A QUID PRO QUO

Waipawa Mail, Volume LIII, Issue 149, 12 September 1932, Page 3

A QUID PRO QUO

RAILAGE ON FROZEN MEAT. The decision of the Railway Board to withhold the railage rebate allowed on frozen meat carried from freezing works for export where the live stock was conveyed to the works from outside a ten-mile radius other Ilian by rail, was enlarged upon by the General Manager of Railways (Mr J. G. Roussell), replying to a protest made by the New Zealand Farmers’

Mr Roussell stated that the decision was brought about by reason of the increasing tendency to adopt other than rail transport for the delivery ol’ live stock to freezing works. The Railway Board recognised that the capacity of the Department to grant the rebate was entirely dependent on its being accorded the business of transporting to the works the

stock from which the meat was produced. If the stock was delivered to the works by means other than rail, the justification for granting a rebate did not exist, and in such circumstances the ordinary freight charge, which must be regarded as reasonable for the service of transport, was enforced. The concession was one of considerable value to the meat industry, and must be regarded as purely a business proposition. The Board’s decision was reached only after a comprehensive review of all the circumstances associated with the transport of live stock to freezing works.