I.—lob.

14

[E. C. BATKIN.

60. What price is Juno sold at at the present time supposing you were selling a stick ?—Ninepence. 61. Do you know anything about the weights being altered ?—I received a circular some time ago from the local distributing agent that after the date of the circular the number of plugs of Juno would be larger than they had been —in other words, that a plug would be lighter. 62. How long has Juno been on the market ?—A great many years. 63. And the assumed weights hitherto have been what ?—I gathered from their circular that from the date of the circular the plugs of Juno would be put up lighter than they had been, and would run more to the pound. 64. In the assumed weights in the past how many went to the pound ?—From seven to seven and a half : nominally seven. 65. What now is the assumed Weight ? —We are still selling the same tobacco at 9d. per plug. 66. It is the count-out tq the pound : did the circular say anything about seven and a half or seven ?—I do not know as to that. I did not bring the circular with me. 67. You have already admitted that Juno has been reduced in weight ?—Yes, each plug. 68. Who then makes the profit in the reduced weight ? —The retailer. 69. Consequently it is better for the retailer and worse for the consumer ?—Quite so. 70. The Chairman.] Have you any idea of the extent of the tobacco trade which the American trust controls here ?—I have no means of knowing exactly, but I should say it was roughly from 80 per cent, to 90 per cent, of the trade in the colony. I have not worked it out. 71. Do you buy pipes from the trust as well ?—No. 72. Mr. Witheford.] Who is the tobacconist you refer to as being intimidated in regard to the sale of tobacco ? You said you only knew of one who had been dictated to ? —What I said was that one wholesale merchant in Wellington had been told that he must either drop selling one line —that is, give up the agency for an outside line —or give up the agency for the American company's goods. That v/as actually done. 73. Mr. Hardy.] It was a distributing firm ?—lt was one of the American company's distributing agents. 74. And they were told they must either cease selling the other tobacco or give up the agency ?— They were given an alternative. They were either to stop stocking a certain line of cigarettes or give up the agency for the American Tobacco Company.

EXHIBITS. A. [Handed in by Austin Walsh, first witness.] Importation of Tobacco. Eeturn showing the Quantities and Values of Tobacco, Cigars, Cigarettes, and Snuff imported into the Colony of New Zealand during the Year ended the 31st March, 1904 ; also the Quantity of each cleared for Home Consumption during the same Period.

* Cigarettes, overweight: Importations included in " Cigarettes "; quantity cleared, 13,646 oz. t Thousands. W. T. Glasgow, Secretary and Inspector. Department of Trade and Customs, Wellington, 26th July, 1904.

Whence. Tobacco : Raw. Tobacco: Ma: tufactured. Oigl ITS. Cigarel stes.* Snui United Kingdom Victoria New South Wales Fiji .. Hongkong Bengal Bombay Madras Ceylon British Columbia Mtvlta France Austria Switzerland Germany Belgium Holland Tripoli Turkey United States of America — East Coast West Coast Egypt West Indies Argentine Philippines Friendly Islands lb. 7,038 £ 357 lb. 241,051 281,492 10,549 £ 28,531 23,115 979 lb. 10,337 3,624 32,086 59 759 575 196 337 44 64 £ 5,202 1,528 8,559 19 221 218 49 44 23 21 lb. 44,382 80 7,996 £ 13,138 31 2,454 lb. 1,220 £ 124 6,451 289 85 5 5 229 10 71 764 108 136 169 43 12 915 120 4,893 12,384 818 82 238 34 1,454 4,146 200 30 1,377 34 9 62 1 15 258 120 39,204 1,762 1,603,257 2 124,310 1 6,285 158 3,853 80 188,088 45,851 1,903 1,468 562 '414 12 3 4,831 ljioa 6 1 Total importations .. 53,457 2,516 2,136,818 177,013 80,470 28,484 242,989 1,220 124 62,126 Quantity cleared 36,568 1,885,764 76,022 194,199 1,387