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

1451
49028. But also the value?-Yes ; the true value is not there, am! that falsifies our account of J. P. Goutstone.
continued, ·
exportations. Srcl Mn.y 1883.
49029. How coul1l that be rectified-what menus have the Customs of knowing the true value?-
Thev have no means of checking it.
" · 49030. Except they compel the exporters to prolluee t.he invoice:'\ ?-If they matle them, in the
decbratiou for export, declare that the value was a correct one as well as Lleclaring that those goods were
not the produce of Victoria, I think that might apply.
49031. For the year 1881-that is the last year for which I have a fnll record-the total weight of
tea put down as exported is 4,111,838 lbs., and the valne pnt opposite to that is £292,606, equal to nearly
ls. 6d. a pound ; now, in your opinion, that tea w>ts not worth >tnything like so much as £292,000 ?-It would
not be worth anything like two-thirds of that money, tnkiug the avemge of the imports of tea into this
colony.
49032. By Mr. Mclntyre.-Just follow that up. What object can the exporters have in overvaluing
these articles ?-Nothing more than to exhibit they are doing a very large trade in really fine-class
teas, which is not the case.
49033. But does it affect any one in the community, that they should please themselves by this?­
I do not know that it does, except that it is merely an adverti.'!ement to the local grocer to a certain extent.
The Customs returns, of course, >tre reliable as to weight, but, I think, anybody in the trade here would
know that average of our tea exported does not reach ls., let alone l s. 6d. a pound, upon the average.
49034. Then the colony would not stand so high in the export list ?-Not in tea, at any rate.
49035. ~What is your ide>t in regard to a reduction of the duties upon te>t-wonld a reduction benefit
you in business ?-It would le>tve us fJ;.Ce, in all senses, to work.
49036. What do you mean by that '1-0f course we should be free of h>tving to >tdnnce money for
duties in the first place. In the second place, as to blenders and packers, we should be able to blend
through the whole house, whereas the trade now are rather doubtful of anything unless it is delivered
stmight from bond. ~ ~
49037. If" reduction in duty were nmde would the public get the benefit of it ?-Judging from
experience, when the last 3d. a pound was taken off, I say decidedly not. I think the grocers' profits on
tea,, to-clay, are very considerably in adYance of wlmt they were before the duties were taken off. I do not
think the consmners got one fraction of benefit from it.
49038. vVhat was tile buaiuess of this remark. Your business consists of "what we call blending
and packing under recognised brands." Now, by blending, the Commission understands a mixing of lots
of clitierent teas, grown in different places ?-Yes.
4!)039. As to any one here importing the article from those places direct, I can tmderstand it, but
what; do you mean by "packing under recognised Lrands." Do you brand the article you blend here as the
Oriental Tea Company's JYiixtm·e, :Melbourne ?-We brand it as either "Roy>t! Blend," "Standard,"
" Challenge," or " Universal,'' as the case may be.
4!)040. Is there a company outside the colony that you are aware of?-N o.
49041. Then the sole business of the company is to import tea here >tml to blend it here. Why cla
not they say that the operation takes place in Melbourne ?-All onr advertisements have th!tt te:1dency.
4!)042. What tendeucy ?-They have our address upon them, as the central place of blendmg for the
colonies.
49043. Does not the packing case convey the ide>t to the puLlic that they are imported in the shape
that they sec them ?-No, the package is totally different from the imported case in every way-that is
both the wrapper and the package.
4!)04±. Are those brauds known in the home market ?-No, they are known where we intro(luce
them only. ·
49045. They are your own brands ?-They are our own brands, registered.
49046. There is no imitation of any brands ?-There is no imitation of any brands. We guarantee
those brands as being up to st>tndard qualities.
49047. And it is recognised then, throughout the trade now, 'ohat a certain brand upon one of the
Oriental tea chests, conveys a certain class of tea to them 7-It does. It is known all through Victoria
tlmt the "Univers!tl" tea is the accepted 2s. mixture.
49048. Have you any trouble in denling with the midtlle men of the colony ?-Decidedly, a great deal
with the grocers.
49049. What is the n>tture of the trouble ?-They give various grouuds for it.
49050. But what is the trouble in the first place ?-If they offered our known brands and people
came to like them and to know them, there is nothing to prevent a greengrocer, or a baker, or anyone else
supplying them as well as the grocer·. Then, secondly, they say we do not allow them a sufficient margin
of profit between our fixetl price and their distributing prices, although it varies from 25 to 33 per cent.
49051. Do they put obstacles in the way of your distribution?-Yes, and in very peculiar ways in
some cases.
49052. By that means yon do not get your brands into the general grocers' hands at all?-We get a
good few of them. We may have, in Victoria, 300 or !lOO customers, but we cannot them into the hands
of the large grocers, because they say, " We must get our own article into onr customers' hands. We
should lose our distinctive character as grocers ifwe sell yonr teas." I may say th>tt 99 out of 100 storekeepers
in the colony are not grocers, they have not been brot1ght up to the t-rade and they know nothing of
tea blending, and their idea of what teas should go together is very snmll indeed.
49053. Do you convey the idea that most grocers wish to Llend their teas themselves ?-Yes,
they clo.
49054. Is that the reason they do not want to use your blends ?-They clo not object to buy them
in bulk. In fact I have known them to bny our packet teas and pull onr wrappers off and put their own on.
49055. And u!le your tea ?-And use our tea. ,
49056. Could there Le any way of stopping that interference with your particular L11siness ?-We
cannot, because if they choose to buy our te>t and open it, we c>tnnot stop them.
49057. But if the public is deceivetl, they mny not, get so good a blend as you give thOln ?-We have
l19 me!tllfl of stopping it, lmt if they falsify our brands we h&ve. We had two cases where some parties