(Christchurch Press.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2360, 18 May 1899, Page 7

(Christ church Press.)

We are not surprised to find that a good deal of comment has been excited in various quarters by an. advertisement signed by the Secretary for Agriculture, stating that "the Government has arranged with the Tyser Company for the conveyance of grain at reduced rates." Supposing the facts to be as stated, or, rather, implied, in this announcement, one naturally inquires what right the Government has to make " special arrangements" with any particular line of steajners. or, indeed, to interfere with private enterprise at all in the matter of carrying goods across the sea. Surely it would be very unfair to colrfhists who had invested their savings in local shipping companies if Government were to suddenly enter the field and destroy their profits by offering inducements in the nature of subsidy or otherwise to one particular competitor to lower freights to a non-paying figure. That would be as great an abuse of Ministerial power as it would be for the Government to enter into "special arrangements " with a particular dairy factory to sell butter at a price which would spell ruin to the factories carried on by farmere with their own resources. As a matter of fact, however, there is no doubt that the advertisement in question is exceedingly misleading, if not absolutely untrue. Parliament has not authorised Government to pay any subsidy to tho Tyser line, and, as is clearly shown by the advertisement which appears in our columns to-day, the so-called reduced rates said to have been arranged by the Government are no lower than those charged by the other shipping companies long before this advertisement appeared. On the 24th March tho New Zealand Shipping Company, Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company, and Turnbull, Martfn, and Co., advertised their rates for wheat as follows: — By steamer, 30s per ton ; sailing ship, 27s 6d. In the circular issued by the Secretary for Agriculture on the 27th April, 30s is quoted as " the reduced rate now charged by the Tyser line," while, as a matter of fact, as we have already shown, the three other shipping companies mentioned had been charging 'that rat 3 for a month before the Secretary for Agriculture advertised the so-called " reduction." Surely such conduct as this is unworthy of any Government, and of any Government department. We are accustomed now to Ministers, in their electioneering speeches, making spurious claims for bringing about reductions in freights, but is it not going a little too far when we find an official notice, signed by a responsible head Bf a department^ in the civil service, making misrepresentations of the same kind? There can only be two reasons for issuing this misleading advertisement. Either the -Government want to give an unfair advantage to one particular line of steamers, or else, to curry favour with a section of the electors, they have represented themselves as having obtained special concessions in the matter of freight, whereas no such special concessions exist. If obtaining votes by falbe pretences were a criminal offence, we are afraid the present Government would be in a very awkward position. If they think, however, they can hoodwink farmers by this latest move they are entirely mistaken. As men of business the farmers take the trouble to find out the state of the freight market for themselves. They, therefore, know that what we have said is true — that the rates were settled by the ordinary process of competition at the beginning of the season, that the rates which the Government claim to have " arranged " now were arranged by the shipping companies some six weeks ago, and that, therefore, the suggestion that the Government have brought about any reductions is merely a piece of impudent pretension put forward to deceive the unwary in the hope of catching their votes.