PRODUCE BUSINESS PURCHASED

Southland Times, Issue 23342, 28 October 1937, Page 3

PRODUCE BUSINESS PURCHASED

PRICE FIXED BY EXPERT COMMITTEE (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, October 27. 'The circumstances of the purchase by the Government of the firm of Picot Brothers for use in its scheme of internal marketing were the subject of comment by the Minister of Finance (the Hon. W. Nash) in his reply to the Budget Rebate in the House of Representatives. Mr Nash said the purchase was made while he was absent from New Zealand. The Government had arranged for a thorough investigation to be made by a thoroughly qualified and competent accountant by the head of a department of State with more than an ordinary knowledge of business procedure, and by a leading official in the Public Works Department. These three took into consideration all the assets of the business, and he personally was satisfied that the price paid was lower than the sum which the proprietors of the business would have received had they formed it into a limited liability company. “When these three officers reported, said Mr Nash, “the figures were analysed by the Treasury, and at that point the Government made the purchase. The remarkable success achieved by Picot Brothers in organizing the local marketing scheme alone justifies everything the Government has done in the matter.”