A. AND P.

Southland Times, Issue 21851, 31 October 1932, Page 4

A. AND P.

THE GORE ASSOCIATION. MEETING OF EXECUTIVE. The monthly meeting of the Executive Committee of the Gore A. and P. Association on Saturday afternoon was attended by Messrs R. L. Byars (chair), J. A. White, H. Mclntyre, J. A. Edwards, W. G. Ladbrook, A. Brock, R. H. Dickie, G. Wraytt, J. Fortune, C. H. W. Tripp, W. L. Scott, A. J. Kerse, J. S. Waddell, W. J. Dickie, M. Lawlor, J. Bruce, W. G. Mac Kay, R. K. Dodds, E. Dodds, S. G. Inder, T, Logan, G. Smith, T. A. Fleming, Henry Smith, P. Keir, J. H. Galt. A letter was received from the D.LC. Dunedin, agreeing to give a similar donation as last year to the association’s prize fund.—Received with thanks. John Barr, Outram, wrote accepting appointment as judge of female draught horses at the forthcoming show.—Received. P. G. Roussell, General Manager, N.Z. Railways, wrote relative to the association’s representation for a reduction in freight rates on livestock, and stated that this matter had been carefully reviewed by the Government Railways Board which considered that having regard to the nature of the services performed, the present rates for the transport of livestock were reasonable. As they were no doubt aware, the bulk of the traffic in livestock was seasonal and to meet the requirements peculiar to this class of traffic it was necessary to have available in large numbers of special trucks which were in regular use for a part of the year only. Owing to their special construction these vehicles could not be utilized for general purposes and therefore remained idle during the remainder of the year. This, in itself, had a direct bearing upon the freight charged for the transport of livestock. Further these waggons required considerably more attention in regard to upkeep than did ordinary waggons. It might be mentioned that the charges for the average journey over which stock was hauled in New Zealand compared very favourably with the rates enforced for similar traffic in Australian states. In considering the association’s representations on the matter he would mention that apart altogether from the fact that the transport of livestock was not a particularly remunerative proposition to the railways, the question really resolved itself into the ability of the department to meet the loss in revenue that would result from giving effect to the association’s request for a reduction in charges. The railways were unfortunately in no better position financially than the producers. While this condition was to a certain extent due to the present trade depression, the producers themselves had to accept responsibility for the declining patronage recorded the State transport service. The conditions obtaining to-day in connection with transport were such that the department’s main sources of revenue were being seriously depleted by reason, of the higher rated classes of traffic being conveyed by competitive services whilst the bulk of the lower rated products was being left for the railways to handle at unremunerative rates. The basic principle underlying the system of railway rating was that it afforded facilities whereby the primary products were conveyed at exceptionally low rates thus permitting the development and expansion of the primary industries. The survival of this system of charging was, however, dependent upon the railways being also accorded the opportunity of handling the higher rated classes of goods and to the extent that such traffic was diverted to other forms of transport so was the Department’s capacity to grant any measure of relief by way of reductions in its freight rates restricted. While fully appreciating the difficult conditions under which the producers were labouring at the present juncture it should not be overlooked that the question of cheaper railage rates was one that was largely in the hands of the people who, by adopting rail transport for the conveyance of the whole of their goods, would do much to place the board in a position to more favourably consider your representations and your association could do much to assist in this direction by inducing its members to place the whole of their traffic on the rail. When the railways were receiving the full support of the producers of the Dominion all the profits made were returned to the users in the form of reduced fares and freights or in contributions to the Consolidated Fund, thus helping to reduce taxation. This clearly indicated the manner in which the primary producers of the Dominion could substantially assist the Department towards the position where it would be possible to more favourably consider the association’s representations.

Mr A. J. Kerse said the matter had been discussed at the Chambers of Commerce Conference at Dunedin during the week. It was shown beyond question that while the amount of stock carried by rail had been practically doubled since 1914, the freight charges had been increased by approximately 100 per cent. The position did not admit of a reply such as that received from the general manger, and the matter should be persisted with. He suggested that a sub-committee be appointed to act in conjunction with representatives of the Farmers’ Union, Chamber of Commerce and other organizations in preparing a comprehensive report for submission to the General Manager. Messrs R. L. Byars, W. G. Mac Kay and D. Dickie were appointed to the sub-committee. A letter was received from the N.Z. Meat Producers’ Board advising that at its recent meeting the board had decided to adopt the suggestion that Southland should be divided into two sections for the purposes of the district competition in export lambs for the 1932-33 season.—Received. It was decided to donate prizes of £2, £l, and 10/- for the best district pens in the export lamb competition.