THE FISH MARKET.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20961, 26 February 1930, Page 7

THE FISH MARKET.

TO THE EDITOR. SiR.-An article headed “The Price of h ish . appeared in your issue of Monday -t eouary 24, which contained, inter alia a paragraph stating that “it had been decided by the City Council to build a ’"’"ich had cost the ratepayers f and that “ the council had spent £SOOO. on a building for which two men each paid 15s a week for the rights of selling fish. These two men controlled all the buying. They had what amounted to a , monopoly, and all fish went through their -hands. _ This enabled them to control the price paid to the fishermen.’ ? Now, Sir. as the les'ries of the fisu depot, m fairness to the- public, which might easily be misled by ffuch erroneous statements, and in our own interests we absolutely refute such statements, and say tnat your informants have given, tongue to a number of absurd and damaging statements without being very particular as to their accuracy. As a matter of tact, the _ fish depot and railway sidin'* were estimated to cost approximately £750. which sum has not' placed any burden on the ratepayers at all, as we pay the ground rent and the charges on the amount set aside for the erection of the building. There is, therefore, no Ji 1 ™. 10 ? of the ratepayers having to pay £SOOO for-such building. Again, seeing that the wholesale price of fish is arrived at m open market by daily auction sale# the statement that “ the salesmen are enabled to control the price paid to the fishermen is so ridiculously far from the truth that it* does not call for any turther comment by us. In conclusion, though they do hoi directly concern us as auctioneers, the separate denials made by prominent retailers to other extravagant statements in your article are so much nearer the truth than the statements obtained from your original informants that we would advise your readers to p ace more credence in the denials than in the allegations forming the subject of your article.—We are, etc., Wm. G. Robertson, Chas. Gibbs, Auctioneers and Lessees Fish Depot February 25. [The statements to which our correspondents take exception were not our own, but were the statements of the nshonnen whose grievances were beingO^llT^] through our columns.— Ed.