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

··1444
'rlle'Honorli:bte 48820. By .Ll'ir. 1rlunro.-What do you attribute the high price of tallow to at the present moment?-
Tho,!a;,.~er, To the high price in London-a, scarcity. in the London market. ·· · .·
2rldMa,r·l88a. 48821. Is it shipped from here to London ?-It is shipped from here to London.
48822. You are rulell by it ?-Entirely. · .·
48823. By the Chairman.-Have you anything further to add upon any point which we have not
elicited ?~I would only say that if the duty upon candles can ever be reduced it must not be reduced at
present. It must be allowed to remain some time yet until the industries are more firmly established. That
is all that I have to say.
48824. By Mr. frlunro.-You are quite satisfied with what it is at present-you do not want any
increase ?-I should be ashamed to ask it.
The tvitness withdrew.
RobertJobnston,
2nd Mayl883.
Robert Johnston sworn aml examined.
48825. By the Chairman.-\Vhat are you ?-An importer.
48826. An importer of candles and soap ?:-Candles only.
48827. How long have you been in that business ?-About twenty-two year~.
48828. In this colony ?-In this colony. .
48829. How does the taritr in this colony affect your business in that article ?-It affects it prejudi-
Cially, certainly. ·
48830. In what way does it affect it prejudicially ?-It has diminished the imports.
48831. It reduces the quantity of your imports ?-It has reduced it.
48832. Does it interfere with the profit upon what yen do sell ?-Yes it does.
48833. Considerably ?-:More or less.
48834. You have to be satisfied with less profit upon what you do sell?-Yes.
48835. And you have to sell a great deal less than you did previously ?-Yes.
48836. What do you wish the Commission to do in relation to this matter ?-In regard to the Tariff,
especially this duty of 2d. I have a decided opinion that the duty has raised or steadied the market, but at
a· high level. It has steatliecl the market prices and preventccliluctuation, but the prices that have been
ruling since the duties were imposed have been more steady than in former times under a free-trade tariff.
48837. Is that a disadvantage to you as an importer ?-It.is a disadvantage.
48838. It does not enable you to make the speculations that a fluctuating market gives you ?­
Certainly, it has stopped speculation, but it has steadied market prices at a high level to the consumer' .
-±8839. Will you give me what the level of prices was before the duty, and the level now !-They
ran""ecl from 8d. up to, during my time, ls. 4cl., during the last twenty-two years. · ··
" 48840. Of conrse they have been much higher than ls. 4cl. ;luring some periods of that time ?­
I think the price of the candle that I import-what, is called the "Neva candle'' was for a short time
ls. 5cl. during a tempomry scl1rcity, and but fbr a very short time.
48841. That was the price before the duty ?-Yes.
48842. What is the level of the price now ?-The price during the last few years-say during the
last five years-of imported candles generally (I do not refer to Nevas) has been between 8cl. and 9d., until
recently, when they have been a little dearer. ·
· 48843. Leaving out the present moment as being an abnormal state of the market, which is allowed
by the manufacturers as well, and taking your statement of 8d. and 9d. as the ordinary level, how do you
call that a high level as against Bel. to Is. 4d. ?-1£ there were no duty the level would be lowered, that is
my meaning.
48844. But that was not yom statement. Your statement was that the dnty fixe(l them at a high
level, it had steadied the market at a high level ; what you meant to say was that it had fixed them at a
lower level than originally, but still higher than they would ·be if there were no duty at all-is that what
von meant to say ?-Exactly.
· 48845. How much lower would they be, in your judgment, if the duty were removed ?-I should say
in the last eight or ten years imported candles such as Dntch, Belgian, or French, excepting Nevas,
could have been imported and sold in boxes at a profit from 7c1. to 7~d. a lb.
48846. What have they been sold at ?-They have been sold in those times at about 8~d. duty paid,
that is 6~d. in bond. . ,
48847. If they were sold at 6~cl. in bond, and paid 2d. duty, it does not require much stretch of
imagimtion to know that they would sell at a great profit for 7·~d., without the duty ?-The price at home
a few years ago, for a series of years, when tallow was very cheap and when these Dutch and Belgian
candles were being invoiced, was as low as 5!d. f. o. b., in London.
48848. Can you explain to the Commission how it is that all the evidence not only taken here
to-clay from manufacturers and also from yourself, but also taken from the purchasers in country districts,
goes to prove that the imported candle, though there is 2cl. a pmmd upon it, is never more than a penny
above the colonial one ?-I did not catch the question, please repeat.
48849. How is it that the imported candle is not more than 2d. a pound more than the colonial,
seeing thflt this duty is 2cl. a pound ?-They have been sold, I suppose, for som0years at a loss.
48850. What is the object of the importers in selling cru:tdles at a loss ?-I cannot say ; they have
got to keep the manufacturers going at home the same as they have here.
48851. Under what obligation a-rc our importing honses to keep English houses going before keeping
onr manufactories going ?-From the manufacturer's point of view, of course, I cannot say.
48852. I do not ask that ; you say the importers here must keep the manufacturing houses going in
England. I ask you what obligation are they under to do that ?-I do not say so. I do not say the
importers must keep the manufactnrers going. I say the mannfactmers must keep the works going at home ;
they send their surplus stocks out here, I suppose sometimes at a loss, sometimes with the hope of making a
little profit ; they are making a little profit now.
48853. Is that answer of yours that they have been sold at a loss, the only answer you have to give
to the fact that the cost of the English article is only half the difference made by the duty between it and
~he colonial ?-No, I think it is the cost of the English article, with the full duty.