RELATED TOPICS 243 



combines, and trusts, either wholly or partially, were 

 beginning to operate extensively in the commerce of New 

 Zealand. "An isolated, highly protected, and sparsely 

 populated country like New Zealand, so far distant 

 from the world's markets, especially lends itself to the 

 manipulations of trusts and combines. It is a compara- 

 tively easy matter for a few wealthy individuals in any 

 given industry or business to secure control of the 

 output, and by slightly raising prices, to levy taxation 

 on the whole community."* 



The object of combinations in New Zealand, as dis- 

 closed by the investigations made by this Commission, 

 is not the elimination of the unnecessary expenses in the 

 cost of manufacturing and distributing. These forms 

 of combination are beneficial to the whole community 

 from the improved services they would have rendered 

 in many directions. But the operations of the combin- 

 ations in New Zealand "have had an exactly opposite 

 effect, for their avowed object is to corner supplies and 

 increase prices to the detriment of the people." This 

 does not imply condemnation of combination. The whole 

 tendency of economic evolution is towards combination. 

 Where traders combine to secure cheaper wholesale 

 purchases or better transportation, combination is rather 

 to be commended. A good instance of this is the co- 

 operative movement. 



(a) The Origin and Nature of the Flour Millers' 

 Association. The New Zealand Flour Millers 7 Associ- 

 ation was instituted on March 1st, 1901, and in the 

 preamble to the agreement which bound individual 

 millers to the Association, the following quotation is 

 illustrative of the alleged objects of the Association: 



* ' Whereas for many years the business of flour milling 

 in New Zealand has been carried on practically without 



*Cost of Living Eeport, Parliamentary Papers, 1912. H-18, 

 page Ixvi. 



