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General Contracts. During the year the contract system has been further extended, and now includes practically all stores except those that are used by one Department only. The contracts let dnring the year reflect the general downward trend of prices. Disclosing Prices. As a matter of policy the Board reserves the right to disclose or treat as confidential the prices paid for stores. In practice the great majority of prices are available to any person interested, but some tenderers stipulate that their quotations are to be treated as confidential. It is known that these stipulations are nearly always due to attempts by trade combinations to control prices to the disadvantage of the State. In such circumstances it is considered reasonable to afford genuine tenderers the protection asked for, and the effect on tender prices proves clearly that the Board's policy is justified. Large savings have resulted, and the fact that satisfactory tenders have been received for a number of years indicates that the prices paid are remunerative to the contractors. Preference to Local and British Industries. The Board has continued to grant preference to local manufacturers as against all competitors and to other British manufacturers as against foreigners. The great majority of quotations are for delivery ex store in New Zealand, and this provision ensures that the local manufacturer gets the full advantage of the Customs tariff. Provided quality and price are right., the local manufacturer can be sure of the business. Quality, however, implies something more than mere compliance or approximate compliance with a specification. It frequently happens that several brands of a particular item will comply with the relative specification and yet vary considerably as between themselves. In such cases the experience gained by use under actual service conditions is the deciding factor, and the brand which is estimated to give the most economical final cost is selected. Whilst the Board is extremely anxious to continue the policy of preference, certain happenings, not altogether dissociated with the reasons for treating some prices as confidential, have caused uneasiness. The policy of preference seems inseparable from one factor —viz., the tendency of traders to combine for the purpose of excluding legitimate competition as between themselves and extracting from buyers the last penny which the degree of preference makes possible. These tactics, if persisted in, will certainly be to the ultimate disadvantage of those promoting it, and will compel the Board to review the whole policy of preference.

Approximate Cost of Paper. —'Preparation, not given; printing (475 copies), £1 17s. 6d.

Authority : W. A. G. Skinner, Government Printer, Wellington.—l93o.

Price 3d.