F. A. HAMILTON.]

11

I.—loa.

goes on to the statute-book that is the finish of it. We have been doing the biggest export trade of the lot, and we feel that our say should carry a good deal of weight. Mr. Rowiings's orchard is thirty years old, and mine is thirty-four years old ; and wo feci that we are quite capable of conducting our own business in a satisfactory manner. On behalf of the fruitgrowers in Stoke I would like to express the opinion that was given to me by the president of the association, to the effect that a clause should be inserted whereby we could please ourselves as to private treaty. Under existing conditions we are absolutely against the formation of an Export Control Board as is set out in the Bill. As regards the local control, personally I have not had any experience with local control in our own district this year, but the experience of my neighbours in connection with the various concerns during the past twenty years has been that they have all fallen in. As a matter of fact, Ido not fall in with the control view at all. At the meeting almost all the members had dealings with the local control. Some put practically all their crop through, and local control was an absolute disaster to them. One man alone put 500 cases of London Pippins through and got Is. 2d. a case, and out of that the cases cost Is. Id. That is our experience of local control —it has been absolutely disastrous. We are all of opinion that if local control for our district and Dominion control go through it is going to intensify the disaster. The orchardist knows his own business best as he makes a lifelong study of it, and there is always something to learn, and I am thoroughly satisfied that with a perishable commercial commodity such as fruit, the man who produces it is the best man to handle it. I could quote you an example of local control in our districts, the case of my next-door neighbour, Mr. Hugbie Young. He joined up with the control and was putting everything through them. His first return was for 100 cases of Munro's. He has not a Munro on his farm. These cases are cropping up everywhere, and when one comes across a mistake like that they are not inclined to do business again in the same quarter. 4. Hon. Mr. Nosworthy.] You are against export and local control ?—Yes. 5. Have you realized that it is impossible for the Government to go on guaranteeing year after year, and that something must be done ? —Absolutely. 6. What is going to be the position if the Government cease to guarantee ? —You will find every honest orchardist in the Nelson District doing far better. 7. That is news for the Government ?—I am pleased to give it. 8. Mr. Forbes.] How would it be an improvement if the Government withdrew this guarantee;, and how could it operate for the benefit of the industry, as we were assured last season that if the Government did not give the guarantee it would mean disaster to the industry ? —The fruitgrower has a great number of restrictions placed on him by the Government guarantee, and it is thought that if it were not for the guarantee our own orchard men could assist the Department, and. we would got far better support from our own local firms and others interested in the business, and we should be able to get direct shipping from Nelson. 9. You think you could make better arrangements if you were working individually ?—Yes. Last year, for instance, wo wore supposed to have a direct boat. The Right Hon. Mr. Massey practically pledged that wo would have a boat, and made full arrangements in England for it with a view to saving the double handling in having to tranship at Wellington. 10. Do you think you could get a direct boat if the Government guarantee were done away with ? —I am certain of it. 11. Mr Langstone.] What price do you have to get for your fruit, both here and in London, to make it a paying proposition ? —4s. 6d. at orchard, Motueka, for local, and for export we want 15s. a case in London. 12. That is just a shade over Id. per pound ? —Yes. The Government guarantee is Id. per pound, and it is no material advantage to any honest man who is producing and doing his best. It is only keeping the speculators going. 13. Mr. Corrigan.] Does not the freight Home —4s. a case, I think it is—include the coastal freight from Nelson to Wellington ? —I could not say for certain, but I think we still pay lOd. a case to the Anchor Company. 14. There is provision in this Bill for you to manage your own business. From the way you have been giving your evidence one would, think that this Bill was taking the business away from you fruitgrowers altogether. Have you not realized that this Bill is really for the purpose of giving you power to manage your own business as efficiently as you can ? —Well, from the interpretation placed upon it at a full meeting of fruitgrowers, none of us could see that. 15. You have the right to elect your own Board —nobody but fruitgrowers elects them —to control your own business. It is really, therefore, not taking anything away from the fruitgrowers, but is with the idea of assisting them ? —I grant that; but we all maintain that the Board cannot help us. 16. The Bill gives you the right to elect a Board to manage your own business as efficiently as possible in the interests of the fruitgrowers, and it is not going to destroy your production. I venture to say that if you have a Control Board you will be able to get rid of that lOd. a ease from Nelson to Wellington on all fruit exported Home. In the dairy industry the coastal freights are paid by the shipping companies : would not the same thing operate if you had a Control Board ? —I question that; but, at any rate, our opinion is that it is of no use to us. 17. You say that the majority of the people in the Nelson District do not want this Bill ? —I say that the largest and the oldest established fruitgrowers do not want the Bill. 18. Mr. Hudson.] Was it your ordinary monthly meeting on Monday? —No, we held a special meeting for the purpose of considering this Bill. 19. It was advertised, of course ?—No, we did not know until Friday or Saturday, and we had no time to advertise it. We went round and informed the growers, and got them to attend the meeting.