Minutes of Evidence p.1401-1509 - Parliament of Victoria

Fl.J-.G!'loraith, farmer, that I have returns here from my salesman for the years 1878,1879, 1880, and 1881. Now, inl880
titf'~:;:"faa3 . I bought as good seed oats as the eye of man ever looked upon at ls. 10d. a bushel, bags given in. They
·· were bought at public auction in this district.
50668. Hy lvlr. Lon,qmore.-Ancl ordinary oats at 1s. Gd.?-Yes, or less, 1s. 3d.
50669. By the Chainnan.-Were those colonial-grown'?- They were colonial-grown and by
Mr. W. Grant in this district. Now I know the man that grew those must have grown them ut, a loss.
50670. That is after the duty was put on ?-It was the year after the duty wa~ put on, while the
stores in Melbourne were glutted; they had not been cleared out of New Zealand oats. We did not participate
in the benefit of the duties till the following year, because they shunted all their stuff into Melbourne,
and the stores wero glutt.ecl, and that had to be worked off before we got the advantage of it. In 1880 I ·
sold pease ~tt 2s. 2cl. a bushel, barley at ls. 7d.-Cape barley. At the end of the season they did rise to
5s. 2cl. for some English barley, but at the en,rly part of the season it was nbout 2s. 2d., and I sold
later on at 4~. 6d. This account is from D. :Melville n,nd Company. In 1879, oats ranged from 3s. 2c1. to
4s. 2d.; in 1880, from 1s. 5~d. to 2s. 4d.; and in 1881 m\ts were 2s. 3!d. to 4s. I will give you the price
of harlev also. In 1881 it went from 2s. 3.,!,d. to 3s. lld.
50671. What is it now ?-I sold it tl1is year, 400 or 500 bags, at 5s. 2d. I see by the papers l1ere
the evidence of Mr. Clapp and other gentlemen before your Commission about oats. I sold him 795 bags
of' oats at 3s. 2d. on Tuesday last ; they were a splendid sample of oats.
50672. Wlmt did he say in his evidence the price w~\S ; does that agree with his evidence ?-Yes,
his evidence is fair enough as far as it goes ; but I see some evidence here from Mr. McKenzie, I think it
is. He says the duty upon oats ought to be reduced ; he thought it should not be more than 6d. a bushel;
at pre:;entit is 2s. tL cental. He had to buy New Zettland oats, which he dealt with in bond, exporting the
oatmeal. Now, in that matter of oatmeal in bond, I believe that the Custom.s revenue of the colony has
been "got at," to use a common expression, because they weigh in 40 lbs. of oats to the bushel ·am! they
weigh out 40 lbs. of oatmeal, and they allow nothing for the debris, and the revenue is defrauded to that extent.
50673. By iYJ.r. Longm,ore.-Ancl the oatmeal is about only 20 lbs. to the bushel ?-They weigh in
40 lbs. and they weigh out 40 lbs.
50674. By the Chai1·nwn.-But you are not sure of that ?-I am pretty sure of it.
50675. You are only giving us a supposition ?-I have it from a gentleman who has pretty good
knowledge.
50676. You cannot give second-hand evidence? -I ttm not a miller, of course. Now barley comes
in 50 lbs. and goes out 40 lbs. in malt; but they should send out 50 lbs. in malt. As to malting in bond, I
am decidedly opposed to 1t.
50677. Whn,t do you say of malt ?-Fifl,y lbs. comes in and 50 lbs. goes out.
50678. But there is nothing at all upon it ?-I believe they are doing it at the present time. They
sell our good barley and shunt away the bad stuff. I wish to return to the oat question. I see th~tt some of
the gentlemen here who gave evidence, I think it is Mr. Aitkin, said that our oats are not good enough to
make oatmeal of, that the New Zealand oats are a much superior (l.rticle·to ours.
50679. For that purpose ?-For that purpose.
50680. Is that in accordance with your experience ?~In the great show of the world our oats took
the premier position ~·t the Exhibition; and I see Mr. Gibson has given his evidence here, but he ha~ not
said anything upon that point; but he has been in the trade for some thirty years, I think, and he told me
himself that my oats grown in Lancefield (that he bought one day, through Donalcl Melville and Company,
400 or 500 bags, allCl he bougllt :Mr. J. ,J. Daly's, a neighbour of mine, whose oats took the premier position
at the show) would give from 5 lbs. to 7 lbs. more ontmeal--thttt is oats from L(l.ncefield--than you could
get from New Zealnncl; and he gave as his reason that ours was finer in the skin and there was less waste.
It has been often said that we cannot grow oats for milling. That is :Mr. Gibson's evidence to myself, after
having bought my oats and Mr. J. J. Daly's oats the same year.
506tsl. I think that is enough in relation to the question of oats. Now about the question of barley?
-I would like to call yonr attention to this about oats. Mr. Derham: says, in his evidence, at present
imported oats are worth from 2s. 6d. to 2~. Rd. in bond and tlmt ours are worth 3s. 4cl. I sold mine at
3s. 2d. "This was not," he was informed, "an oat-growing country." We can grow quite enough for our
own people.
50682. Thi,; part of the country, we quite understand, is suitable for oats ?-Yes, and so is
Kyneton, and eo is B[tllarat, and so is Gippsland. Anythiug south of the Dividing range is oat-growing
country.
50683. As to barley,'[ understand that you are opposed to the removttl of the duty upon barley?-
I am decidedly. ·
50684. Are we producing as much barley in the colony as we require for our own purposes?­
I believe so, and we can produce any an1otmt, for, uorzh of the DiYidiug range, .as fine barley can be grown
as anywhere in the world.
50685. See:ng that we have very nearly, if not quite, overtaken our own requirements, and shall
shortly have a surplus to export, is there nny purpose to he served by keeping the duty any longer ?-I call
that rather a leading question, but I will answer it. I say we can grow plenty of barley if the price is
good enough, if they will give us, stty, 5s. a bushel. I do not care to see it higher, ancll would not like
t:o see it lower; I would go in for a sliding scale. If barley gets above that, reduce the dnty. It is a
pnying price to the farmer, (l.ncl a small price will not pay him. We can grow plenty of it if they will only
give us the price.
50686. B;lj Jlit·. Longmm·e.-Is that malting barley ?-Yes, malting barley. I got 5s. 2d. this year.
50687. By the Clwirman.-You approve of a sliding scale ?-I approve of a sliding scale ; they
do it often in letth1g farms where I CIHne from. I do not think they should go 11p to fa,mine prices. But
I wish to give one of my re>t80ns for opposing malting in bond.
50688. I nnderstoocl that you were going to give the reason~ why you oppose the abolition of the
duty ?-The abolitiun of the duty I think I have givcu a re£Lson against, that we can gww it ourselves.
But in New Zeabntl they get much henvier crop.s than we do, and they are bound, a:,; ftn as I know of the
colony, to break UIJ the land to put in English grasses, and they have no market ot their own, and they are
bound to send it to Ylctoria.
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