COOK ISLAND FRUIT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 688, 13 December 1909, Page 8

COOK ISLAND FRUIT.

'•.'■:•,;■■ ■ • . .»•....-■ . . ;■. QUESTION OF EAIWAT FBEIGHTS. / i The heavy charges.for the'carriage of. Island fruit on the railways were alluded .to, by Mr. Glover in the House of Representatives on Friday night., Ho urged that fruit from tho Cook Islands should he carried at the same rates as those charged for New Zealand fruit, seeing that these islands were now an integral portion of the Dominion. He said-that some time ago he was charged 16s. 6d. for: the carriage; of three cases of oranges from Auckland to Rotorua, whereas tho- charge / by .steamer all the way from Rarotonga was only 3s. lid. ' Keferririg to the subject lator, Mr.: T. E. Taylor declared that the Railway Department had , nil right' to: discriminate.'between Cook Island and Now : Zealand-grown frnit He know'there was'a difficulty:in tho niatter of separating Cook Island from other Island fruit, but some 'means ought to be devised oi throwing the obligation of establishing that the fruit tendered for transit- is Cook Island' fruit oh the consignor.,by requiring a declarntion. The niatter ought to bo put right, and he hoped that ; Mr. Glover would porsist uiitil it was put right. .. . The Minister said that in making adifferentiation in favour of from the Cook Islands there would be a great-difficulty in; ensuring that fruit'from othor islands wasnol sent at the cheaper rates.' The'extra charge at present was only one-sixteenth of-a penny s pound, and if this were taken off the consumers would not get any benefit. The importer! would get it all. V ~ .■■■■:■ •■-. ■ ■Sir..Glover said that no oranges were • coming in fTom nny of the islands at presentj except from the' Cook Islands: The importation of oranges. , from other islands was prohibited. The Ministpr: We have been hnd so often wiUi certificates that wo lioto to bo verycharv of "what wo do. ; , ..: ■' . . ■ . . ■ •