PUBLIC MARKETS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 144, 12 March 1908, Page 7

PUBLIC MARKETS.

AGAIN BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL. NOT YET'ABANDONED.' The question of public markets was brought beforo-tho. City.iCounoil last ovenmg m a very downright form 'Toy a motion of Coun- . cillor Biss ■ ■ , - . " That: in: the opinion of this Council the ■ demand for public-markets is not sufficiently pressing to justify their establishment at the, present time." • " ■ .'V ! The-mover'Said'ho; thought' that 'the timo had oomo when the Council should confino its attontion to -, tho questions of practical ■ and immediate importance that , were before it, ' arid not 'wasto .timo, on other .questions concernuig which ho did:-riot'.'think the, Council waa very smcore. They had been told that public-markets. wero.desirablo in.'order that , th'o,necessaries of lifo might bo inadd cheaper to tho;public, but, after careful considera- ■ tion,' ; ho' had.V como"" to,, tho conclusion .that public markets were a myth and a'delusion. .They had more important- works, in prospect, ; , :Which'■■ should,; take,. preferenco to, thisx pro-, posal.; , A LIST OF FAILURES. :Thq local public, said Councillor, Biss, had ! . shown very 'f littlp ~ interest : .in . tho matter '. judging .by 'tho :attendahco at a.confereri6oj v4eld';withhth6vc^i^ttee, i ' ; ception of Paddy.'s; Markot,. at Sydney,, none of the pubho lnarkets in Australasia had been ,a'success.'' 'In Adelaido! most elaborate buildings were erccted for this jurposo somo years v' ego; but the people,'would liot'como to them,: : ■ and they had proved a dismal failure; The markets wero now- leased- to wholesalo dealers, - and wero. used for .-■■purely-'--wholesale .purposes.- ,;In^Melbourne. public;: markets ■ had; likewise ; been unsuccessful, and, tho stalls ,' were 'now;chiefly:. occupied': by . Assyrian' tradesmen,- second-handbookstalls,''• etc. -l,n .Sydney, elaborate buildings had been put •; . up, -to which tho i people. would. .not go, and • they had ' all been lot 'for pother purposes. ;-In 'Duriediri somo enterprising citizens . had, • f6rmed' an arcade,which no longer used for-market purposes, but by fortune-tellers, , booksellers; etc. Auckland had also had a v'-markefc/;i'whiolr : vntbiri' two years was used •for.old- clothes shops and ay variety of other ■purposes, They, must dismiss . sentiment. ' from tliis matter, and. consider, it -in a broad-. \ minded, practical way. Ho.had not heard a '"■'jingle; explanation-'yeft'-.as'to"'how.'thei'local ■ - market',ivould' be .worked,'. .They;must., con-, voider .-whether , .thoy ( ;■ could, centralise;: trade. in.' this straggling -'city, and Tvhdther; they -~h'ad: 'at their dcors .tho goods that thos, would "sell. He' thought that of < ally th-8-' 'towns in New. Zealand "Wellington was worst' fittod ; for public iqarketsVV ;Fruit,; .vegetables and i fish''chieily arrived' by'rail and' steanier, : so ■ that , growers would not como into direct'con- >-. tact ;with the % sellers,' } which was ;of, first :' im-. '■ portance to a markot. Tho produco from ■ tho Hutt was the only produco that came, ; into "townv.by ; -cart; arid-"that only ca:me| (between .the. months of November and March.

Tlio . -provision, of a market . would not choapen''fruit, of 1 which tho. price was cut as fine ass possible by tho .Chmese. • If tho ' hawkers,- who were - now doing tho cheapest trade, in Wellington, could not compete with the '• Chinese; ho was suro: that stall-holders : in- a • market nvould ibe -unablo: to- do -so. •Ho was. as anxious ,as anyono/to cheapen . tho cost of living in this city, but it had ■ ■. been • 6riev ! of.\iliis'''greatest-.'disappointments; I'that the Council'was so utterly powerless to doi anything 'in'that direction. .The 'market would • .probably v, cost. from. £15,000 ~ sto| . £20,000; .on which .tho/City,,would have, to ; pay interest; and:.:ho.t was certain that it , would 'not - , bring' any benefit? to tho consumer. Thoro . would also bo: groat. difficulty at present in. discovering a smtablo sito, , . • Councillor - Morrah, in socondmg the motion: stated-.that it was his .opinion that : .municipal' niarkots: would • provo a . financial failure, ..and entail c a;, burden on. city.-. Whilst peoplo could , get their goods at .thorn I doors they would not patronise.a market. ...

