THE COLONIST. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1914. WHEAT AND FLOUR.

Colonist, Volume LVI, Issue 13595, 9 October 1914, Page 4

THE COLONIST. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1914. WHEAT AND FLOUR.

After an extraordinary delay since the passing of the Regulation of Commerce Act and the appointment of the Foodstuffs Commission thereunder, a proclamation fixing the maximum prices of wheat and flour was gazetted on September 29th. The delay, it was explained, was duo to the necessity for full inquiries and consideration, and to the Commission amending its first report, which recommended that the maximum price of milling wheat should be 5s 3d per bushel, and that of flour ,£l3 per ton. The second report altered these recommendations to 4s 9d and £11 10s respectively, in view of re-turns of stocks from millers as to wheat and ■ flour held by them, and the average price paid for wheat. The Government acted upon the recommendation concerning milling wheat, the maximum price of which throughout New Zealand during the currency of th© proclamation was fixed at 4s 9d per bushel, free on board, on the usual trade terms, at the nearest port; and in ease of sale otherwise than free on board on the~ usual trade terms at the nearest port, then the maximum price to be a price equivalent, as regards the seller, to the maximum price above mentioned. In the case of flour, howmw. the Commission's figure was increased by five shillings a ton, in order, as the Prime Minister explained, to correct the discrepancy between the prices of wheat and flour as recommended by the Commission. The clause of the proclamation relating to flour reads as follows i "When the nearest port is Lyttelton, Timaru, or Oamaru, the maximum i wholesale price of flour shall, so long as this Order in Council remains in force, be £1115s per ton, free on board,; on the usual trade terms, at the nearest port; and in case of sale otherwise than free on board on the usual trade terms at the nearest port, then the maximum price shall be a price equivalent, as regards the seller, to the maximum price above mentioned." . The proclamation defines the "nearest port" as the port of entry, under the Customs Act, 1913, at which, or nearest to which, the goods to which the contract relates, or which are appropriated to the contract, are situated when the contract is made, or when they first thereafter come into possession. or disposition of the seller. The last clause of the proclamation provides that "Nothing in this Order in Council shall apply to the sale of flour in any case in which the nearest port, as herein defined, is any port other than Lvttelton, Timaru, and Oamaru." In the House of Representatives on Wednesday the Prime Minister confessed that the proceedings of the Government and the Commission had not worked out as had been intended. As far as Nels<sn is concerned the proclamation seems to be a dead letter. According to information conveyed to us flourmillers are declining orders on the basis of the prices fixed by the Order in Council, _ and flour cannot be obtained by local bakers at less than £13 a- ton. Mr. Massey says the matter has resolved itself into a struggle between the large millers and the smaller millers Large millers don't mind the prices being fixed at the prices now gazetted, because they have their wheat already on hand, but the men with comparatively small capital, of whom there are many, especially in the South Island, are not in the same position, and cannot carry on their business in that way. The small miller cannot obtain his wheat at 48 9d. That is no doubt perfectly true, but it was the duty of the Government to have taken steps to ensure supplies of wheat being forthcoming at the price fixed, which should allow a sufficient margin to both, farmer and miller. Meanwhile the Government is awaiting a further report from the Commission. Effective action to bring about a satisfactory state of affairs is long overdue, ] and the position that still exists isj anything but creditable to the Government.