JUDGMENT IN SOUTHAMPTON CASE 277 



in rate or treatment shall be such only as the degree in 

 which the services may not be similar may make 

 reasonable." 



The foreign consignments are of greater average 

 weight, and load more compactly, so that on the average 

 the return is stated at 4.4d per truck per mile to 3d for 

 home goods. Again, the foreign steam-pressed hay 

 loads 4 tons to the truck to 2^ tons of English hay, 

 while foreign hops load 3 tons to 2| tons of English. 



The limits of justification being thus narrowed to 

 differences of cost of service, the Commissioners ordered 

 a readjustment of rates as regards hay, hops, and fresh 

 meat, but rejected the traders' complaint as to the 

 other articles on the ground that the traffic in them was 

 insignificant. 



This judgment would seem to fully justify the con- 

 tention of agriculturists that the excessive differences in 

 rates on foreign produce are substantially due to the 

 action of the companies in competing for imports by a 

 policy of putting very low charges upon them, and re- 

 couping themselves by unreasonably high rates on home 

 produce. It is clear that the considerations of less cost 

 of services relied on can fairly account for only a small 

 proportion of the enormous differences ranging, in this 

 Southampton case, from 57 per cent, on fresh meat, and 

 63 per cent, on hay, to 220 per cent, on bacon, butter, 

 and wool, and 276 per cent, on hops. Further, it 

 appears that the differences in cost of service, such as 

 they are, are probably exaggerated. The Salisbury 

 meat traffic runs through Eastleigh, seventy-one miles to 

 London, without stopping in a fast train exactly like the 

 meat train from Southampton docks. And hops and 

 other foreign produce are, it is shown, frequently run 

 up in half loaded trucks, so that the consideration o 

 close packing is non-operative. 



It might also be urged that the ground stated for 

 refusing to order a readjustment in the rates for bacon, 

 etc., is unsatisfactory, inasmuch as it might permanently 

 check any attempt to develop new traffic, such as curing 

 factories, or creameries. 



