Free Gifts May be Allowed

Horowhenua Chronicle, 9 October 1931, Page 7

Free Gifts May be Allowed

TRADING COUPONS BILL TO PROCEED. THE TALE OF A CHEST OF TEA REVELATIONS IN WELLINGTON,.Last' Night. In the House to-night, Mr. G., C. Munns, on behalf of the Industries and Commerce Committee, reported on the Trading Coupons Bill, which it recommended" should be allowed to proceed with amendments. He said the Bill had. been amended to provide that instead of the" issuer and seller of goods containing coupons being permitted to redeem coupons up to a certain date, only the issuer and his agents could redeem them. Mr. Munns said nearly all the witnesses who had been heard by the Committee had asked that the gift system be prohibited. Committee had had placed before it an advertisement stating . that every purchaser of half <a chest of a certain tea would be ; entitled to a variety of gifts. He enumerated the list of gifts ranging from a seventy-pound bag of sugar to a pound of sausages. Mr.- Smith: "Who got the empty shop?" (Laughter,) „ Continuing, Mr. Munns said the Committee had obtained samples of the tea which had been valued by officers of the Industries and Commerce Department and also by independent valuers. It had been ascertained that the cost of the tea would be elevenpence per pound, and it was being retailed at 2/9 per pound. The Committee had compared the cost of the tea ' and the cost of the gifts and had found that even making allowance tor the granting of gifts, the firm was making 50 per cent, profit on the

tea. The Industries ' and Commerce Department had been asked to report on the gift system and had said it was almost impossible to draw a clear line of demarcation between legitimate systems and others. The Department had pointed, out that the gift system did not .lend itself to sales promotion of inferior articles as a continuous process, and in this respect it was different from the coupon system. It expressed the opinion that the prohibition of the gift system would be a very extreme step and very, difficult to carry out. The Committee had asked whether the Department could prosecute a firm responsible for the advertisement to which he had referred. Mr. Rushworth: "Under what Act?' r Mr. Munns: ''The Board of Trade Act."

■« Continuing, Mr Munns said the Department .had advised that the magistrate or -whatever authority heard the case would take all the facts into consideration and the Department would probably be unable to get a conviction. The Committee had found that it had not power to deal with the gift system and could under th Bill before it deal only with trading,coupons.

Mr A. Harris said, as a member of the Committee, he wished to dissociate himself from the report. He said' there had been no evidence of a desire on the part of the consuming > public for the. passage of the Bill. He did not consider there was any necessity for restrictive legislation of this kind, and it was possible the public might obtain considerable benefit from this system of advertising which was cheaper than advertising in the Press or by posters. Mr. P. Fraser said the problem was a difficult one, but there were certain features about coupon trading that should not be. allowed. On the Other hand, Parliament should not interfere too much with private trading. Mr. W D. Lysnar said it was the duty Of the House to stop unfair trading. He thought the Bill should be enlarged to cover free gifts. Mr. A. E. Ansel said he supported the Bill because ho believed the coupon system tended to increase the cost of necessary commodities to the public. It the system were abolished, manufacturers would improve their goods or reduce the price to gain custom and the consumer would benefit. Mr. W. E. Barnard said he felt sure the whole Hpuse would support the clause providing for the abolition of the trading coupon company which traded in coupons only.

Mr E. McKeen said the Bill was just as essential as the law governing correct weights and measures. He regarded coupon trading as a specious form of fraud and believed it should be abolished.

Mr. H. (Christehureh) supported the recommendations of the Committee and said he hoped gifts without coupons would also be stopped. Mr. Lye said he was disappointed that there was nothing in the Bill to stop the granting of gifts. j Mr. Munns, replying, said the evidence before the Committee concerning certain coupons had shown that about one-third of them were never redeemed, consequently the packers were gaining and the consumers were paying for something they did*not receive. The report was. adopted and the Bill was set down for committal.