, / TO CHEAPEN SHOP SITES. Councillor>-Hindmarsh- held '/that iif -mar--

; (sets •. wero established-, ■ tho, value yof j.shop; ■ : \'6i't«s' : wbuld>lio-TeduM'd.^V i His"exporiencffl"';was'! ■j '* kh?it ! ip|ebple v their.; goodsc home: --.It >nad * been- found an t England .that markets. cheapened . the: price ,of fish. .- Growers of fruit, etc.', who found "that it did'not pay them to send their ;pi'o--duce ito' '.the''.auction- rooms -in'• Wellington/ •j<would „bo : only too, glad sto hare an , opportunity of forwarding: consignments;,to/pub-; . * v . lie ; 'i;"markets. 1 .;-The.;fact"; was' no: Dressing '■' demand •. ;. for •■-. public j market? ; 'iughtnot. to' vbo . .taken .> into,, cohsidera- ■ !ion; : ovan in -tho; caso .of very -,im•;T 1 )ortai(t i jauriicipal^'.improvementslittle ; iii-, ■ :;erest'.wa's: i ''manifest^.: : yOwing; I t6^/tlie configuration, of the city, as a result-of which .:.:the' business area: was'.restricted,-.rents:'.of . shops were so. high that persons with a ; small 1 ;; am ouritof .Capital | could., riot, enter-, into' husi-i . ness. - In his opinion,, it was the duty •of the Corporation to ''supply cheap shop sites. It would only cost': from £2000 : to i£3000;to , provido tho necessary buildings;: Mr. Morton ' .'had informed him, that the markots m Melbourne .wero. a'- great success.' / . • -■ . „ •••* ' Balhngor'.did not bolievo .that /-..r B'ettlersjwbuld,'grow.'produce;.specially for the •public markets. . . . , . . < ■ Councillor M'Lairen stated that, .although ho agreedv.with. much, that' Councillor Biss "had; urged; 'he •must'. opp.ose'ithe motion.- The. only: satisfactory-way. to deal with the ques-tion-was,, from tho : wholesalo point of, view. , Owing- to two,, auctioneers and , i tho- Chinamen—commodities were prevented " ffoin)(passing; direct -'■from• tho> .producers: .to ■the .'./ consumers. The. Council , was, ,• ho ■ ' thought,. saddled; with the responsibi-. 'lity .'of " finding ' out 'the . needs of tho people. He had always found that whenever any, question was brought forward j which affected tho living of. the .wage-earners • it. was stated that there j; was "a long list of .. works", which * required ' attention'' first.'lt was' a standing disgrace -.that' tho residents of'tho city 'Had, to depend on 'Asiatics for . : thoir. supplies; of .yogoLables.,., If for .no"other . reason than < m order to brmj about tho -: 'choapening. of'fruit)' markets'should; bo established. i THE SITE PROBLEM. Councillor Fisher obsorved that ho wished v -to.' ( seo,; public•• markets . established,, but tho ' , prbject .inust. ; be;carried ; out on sound financial lines. „ It ; was, in his opinion, degrading ,arid: demoralising to''think the' peoplo of Wellirigton—a Kuropcan city ; which contains 60,7)00 people—wero .absolutely dependent on ■ .Cliineso .'for.-.overy .vegetablo' thoy. consumed. : Chinese''had not;only a.monopoly in the fruit trade,' 'but'also! in 'other; lilies.'' The' fact that - there; werb; a fow. European fruit'arid vege'- ■ tabid businesses: in the city : showed that the . business. ;was 'profitable.., The Corporation had. land in .Adelaide,:Boad which was .contral. for tho : purposes of a market. Ho thought that a start should:be;made on a. ' small scale at first.': Tho Council -should,':aa' early as pbssiblcy.sottlo tho quostion of sito. In conclusion, Councillor Fisher stated that he helibved in the establishment, not of oho' • central market, but. of markets in various, parts, of the city'and suburbs. :..■'.' ' . Councillor Smith thought the best site was 4ho Market' Reserve," by ' the Royal Oak Hotel, but; it would cost too much to compensate tho lessee. Councillor Fletcher held that there was a genuine demand, for markots, and that it was the duty : df-'muriicipalitios to assist the ' people: in every way' to obtain cheap food and ; fruit; ' The Council should not only establish , a market,-but 'also-appoint an emplo.veo. : to handlo the produce, and so do away with tho middleihan.

Councillor!, Hales urged that ' markets'; : of this kind were successfully conducted in evory part of tho world. Tho concentration of business* in. one quarter ivps a great inducement to tho public. The question should be dealt with in a practical way. Councillor -Biss having replied, a division 'was taken on. tho motion. .

- Tho motion , was , lost, tho voting being as follows:—For:, Councillors , Ballinger, Biss, Morrah, and Smith. Against: Councillors Carmichael, Cohen, Fisher, Fletcher, Hales, Hindmarsli, and M'Laren.