1916-17 and 1917-18 reasons, and we would be glad to discuss this with you.

On the 14th June the Scheme wrote to us as follows:—

Attention is also drawn to the bulk of the sweepings coming forward. On the 11th inst. a truck arrived from Dalwallinu loaded with a lot of burnt wheat, "weather damaged," which was unfit for anything and which with the extra rain on it was steaming and more like old decayed stable manure than anything else, being only fit to be buried.

We were able to reply to that letter on the 27th June as follows:—

Re truck which arrived ex Dalwallinu on the 11th inst., we note your advice that this truck contained burnt wheat, weevil damaged, which was unfit for anything and which with the extra rain on it was steaming and more like old decayed stable manure than anything else. The number of this truck is G2678. In view of your very definite statement regarding the condition of the wheat, you may be somewhat surprised to learn that none of this wheat was buried as stated by you, but that same was accepted for your reject stack and is now in D shed at Spencer's Brook.

To this sort of thing we never get a reply, and we are still instructed to send wheat down, and we are either to send it to mills or to Dalgety & Co. I will agree with the Scheme in this way. It is easy for the agents to send us wheat which should never have been sent, but so far I believe there is not one case where it has not brought a profit, and in putting our man in this position, that he has to use his judgment, and if his judgment is at fault he is not seriously to be blamed for it, because with this rubbish that is fetching such prices our preconceived notions of values have disappeared.

3235. By the CHAIRMAN: And if your agent had been selling it and had sold it too cheaply he would be blamed?—Absolutely. I would like to read you this letter which we wrote to the manager of the Marketing Scheme on the 19th June:—

Consignment via depots and direct for auction. With reference to previous correspondence, as an indication of the difficulties under which we are operating at many country sidings, we quote an instance which came under our notice last week at Tammin. Our inspector in passing through advised that there was a considerable quantity of sweepings available which were not worth sending down to market, and recommended that same should not be bagged but that arrangements should be made to cart it away at about 2s. per load. We communicated with Messrs. Dalgety & Co., who approved of our suggestion, and our agent was duly advised. Subsequently it appears that your inspector came along and instructed our representative to send all of this class of wheat down to Perth, and he therefore acted on the Government Inspector's instructions. Our representative writes, "I do not know whether I did right or not as it seems that one tells you one thing, and another tells you a different thing. I would like you to tell me whom I am to take notice of, and oblige." We regret to say that this is not the only instance of conflicting instructions having been given by your inspectors. We have regard, therefore, to the following circumstances, namely:—

This letter was written after many others in which we asked to have this thing considered and rearranged.

1. That Messrs. Dalgety & Co. as sole agents for inferior wheat impose values on samples submitted ex country sidings, same being such as to preclude local sales being effected. The latter will not come up to metropolitan values. 2. That we verbally suggested to your representative the authorisation of all parties dealing with inferior wheat on your behalf, to allow no more of this class of wheat on the metropolitan market, now that wet weather has been set in.

Dirty wheat, that is wheat mixed with earth, will damage much more readily than clean wheat.

3. The urgency of immediate action as suggested, and your delay to take such action.

4. That your inspectors are still instructing agents in the country to send all sweepings to Perth.

5. The risk of malting and fermentation setting in en route. 6. Your continued attempts to saddle us with the responsibility of any such wheat which may arrive in bad condition. We propose, therefore, instructing all country representatives, both those dealing with old wheat and with new season's wheat, that no more sweepings in which any earth is present, nor any further inferior in which there is the least trace of fermentation setting in, are to be railed by them to the metropolitan market. We also propose not to bag such wheat, but to get quotes for same per cart load, to be carted off sites, moneys to be accounted for by us to your sole agents for inferior wheat (Messrs. Dalgety & Co.). We now definitely ask your authority herein. In view of the conflicting instructions above referred to, we also with regret propose to advise representatives that if on any occasion the Government inspector's wishes conflict with our definite instructions, they are to decline to act upon the inspector's instructions and are to refer him to us. We again submit that this matter of dealing with inferior wheat should not be held up pending Mr. Keys' return, as same requires an immediate decision, although on the return of Mr. Keys we are more than willing to meet him with a view of discussing matters should he so desire.

Although we set out what would prevent this, we cannot get the Government's authorisation to act in that way.

3236. The CHAIRMAN: When we question Mr. Keys on this matter he will in all probability say that you had no right to send wheat of this description down. Therefore we would like to see it. We had better proceed to the yards now and you can continue your evidence later on. I wish to refer to the question of inferior wheat. I should like to lay this point down, that this wheat which we saw and other inferior wheat of the kind is picked up from last year's stacks, that we were instructed to forward all millable wheat to the mills, and all saleable wheat after that to Dalgety & Co., the sole agents for the Scheme, that we from time to time submitted samples, poor samples of wheat to Dalgety, but they have fixed a price at which we are precluded from selling it locally. The agent is therefore faced with one of two things, either to let what is there rot until it is of no value, or else bag and truck it as you have seen done with the wheat this morning. We have written at least a dozen times to the Scheme pointing out these facts, and urging them to reconsider their verdict in the matter and effect some better arrangements. Except for a few letters of almost petulant complaint about individual lots, the Scheme have not so far reconsidered the general method under which this wheat is trucked. The letters on the file will definitely prove this statement. In conclusion, I should like to mention that with the delay in the construction of silos I very much fear if anything can be done in regard to the care of wheat for the coming harvest, and that it is consequently urgently necessary to consider what is the next best method of dealing with it. I notice that in Victoria the Government and that acquiring agents have already practically agreed on their method as to their cost and prices. I would strongly urge that the matter should be dealt with immediately, that the Wheat Scheme officers should draft a comprehensive scheme dealing in particular and in detail with every phase of the subject, which their experience now should show them to be necessary. That should be a Scheme not founded on the one idea of economy, that is to say, cheapness, which is frequently not economy, but that it should be a scheme founded on the idea of economy coupled with definite efficiency, because we fear the wheat will be stored for a very long time to come. What may be saved by a cheap method of storage or handling will be lost in future years on the wheat that is being left. I believe that the wheat we saw this morning is wheat that has never been bagged, but has been taken from the bottom layers of old season's stacks and lifted into trucks exactly as it came from the stacks.

3237. By the CHAIRMAN: You mean as to the majority of it?—Yes. The wheat is moulded and gone rotten. We must stack our wheat in such a manner that the flood waters cannot reach it as has been the case with this wheat. We should embark upon a comprehensive and complete scheme, of which actual