LIQUOR SALES

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25345, 29 October 1945, Page 6

LIQUOR SALES

FIXED PRICES NEEDED

CONTENTIONS BY COUNSEL (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Saturday

Evidence showed prices for liquor were, and had been in the past, excessive, said Mr J. I). Willis, counsel assisting the commission, continuing his final address before the Royal Commission on Licensing yesterday. "If the trade is to remain in private hands, with a limited number of licences, L submit prices must bo fixed," he said. "The trade cannot reasonably expect the State should grant it a monopoly and leave it free to fix its own prices. The present practice of charging the same price whatever the measure, would be tolerated in no other trade," he said. There appeared to bo nothing to justify it under normal conditions. There appeared to be no difficulties in the way of adopting standard weights and measures. Mr Willis said he had been asked to make certain submissions on behalf of the Price Tribunal. Answering criticism by Mr It. Hardio Hoys (one of the counsel for the alliance) on the subject of standard measures, ho said it was not the function of the tribunal to rationalise and reorganise the economic system, and it had no power to do so.

Long-Term View

"May I suggest," said Mr Willis, "that it falls to this commission to take a long-term view of prices as related to the whole licensing system. While the Price Tribunal has merely been called upon to hold down increases in prices in wartime it may be that, taking a long-term view and tho much wider evidence before it, the commission will corno to tho conclusion that prices and profits have been excessive, but it does not follow that the Price Tribunal has fallen down on tho job. "It is necessary to make some reference to the attacks made by Mr Hoys on the Customs Department, arising out of various official dealings between it and members of the trade," said Mr Willis. Mr Hoys' theory appeared to be that because of evils that resulted from excessive consumption of alcohol, the brewing of beer was a most obnoxious trade. and it was not entitled to any consideration whatever, and should bo restricted in every possible way. Legitimate Business "I am bound to state," said Mr Willis, "that the brewers are carrying on a perfectly legitimate business and are entitled to receive from the Crown such facilities as will enable them to carry on their business in a normal and reasonable way. There is no evidence to show that tho department has treated the brewers and the liquor trade generally differently from other industrialists and traders." The Crown, lie said, contended the Minister and his department had dealt honestly, fairly and justly with Westland Breweries, Ltd., and that a penalty fully commensurate with the offences was imposed. With regard to tho alleged sale of sugar by Ballins to illicit distillers, the department was fully satisfied as to the use of sugar by Ballins for brewing purposes, and had no control over sugar stocks held by the company for the purposes of other branches of its business. The department, however, had taken care to see that the matter was brought to the attention of the Rationing Controller. A permit to use spirits of wine had been given to Hughes and Cossar to enable the company to continue to a limited extent their existing legitimate business of compounding liqueurs in which spirits of wine was a normal constituent.

Another of Mr Boys' points seemed to be based on the unwarranted assumption that illicit spirits sold in recent years were the product of licensed wine stills.

LAND SETTLEMENT EX-SERVICEMEN'S PETITION (0.C.) Saturday A large meeting of ex-servicemen graded suitable for farm management decided to scud a deputation to Wellington to petition Cabinet to speed up land settlement under the Rehabilitation Act. They sought to secure an adjustment in the status of the Gisborne branch of the State Advances Corporation so that it can be dealt with directly and not as a sub-office of the branch at Napier. Die Government will be urged to investigate properties available for settlement and recommend their acquisition where negotiation has not yet started. The deputation will endeavour to persuade the Government to relax its policy of the full improvement of land before the allocation of sections.

We feel the Government should be prepared to write off what it estimates to be the eventual loss on the land settlement policy," said the chairman, Major Van Slyke. "By that means men could get on the land and use their initiative. If the Government is prepared to write the investment down whv not take the land needed and let the men get on with the job of improving it for their own benefit," he said.

The committee had approved the principle that the economic farming should he an area' sufficient to provide for the employment of labour and that the dairy farm basis of 100 cows should be raised to 125 to allow for wastage. Taxation on the proceeds of land and stock sales for soldier settlement was killing the farmers' desire to help the settlement policy. , It was decided to urge the Government to apply the compulsory clauses of the Servicemen's Land Settlement Act where negotiations for purchase failed and that the capital limitations of £O2-50 for sheep farms and £SOOO for dairy farms be abolished.

HOBBIES EXHIBITION (0.C.) HAMILTON, Sunday Approximately 300 people showed keen interest in an extensive display of hobbies at the Hamilton Welding Club's rooms on Thursday. Most of the work was done by members of the club and the exhibits consisted principally of wood carving, pottery designs, radio equipment, trinkets and other ornaments manufactured from waste material. Other features of the display were philatelic collections, lens-making and photographs.