354 History of Inland Transport 



in their report " that the evidence tendered has failed to show 

 that the railway companies are giving undue preferential 

 treatment to foreign and colonial produce as compared with 

 home produce contrary to the intention and effect of existing 

 legislation." They found that some of the traders who com- 

 plained had compared rates which did not include terminal 

 services with rates that did ; had quite wrongly divided what 

 were, in effect, " through " rates, first subtracting the full 

 charge of the shipping company and then assuming that the 

 remainder could be compared with the rate from the first ; 

 or had omitted to take into account differences in regard to 

 bulk of consignments, packing, etc. 



In effect, no British railway rate may give a preference to 

 foreign as distinct from British produce so far as quantities, 

 conditions and circumstances are the same. The rates are to 

 be available for like consignments whatever the source of their 

 origin. Where the home producer has been unable to provide the 

 same quantities, under the same conditions and circumstances 

 as the foreigner, he has equally been unable to avail himself of 

 a rate open to all the world. He has had the disadvantage of 

 the retail trader as compared with the wholesale trader. The 

 principle involved is practically the same as that in operation 

 on Continental State railways, where the traders who can 

 provide the biggest loads get the advantage of the most 

 favourable rates. On the Belgian State railways, for instance, 

 there are special rates for 50, for 100 and even for 3oo-ton 

 consignments which can obviously be taken advantage of by 

 only a limited number of traders. But while the retail man 

 cannot expect to get the same terms as the wholesale man, 

 there is no adequate reason why the wholesale man should 

 be kept to the same level as the retail man, and be refused the 

 lower rates for his consignments to which he is entitled on 

 account of their greater bulk or better loading. The question 

 is certainly complicated by the fact that the wholesale man 

 here in question is generally a foreigner ; but the railway 

 companies could not be required to discriminate against him, 

 and to penalise him on account of his nationality. The 

 matters at issue must needs be looked at from the point of 

 view of a business proposition rather than from that of ex- 

 pecting the railway companies to usurp the functions of the 

 State in carrying out a policy of Protection. 



