MUNICIPAL MARKETS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1798, 22 August 1906, Page 49

MUNICIPAL MARKETS.

ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST. ! THE PUBLIC SAYS ITS SAY. j The Markets Committee of the City Council sat at the Town Hall on August . 15 to collect evidence as to the necessity or otherwise for public muni- j cipal markets in Wellington. The chair- j man (Mr John Smith) presided. i Mr Light, who said he had travelled j a good deal, thought public markets ; should be established in Wellington, j There were many cities in Great Britain j no larger than Wellington where mar- I kets existed, and the result had been ! that the working classes were able to j purchase their fruity vegetables, and | fish a good deal cheaper than they would I if those markets did not exist. He j thought the site .suggested by Coun- ! cillor Ballinger for the markets—the; lower half of the Kent Terrace reserve , —was an excellent site. j Mr Joseph Ingle (fish merchant, of , Newtown, formerly of Sheffield) said that where ho came from the fish and meat, markets 4pcro in oiufc building, and ; all the working classes obtained their j goods there. The stalls were let for ; 16s per week. He did not think there j was any objection to the fish and meat ! being sold in the same place when it | was properly conducted. The markets ! were opened from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in ; winter, and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in j summer. A Wednesday half-holiday j was observed, and the stalls were open j until 11 p.m. on Saturday. He thought j it would tend to cheapen supplies to , establish markets. He agreed with Mr i ~ght that ih© Kent terrace reserve; would be a most suitable site. In reply I to questions, ho stated that tho fish i were sold by auction from the wharf at Aberdeen to the merchants, but therVj were markets for retail buyers. Councillor Hindmarsh: Of course, the shopkeeper will be opposed to these markets. Councillor Ballinger: I think the shopkeepers will take the stalls. Mr W. A. Worth thought it was highly desirable to establish fish, fruit, and vegetable markets in Wellington. The producer would send in his goods to the markets, and the public would bo able to get them fresh. Instead of hawking his goods round, he would sell them from his stall, and would be able to sell them cheaper and fresher in consequence. He did not think it would be advisable to establish a system of delivery. At Paddy’s Market in Sydney he had asked one stallholder what he ; paid for his stall, and was told Is Gd for , the afternoon —he thought the charge was 2s 6d for the afternoon and evening. Tho market in Sydney opened at j 5 a.m., and one could at that time see j hundreds of carts inside and out filled ! with vegetables, and at 9 o’clock one; would not see so much as half a cab-bage-leaf —so that cleanliness was strictly observed. He knew two fid’.

Markets in Sydney) at Itedfern and VYooloomooloo, and those were distinct from the fruit and vegetable markets. Ho said he believed that he was tho originator of the Kent terrace site tor markets —there the place- was open all round, and it would be a most convenient situation. He thought that the markets would be a bit of a bugbear to certain enterprises in Wellington, but it would be a step in the right direction to supply the poorer people with cheap food.

The chairman (Mr John Smith) wished to establish the fact that tho merchants hero had their agents or clients, and they were not going to drop them—they were going to work. He was of opinion that the people would buy from the auctioneers, and then take their stuff to tho markets, and tuere sell them to the public. Councillor Ballinger said he was not yet satisfied that the middleman would be dispensed with in these markets. What about the stuff that arrived here daily by train and steamer —how would that reach tho markets? Mr Worth : “It would be consigned to those that, had stalls.” Mr Ballinger: “Then the producer Would be entirely at the mercy of the man that held tho stall.” Mr Light: “Are not they - at the mercy of the merchant now?” Mr Ballinger: “No, he sells on a percentage, and could not very well practise deception. No, I still want to know how the stuff by train and steamer is to reach the markets without the aid of the middleman?” Mr Worth: “The Hutt people would bring in their vegetables, and back their own carts into the market, and others up tile line could arrange for persons to sell their goods.” Councillor Ballinger confessed himself still at a loss to know how large oversea shipments of fruit or vegetables could reach the consumer without the aid of a middleman in addition to the stall-holder. Mr Rand said lie was there to see if the committee could not hold a meeting in the evening. Ho heartily approved of Councillor Ballinger’s site, and he bore Mr Worth out in his statement that lie had suggested the same site some years ago. It now seemed to bo the only available site. He had visited the markets at Sydney and Melbourne, end he had noted tho eagerness which people walked some distance to get their fruit and vegetables fresh—that was tho main thing —and a little cheaper than could be got in the shops. He believed that tho salesman established in a Corporation stall in the markets would be much more advantage to the poor than as at present constituted—when he had to pay a high rent and keep a large staff.

Mr McLaren said that the evidence given at these meetings was not of any weight as to whether the markets were needed or not. When ho and exCouncillor Evans had sat to collect ovidonce as to the housing question, ail they deduced did not assist them in the least in determining the main issue. A list was handed in of several towns in England about tire size of Wellington where puflic markets had been established. These included Barnsby, Bath, Blackpool, Carlisle, Cheltenham, Crewe, etc. Councillor Ballinerer, who argued that Wellington was not largo enough for the establishment of public markets, neither was it in the centre of a producing district, took the list that had been handed in, picked out Cheltenham (with a population of 49,439), where tho receipts for 1903-4 amounted to £67 and tho expenses amounted to £lB4 —a dead loss of £ll7. Mr Ingle stated that the bulk of the aristocracy of Birmingham lived at Cheltenham, which was not a good place tor marl-:is. Tho Committee decided that it would sit to hear any further evidence on the question at 7.30 p.m. on Monday next.