SECRET COMMISSIONS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16565, 1 June 1914, Page 6

SECRET COMMISSIONS.

The secret commissions case which created a sensation in the Old Country when the iirsfc reports were published, Ims dragged on to such a length that public interest in it must wellnigh have evaporated. But the cable messages show that the. announcement of the sentences on the prisoners lias stimulated tho discussion of the general question of secret commissions and it is

possible that the Imperial Parliament, which deals tardily with matters of this kind, may be induced to adopt a drastic amendment of the law to check what is, admittedly, a growing abuse. AYo have a Secret Commissions Act on our own Statute Book, providing for tho imposition of fine, or imprisonment as a punishment, but its existence does not appear to have checked tho objectionable practice to any observable extent. There is scarcely a trade that is not affected by the practice. Gifts to secure the goodwill of agents of customers are common everywhere, of course, and it is difficult .sometimes to decide when such gifts ore legitimate and when they are offences against the. spirit of tho law. But in many trades commissions calculated on the value of orders are passed almost openly, and tradespeople grumble incessantly about the practice; Tho position of the seller is easy to understand. If the agent for a customer asks for a commission be can scarcely quote the law on the subject, because he fears that one of his rivals will prove more obliging and will secure tho business. Onco a commission is paid it compels other sellers to follow the toad example, or lose trade, and we liave heard complaints from a- number of linns during tho past few months, suggesting that the evil is quite as prevalent now as it was before tho Act of 1910 was placed on the Statute Book. Even iu trades that are governed by price schedules and written agreements, it seems the socret commission is now common, and is not confined to one or two branches of business. Unfortunately, evidence that would satisfy a court of law is difficult to obtain, and naturally firms do not care to identify themselves with public complaints, but bodies like the Employers' Association and the Chamber of Commerce might very properly interest themselves in the subject.