received their cartridges, but intended to pick up their first and second allocations. It might be possible to make a third allocation to absorb any surplus, but it was impossible to decide this at present.