7415. By the CHAIRMAN: Then so far as you are aware, all the wheat is of about the same quality? — No. 7416. Are there any favoured mills? — No, but it pays the Scheme to rail wheat from certain stacks to certain mills, and it is sometimes more profitable to rail wheat from stacks which do not contain much badly damaged wheat. 7417. We visited Geraldton and Katanning and I do not think that it would be possible to get worse wheat than we saw at those places. There is certainly nothing worse than the Albany wheat, and if 40.38 can be extracted from it, that quantity can be obtained from other wheat?— It is quite likely that Katanning also had a considerable quantity of f.a.q. wheat which has ?changed? that mill to bring up the average. The statement I have given you covers a period of nine months. The difference in percentages is due chiefly to a difference in machinery and a difference in the quality of the wheat milled. 7418. The statement of weekly operations that you have handed in has to be sent in regularly each week? — It is supposed to be sent in every week. 7419. In connection with the gristing, it is provided in the agreement that the millers shall receive 2 ½ percent. commission on the unmilled portion of the Imperial order. Does that mean that it covers the extended time given to them from the 31st October to the 31st December? — Yes; it was extended by the Australian Wheat Board. 7420. Was that done verbally or by correspondence? — I do not think it would be done verbally. 7421. By Mr BROWN: In connection with the East Perth mill, was the wheat there of a quality equal to that at any of the other mills? — It would not be worse than the quality at some of the other mills. 7422. In view of the fact that you are losing 51bs. weight of flour in every bushel, and with flour at £11 a ton, which means 1 8/25ths of a penny per 1b., you are losing 6 ½d. per bushel?— You must offset against that the value of the offal. 7423. That is trifling?— No; pollard in the metropolitan area is worth roughly £5 3s and bran £4 3s net. 7424. Would I be safe in saying that the Scheme is losing 6d. per bushel? — I think it would be a little over 3d. In connection with the return from Seaddan & Quigley's mill at East Perth, earlier in the season it was less than it is at the present time. The extraction at this mill has now been improved. 7425. You said earlier that the Scheme had written to the mills and had only received replies from half of them? — There has been very little time to get replies from all owing in some eases to the bad train service. 7426. Did you fix a date for replies to be sent? — In the last letter I asked that prompt replies be made to both letters. 7427. In your agreement with the mills is there provision for notice to be given when closing them down? — Clause 34 of the agreement sets out that the miller shall at all times duly carry out all instructions of the Minister and his officers so far as such instructions are within the scope of the agreement. 7428. The agreement finishes three weeks from next Saturday? — Yes. 7429. Have there been any negotiations regarding closing down or a continuance? — I believe there have been informal conversations between the General Manager and the millers, but whether there has been any official meeting, for the purpose of considering that question, I do not know. Certainly the Scheme's officers have worked up a very considerable bulk of information in preparation for a fresh agreement with the millers. 7430. You say that all the wheat now coming in, which is not likely to be milled by the 3rd November, is being specially stacked? — Yes. 7431. Is the same system being carried out with the flour and the offal? — Flour, bran, and pollard, as they come from the packers are going into stack, which the millers have been requested to build so that they are countable, and that involves the selling of all bran and pollard which is packed in sizes other than uniform sizes. 7432. Was that request made by letter? — Yes. 7433. Have any of your inspectors seen that effect is being given to it? — In connection with four mills our tally clerks have received instructions to see that this is carried out. The mill inspector has received copies of the letters sent to the mills, but whether he has been round to them since I do not know. 7434.Have the payments by the millers to the Scheme been prompt? — For the first few months, owing to the fact that no agreement was finalised, and the millers practically were standing on their dignity in regard to sending in statements of operations, we were not aware how they stood; but during that period the heavy value of the stock which we took over in most of the mills cut out many weeks' collections on our behalf. Latterly, since we have got the statements of operations, the majority of the mills have remitted us a weekly cheque for their sales, irrespective of their collections, and we have remitted a cheque for the gristing expenses. 7435. Have there been any overpayments by you for gristing services to any of the mills? — Nothing substantial. I believe there was one amount of a few pounds, but even in that case it was owing to an arrangement having been made to exchange cheques for full amounts. We sent ours but did not get back the full cheque promptly. The amount was under £10. 7436. The case I have in mind involved an amount of £16, returned to the Scheme as an overpayment?— I was under the impression that it was about £8. 7437. By the CHAIRMAN: I have found that wire. You have prepared a return showing what each miller has received under that clause in the agreement? — This return does not show the exact amount received. I did not understand that it was required. This return is purely a quantity statement, showing each mill, the flour shipped. the flour in stock at North Fremantle on the 3rd November, the flour milled, the flour in transit, the unmilled balance, and the total quota. I have not shown the cash paid. 7438. You can get that out and send it up? — Yes. If you multiply each of these by 5s. 3d. you would get it approximately. 7439. That means that the millers receive, in addition to their 7d. for gristing, 7s 6d. for bags per ton and another 2½ per cent. on that 25,000 tons of the Imperial Government flour? — It means that they receive 2½ per cent. on the value at the mill of the unmilled balance. 7440. What was the value at the mill?— It was £10 18s. 6d. f.o.b., less 1s 2d handling and 2d tallying and railage from mill to wharf. At some of the mills the value per ton would be about £10 5s., and the closer up you get to the port the nearer is the value to £10 18s. 6d. 7441. Would it be over £10 in each case? — Yes. possibly Geraldton might be a shilling or two under or over. 7442. Really, each mill received 5s or over per ton in addition to the gristing charge of 7d.? — The position is that they get 5s. 3ds., let us say, on the average commission per ton on the unmilled balance over and above any other remuneration they receive. 7443. And the remuneration they receive for gristing was considerable higher than that paid in the Eastern States? — That is so. 7444. Have you ever seen the agreement entered into by the South Australian Government with Thomas & Co. of Adelaide? — I believe I have. 7445. Could you tell us the difference between the total payment here per ton and the amount paid to Thomas & Co. in Adelaide? — There is a clause which rather precludes any such comparison. There the Scheme agreed to pay the actual value of the excess bags used, but here we have a stated amount. 7446. Are not you paying more for bags now than they were costing you prior to the gristing agreement? — Yes, but as time passed the bags became worse. 7447. Then the only difference is in regard to the bags; the highest would be 1s. 6d. per ton? — If you eliminate the bags in both sets of calculations you get a difference of, roughly, 4s per ton, according to the number of bushels taken to the ton of flour. If you include the bags you have to find out what it has cost the Scheme in South Australia for bags. 7448. Bags are being sold at 9s. per dozen in Western Australia? — But if the bag is rotten when it comes in with wheat, and cannot be used again, its value is next to nil; and a lot of our bags have been pretty rotten. 7449. If you allow the full portion of bags in South Australia it would not go above 9s., would it? — It takes, roughly, about 21 bags to bag the produce of sufficient wheat to make a ton of flour, when you include

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