NOT TO BE SNEEZED AT

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 9 March 1935, Page 5

NOT TO BE SNEEZED AT

Huge Profit from Halfpence per Ounce Rise in Pepper LONDON MARKET SPECULATION (United Preaa Awociation—By Electric Telegraph CopyrigßX) LONDON, March 8. In the House of Commons Mr Grenfell moved a reduction in the civil vote in order to direct attention to the recent .speculations in pepper, .shellac, and tin, declaring they included “spicy elements, sticky episodes, _ glittering pages and reckless exploits.’’ The alarm over the recent affair which led to the failure of several solid and respectable firms was not confined to England. The foreign Press readily printed news of it. creating the impression abroad that some English Stavisky affair had been unearthed, which was exceedingly bad for Britain s reputation. Those who took part attempted a. pepper corner. They thought an increase in the retail price of hd per oz was negligible to the consumer, but it would have meant £1,.500,000 profit to them, w.hich was not to be sneezed at. . . . Mr. Grenfell revealed that Britain was the world’s largest consumer cf peeper. Her stocks multiplied 10 times in 1931 as compared with 1932. The corner failed owing to the world s enormous oepper harvest. It was well known that people who speculated in pepper had also dealt in shellac and tin. A corner in tin was impossible, hut if the price were raised consumers would have to resort to substitutes.

Sir A M. Samuel (Con.) .supporting Mr. Grenfell, expressed the opinion that gambling in commodities was helped by excessively cheap money. The Treasury should inquire whether this had not gone too far and defeated itself. It merely encouraged speculation, instead of trade. The Board .of Trade should inquire how far the limited liability law was permitting itself to be used as a shield for disreputable transactions. Mr. Walter Runciman, President of the Board of Trade, said he was most concerned with maintaining the reputation of the City of London for clean dealing. There must be investigation. It was only a question of what form it would take. It was not easy to define legitimate and illegitimate speculation. Mr. Walter Runciman emphasised that the official receiver, who was now conducting an inquiry into the popper pool operations, had the widest powers and was one of the most fearless officials in London. Therefore, there was no need for misgiving regarding the tribunal, its scope or its methods. Until all this usual machinery was exhausted there was no need for further inquiry. He believed the r-oot of the present trouble was the absence of a settling day. An example might be taken from the Baltic, the centre of the world’s grain trade, which was so democratically conducted! that even clerks on the floor were represented on the committee. If there had been a pepper market like that this trouble could not have arisen.

He was determined to see that investigations went to tlie utmost limit and was going to get the whole truth out. On the continent the term Stavisky was used in connection with the trouble. Stavisky meant corruption in public life. It was necessary it should be known abroad that as far as the Government and members of the House of Commons were concerned there, had not been a whisper of suspicion that a single individual had been mixed up in the affair (cheers).