REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE FRUIT INDUSTRY. 535 



case of fruit sent at owner's risk, in the last two years, in 

 consequence of a certain combination among the companies ; 

 (j) That other evil results follow from railway combination. 

 ■46. (a) Taking these complaints in order, and dealing first with the 

 charge that the rates are too high, we may quote the following from 

 among the statements made by witnesses : — 



Mr. Berry (Kent) complained that the rates were too high, and insti- 

 tuted a comparison with the rate charged for flour. 

 Mr. Riley (Herefordshire) made the same complaint. 

 Mr. King (Huntingdonshire), the same, especially as regards Goose- 

 berries. 



Mr. Templeton (Clydeside) complained that British fruit rates were 

 much higher than corresponding rates abroad. 



Mr. Sinclair (East Lothian) complained of the high local rates on the 

 North British Railway. 



Mr. Macdonald (Blairgowrie) said the fruit rates were too high. 



Mr. Gibbons (Guernsey) said the rates to London were unduly high. 



Mr. Pringle (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) said the rates were excessive. 



Mr. Craze (Liverpool) made the same complaint, but added that quick 

 delivery was more important than lower rates. 



Mr. Bulmer (Hereford) said the rates on cider Apples were too high. 



Mr. Monro (Covent Garden) said the rates were much too high, and 

 that the rates abroad were much lower. 



Mr. Dennis (Covent Garden) followed on the same lines, and gave a 

 number of comparisons between English and foreign rates, according to 

 which the English rates were much higher ; but Mr. Dennis's statements 

 were subsequently called in question by Mr. Vincent Hill. 



47. On the other hand — 



Mr. Best (Worcestershire) said that he had not much complaint as to 

 the rates. 



Mr. Clayton (Cambridgeshire) said that the Great Northern, Great 

 Eastern, and Midland Railways had treated them well so far. 



Mr. Pickering (Bedfordshire) had not much to complain of as regards 

 parcel rates. 



Mr. Kerswell (Exeter) had not very much to say against the treatment 

 of the railways. 



Mr. Trevethan (Devonshire) said the railway people had been trying 

 to meet the fruit growers as much as possible, and added, " If they could 

 reduce the rates a little more I suppose it would be better for all "—a 

 doctrine to which, probably, every trader in the country would subscribe. 



Mr. Wise (Gloucestershire) said the rates were reasonable. 



Mr. Idiens (Evesham) stated that in 1896 the Great Western Railway, 

 after a conference with leading growers, issued a new scale of rates, which 

 he described as "the most practical and satisfactory ever issued by a 

 British railway for the carrying on of a trade." He added that the 

 Midland and London and South Western Railways had followed the 

 Great Western's lead. 



Mr. Rochford (Cheshunt) had very few grievances against the railway 

 companies, and, among those which he did mention, he did not include 

 any complaint as to the rates. 



