CORRESPONDENCE.

Marlborough Express, Volume LI, Issue 230, 28 September 1917, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

TUT'} PR TOE OF SALT.

[to the editor.] ! «ir,~ At it whs partly tlirouo,!, ~l y | agency thui this matter was brought I under the notice or tlio Board of i ir.-ulo, i htko it t)ii..t a. few lines from j me will nob he considered out of | place. ! took this :<.'-tion in rcspon.se to tlio Mivitntion of Li" Prime Minister, wlio, in roply to various rumors ouriont '■e.H>ccti:i;v "profitoprinj^," statpfl !-i,-.f, "no sijfrli t;;so had como j under 1 is notice; but if he could ol>tiiiti :iny v\-;.]-;!-,• to \iru\ij imy Hitch f caws J]..'. woulv? t;:l:c tlio Jinw-.ssaJ-y | steps to protect Lho public from ox- | -ploitation."' A'.-v.irdingly, on the. Bfch j inst., T -.vrofc.- to tJio Memboj- ior our ? district briefly iiif(.r:ninfi; him tJiat: \ "During tJie past two weeks tJif> j -jM-icp of common salt has advanced; from £8 to £12 per ton wholesale' s&tid ih&'o ii is predicted the price will 1

roach £'20, a:s ii r*<\y no a long timo | before any more ivili be landed. That the holders oi' sl-jc-ks were taking this opportunity cd" an anticipated shortage; to torn' the, price- up. Tnat the salt which was predicted to reach s a ton was of the same shipment which had been sold at £8, 'and . that I could produce documentary evidence to prove the truth of my statement This letter Mr McCallum handed to the Prime Minister. In spite of the foregoing the Board of Trade, in their report dated lJtli inst, state :-"lf the price ot salt in Picton does not exceed £10 a ton, it does not appear unreasonable. JNo higher quotation has come definitely under the notice of the Board ot / On the same date as this report the wholesale price of salt quoted vi Wellington was £15 a ton, and this means £16 ]s Gd when landed in Picton—certainly a considerable advance on £10. In fact, the whole of the report- from beginning to end shows the utter incompetence or the Board of Trade to grapple with the question. They tell us that the price ruling for salt in New Zealand (now £15 a ton) is dependent upon the English and Australian quotations, and" later on contradict their own Ayords by informing us that a consignment is" due to "arrive from England shortly which will cost about £8 10s in merchants' stores. The Board of Trade seems to derive much consolation from the fact that the "big consumers hold stocks for nearly a 12 months' supply, while that "being sold at high rates is only in small Tots." From this we can only infer that so long as the big consumers are not "salted" it matters not how much those who purchase in small quantities have to pay, irrespective of the fact that this latter portion of the community constitutes the great majority. From the general tone of the report we can only conclude that the Board of Trade has no desire to regulate the price of commodities in favor of those who can only afford to make their purchases in small quantities. Had I been cognisant of this fact sooner, T certainly would never have troubled to bring the matter under their notice. J. L. HARWOOD. Picton, Sept. 26th, 1917.