King Country Chronicle Tuesday, December 18, 1928. ITINERANT TRADERS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXII, Issue 2668, 18 December 1928, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Tuesday, December 18, 1928. ITINERANT TRADERS.

An interesting case came before the Magistrate’s Court at Moriinsville last week, when a travelling auctioneer was charged with sellinggoods in the Borough without a license. The presiding magistrate during the hearing of the case was critical of the by-laws of the town, stating that he could see no reason for the restrictions on itinerant traders, as they eliminated competition, and shopkeepers became a closed corporation, prices remained high, and the residents were penalised. It will be news to business men in all lines to hear that they belong to a close corporation to keep up the prices of their goods, and this applies particularly to those in the smaller centres. These latter have not only to compete in their own towns with others in the same line of business, but also with the big towns. With the improved transport facilities by both rail and motor services, the country towns are feeling the outside competition more and more every year, and even if they were disposed to do so, would find it impossible to create a monopoly amongst themselves. In all the smaller towns in the Auckland Province, the shopkeepers have to make their prices conform to those prevailing in Auckland and Hamilton, and it will be found that this practice has been the general rule. These itinerant traders are a distinct handicap to towns like Te Kuiti. They purchase stock which is sold under pressure at a few shillings in the pound, and then visit the smaller towns to sell at prices at which the legitimate trader cannot buy his goods. A large proportion of the goods sold in this way is of inferior quality, or out of date, but the people are carried away by the cheap prices, and in many cases make purchases which are of very little use to them. The permanent shopkeepers have to pay for this, for unlike those in the larger towns, the people in the country districts have only a limited spending power. The shopkeepers in the^.small towns have to pay rent and taxes all the year round, while the itinerant trader is only located for a few days, and then moves on to another centre with a fresh bankrupt stock, the amount of his contributions to the civic administration being negligible. The position in regard to these travelling auctioneers is distinctly unfair to the permanent business man, and the civic authorities have a perfect right to make bylaws which will place this unfair competition on a better basis. It is the business men of the town who have to pay for its administration, and they are entitled to some protection from the casual vendors who are only with us for such time as they can make money to the detriment of those who have financial civic responsibilities.