THE FLOURMILIERS' ASSOCIATION.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13806, 18 January 1909, Page 6

THE FLOURMILIERS' ASSOCIATION.

A NEW AGREEMENT. The Christcliurch correspondent of the " Otago .Daily Times" telegraphed to that paper on Friday liiglit:—The agreement under winch the iNew Zealand flouruiillers' Association is at present working expires in February nest, ana up to ilie present there has been a difficulty in settling the terms of a new agreement. Several tentative suggestions have been put forward, these including the restoration of the Otago and Southland millers to the local traoe and allowing The shipping trade with the North Island —with the exception of Auckland, which remains a free port—to he the perquisite of the Canterbury millers. As a quid pro quo, it lias been proposed that the Otago millers should be allowed to raise the price of flour locally by 5s per ton, and thus recoup themselves for the loss of the shipping trade. This idea is, however stoutly opposed by the Otago millers, both on account of the unjust exploitinent of the Otago consumers, and because x tliey question the right of Canterbury millers to the larger output which the ( sole possession of the shipping trade would give them. Pending the settlement of these and other difficulties in the way of an unanimous agreement, it is rumoured that at the meeting to be held on Wednesday next a proposal will be made to extend the existing agreement for a further period of three mmiths, in order that the points at issue may receive further attention. This is rendered probable from the fact that the agreements under which two of the Timaru mills are working—the Atlas Mills and the South Canterbury Milling Company—do not expire until June next. The suggested postponement will thus bring all the associated mills into line so far as tike date of agreement is concerned. Despite sinister reports to the contrary, millers generally are confident that the association will be continued, alleging that the advantages to both the trade and the public ara abundantly manifest.