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

1471
49704. Approve of what ?-You take off the duty from rice for the manufacture of starch, and I do Leomlr~Parsons,
not see why oats cannot he in the same way. It will not hurt the farmer at all. Bt~~"~~sa.
49705. A s.peciu,l clause in the Customs Act allows of the manufacture of rice into starch ; the Legislatiue
has attempted to meet you by allowing the oatmeal m:.mufacturor to make in bond ; but I understand
you to go further than that. Your reason for asking for a removal o£ the clnty i::; that the loeal supply of the
kinds of oats suitable for your businesl:l does not come up to your demand ?--No, it does not.
49706. That is the ground upou which you ask for it?-Y os.
49707. Y on heard the evidence of the previous witness upon the question of mustard-are you
interested in that article '?-No, I do not understand mustard.
49708. Do you understand rice-you are interested in that?-Yes.
49709. Do you agree with his evidence upon that point ?-Not altogether. He is wrong about the
amount it costs to dress in bond. The reason we get the concession made, 4s. against 6s., we have to pay
freight and wharfage rates, and a variety of charges upon the raw rlce when it comes here, besides the
dressing and all the bags and cart;uge, and no end of things. The difference of duty is fully the amount
of £2.
49710. The differential duty of £2 is absorbed in the expenses?-Yes; in the expenses from the time
it leaves the port of shipment till the time we send it out it is quite that.
49711. Have you anything else to add i11 relation to the article of rice '?-No, I think it woulcl be
very wrong if it were altered.
· 49712. You do not manufacture starch, do you ?-No.
49713. Coffee is the next item. Will you tell us what you have to say about that ?-I think it is
about time the duty upon coffee was reduced. I do not see why there should be 3d. a pound upon coffee; it
is a great thing for the public; and it causes so much adulteration with chicory, and we grow so much
chicory in the colony, to reduce the quality ; too much chicory is put in. I think if coffee is allowed in,
say, at a penny, you would get a much better article.
49714. Adulteration with chicory is very largely carried on?-Yes, very largely.
49715. Is it not possible for the public to protect themselves by buying the beans themselves?-Yes,
you can do that; but it is the price; and then there is cocoa and all those things.
49716. Yon propose the duty on coffee to be reduced to a penny ?-I think it would be a good thing.
49717. You import the beans, do you'?-Yes, we import the beans and grind them ourselves.
49718. Is there the same duty upon the ground article?-Yes, 3cl. a pound upon everything.
49719. Have you anything further to say ?-No, I have nothing further to say.
49720. Are those the only items in your business that pay a clnty ?-There is bmley.
49721. Do you manufacture pearl barley ?-Yes.
49722. Are you satisfied with the duty upon that ?-Yes.
49723. By Jh. Walker.-With reference to dressing rice in boncl, you state that in addition to the
labour of putting it through the mill there is cartage upon it?-Yes, and freight ftnd charges at the port of
shipment to start with, and then there nre wharfage rates and cartage and re-bagging.
49724. Are not nll those charges on undressed rice ?-Yes.
49725. Then how does that put you to extra expense ?-The dressed rice, the labour is so much
cheaper.
49726. That is a different matter altogether ?-As a matter of fact, cartage is upon both dressed and
undressed rice-both have to be cartecl.
49727. Then neither has an advantage over the other in tlmt ?-But then there is the 4 cwt. of pig
feed.
49728. What comes off is what you do not pay duty upon ?-No, but we have to pay freight and
charges upon it.
49729. You sell it here as pig feed ?-Sometimes we get 2s. or 3s. a cwt.
49730. When you do not get that clo you give it away ?-Sometimes next door to it.
49731. At all ~vents what you get pays the freight?-Yes.
49732. It comes here in bags, does not it ?-Yes, perhaps full of weevil, and we have to sell those
bags that cost us 8d. to 9d. each, and buy new bags here that cost 3s. 6d. a dozen.
49733. You buy new bags altogether of a different character thin bao-s.
49734. You would make that change in any ease from the gunny bags to yo~r own bags '?-Yes.
49735. So that all those charges are not necessa.rily connected with dressing in bond. That is, they
apply to rice all round '?-I do not altogether see that. Dressed rice be sent down in 56 lb. bags.
That is often done, and then no new bags are required.
49736. Can you give us the actual cost of dressing rice in bond ?-The actmtl cost of dressing rice
in bond varies.
49737. Leaving everything else on one side, putting it through the mill ?-It would cost. a pound a
ton really.
49738. Mr. Parsons, have you ever dressed rice in bond for anybody else?-Yes.
49739. Vllhat do you charge them ?-Various charges.
49740. W1utt do you charge them ?-We have charg(3d as high as £2 a ton, and we have done one
lot at 12s. 6d.
49741. Why did you do that at 12s. 6d. ?-Simply because it was rnn through very light.
49742. Then it is possible to run it through very light and yet get £2 from the Custom house?­
No, it is not possible now.
49743. What stopped it ?-The Customs say that that is dressed rice, and they will not allow that
stuff to go through now.
49744. Then upon that occasion it wa.~ defrauding the Customs ?-I do not know that. The officers
said it was undressed; it is a matter of opinion. I say, if the rice has td go through the mill, it is undressed
rice.
49745. If it hns to go through ?-Yes.
49746. "What do you mean by "If it luts to go through" ?-If the rice is not fit to send out, and
people will not buy it, and consider it shonlcl go through the mill and be reduced.
49747. And if it costs only 12s. 6d. a ton, you think you are justified in getting from the rev en ne
40s. ?-No, I clo not think so at all-thnt was a very special thing.