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

1433
48483. Who uses condensed milk in the colony of Victoria ?-It is sold in the various shops; I do
not know who uses it, I am sure. I see it in nearly every shop I look into.
48484. To whom wmilcl yon sell this milk if yon were it ?-:-To storekeepers.
48485. To whom w.ould they sell i.t ?-I do not know. I would sell wholesale for export and retail
to the storekeepers.
48486. Will you say honestly you will not go into it ir this duty is put on ?-I would not; but I
introduced it, and I took a silver medal for it when I exhibited it; and if I do not know about it nobody
else does.
48487. By Mr. Grimwade.-You said just now you would do 400,000 tins and employ fifty people.
Suppose you gave those people £2 a week, that is £5,000 a should be sorry to give many of them
so much, young girls and boys. I do not say fifty men, I am sure it would not take fifty men.
48488. By lrlr.llfcintyre.-Wonld it average a pound a week wages ?-Certainly not, it would not
average more than 15s. a week; the greater number would be young people.
48489. Do you know how much it would come to in labor at 15s. a week, it would be SOf!Iething
over a penny a tin?-[ No answer. J
48490. By Mr. Munro.-When did you manufacture this milk ?-I only manufactured a little to
start the thing about fifteen months ago, and if we had continued we should have put up machinery to
manufacture it ; but the place was burned down.
48491. Did you exhibit this milk at the Exhibition ?-I did; I was the first to introduce it,
48492. So that you have a knowledge of it though you are not in the business ?-I was the first
to introduce it as a manufacturer into the colony, and I exhibited it at the Exhibition.
48493. By 111r. Zox.-How much did you manufacture altogether ?-Simply enough for the
exhibits.
48494. Then in point of fact all the condensed milk you manufactured in the eolony of Victoria has
only been to exhibit it at the Exhibition ?-.And to send round.
48495. How many tins did you manufactnre ?-I could not tell you.
48496. Have you made a thousand tins ?-I do not know how many dozen I made; about thii·ty or
forty dozen.
48497. You made 480 tins altogether ?-Perhaps about that.
48498. By JJfr. Munro.-Was it the want of a duty that prevented you going into this ?-No, it
would pay a fair profit, a small profit without any duty; but then the outlet is so limited it would be a very
$mall profit"
48499. Would the consumers get the benefi.t of it if this was put on-would not they have to pay
so much more for it ?-Not unless the imported article is used ..
48500. By .b'lr. Grimwade.-How do you arrive at the employment of fifty hands ?-I never made
any calculation of how many hands it wmtld take to produce the whole quantity.
The witness withdrew.
Samn~l d•tpper,
eontin~d,
·2nd May !88a.
CANDLEs AND SoAP.
J olm .Ambrose Kitchen sworn and examined.
48501. By the Ghairman.-You represent the firm of J. Kitchen and Sons?-Yes.
48502. vvnere are your :works situatecl ?-Sandridge.
48503. How long have you been established ?-About twenty-five years.
48504. How many hands are you employing now ?-I do not care to answer that question unless it
is strictly necessary.
' 48505. Every other manufacturer has answered it. We never had any objection ?-If you wish it,
of course I will answer it, but I would rather not. I have no particular objection if you wish it.
48506. Very well, will you tell. us ?-From 200 to 300 hands directly at the works; but I do not
mean by that that that is the number employed upon the industries, because there would be a munber
employed indirectly in making cases and in varions ways.
48507. Those are the hands in the factory ?-Yes.
48508. Do you employ any females ?-A few-very few-five per cent. perhaps.
48509. How many of the male are uncler eighteen ?-Perhaps thirty.
48510 . .Are they apprentices
48511. You do not take apprentices we do not take apprentices.
48512. You pay wages from the commencement?-Yes.
48513. Have you any diffi.eulty in getting lads ?-Yes, the last year or two, the last twelve months
particularly-great difficulty-that is why we have gone on to girls to some extent. We are getting girls
now because there was so much difficulty in getting boys.
48514. Have the wages of the boys increased in consequence ?-Considerably; they have quite
doubled, I think.
48515. What are you paying now, to begin with ?-I should think from about 15s.
48516. To start with?-Yes, from 12s. to 15s. to start with.
48517 • .And you used to get them at from 6s. to 7s. Gel. ?-,.Yes.
48518. Do you remember the date at which the duty was impose(lupon candles ?-No, I cannot say
that.
48519. Have you noticed any effect produced upon your industry by the alterations in the Tariff?­
There was 1d. put on, I think, in 1862 as far as I recollect.
48520. It was in 1867 ?-.A year or two after, as far as I recollect, we commenced making stearine
candles in a very small way. ,
48521. That would be about 1869 ?-Can you inform me when the 'duty was increased?
48522. It was increased in 1871, from Id. to 2d. ?-It would be about 1869 that we commenced in
a very small way, and we.kept on for about twelve months, but the loss was so that we did not
continue it.
48523. What did you manufacture then ?-I am speaking now specially of stearine candles.
TaRIFF,
8 T
John A. Kitchen,
2nd 1\Jny 1883,