which is equal to 60lbs. on the Winchester bushel, or 61½lbs. on our Imperial bushel. No. 1 hard is two dollars ten cents, whereas the No. 1 soft is, I think, two dollars eight cents. 4382. Do the Americans now deal in bushels or in centals?—So far as Australia is concerned, they are paying us on the bushel rate. Two dollars ten cents is the price fixed in America for the bushel; 60lbs. go to the bushel. If the Winchester bushel weighs to 60lbs. the Imperial bushel equivalent is 61½lbs. The basis of all sales is on the 60lbs. to the bushel. 4383. By Hon. J. F. ALLEN: That system of grading is hardly possible with the bag system?—You could not well do it with the bag system. 4384. If bulk handling is introduced in this State that system would be in vogue here?—I think so. 4385. And would be advantageous to the farmer?—Up to a certain point. The farmer cannot get better than the best grade, and it must be fixed at a reasonable weight. It the No. 1 grade was fixed at, say, 63lbs., we would still have farmers delivering wheat at 64lbs. and 65lbs. These men cannot get better than the best grade. 4386. It will be a considerable improvement on the present system?—Yes. The best that can be said of the f.a.q. system is that under the bag system it is the best that can be done. I am not quite sure in regard to the shipment whether the accountant informed you that any shipment we make is on account of the Australian Wheat Board. Western Australia might ship four cargoes on an average of 6s. 9d. and South Australia might ship four cargoes at 6s., that is all pooled eventually, so that each State gets the same per bushel price for all overseas exports. 4387. It would be advantageous if you had a uniform f.a.q. for Australia?—That is impossible. You might have a uniform grade, a standard grade, but not a f.a.q. grade. Take last year, 1916-17, the f.a.q. standard for Western Australia was 62¾lbs., while in New South Wales it was 56lbs. Supposing the average for Australia was 60lbs., it would be impossible to ask New South Wales to ship a sample at 60lbs. because they could not do it, but you could fix a standard for 60lbs. for the whole of Australia, and any State shipping lower than that would have to bear the loss. And a State shipping better than 60lbs. would have a premium for shipping the better class wheat. We often now we have a difficulty on account of the variation in the districts in keeping up to f.a.q. We may have a cargo of wheat going to load at Geraldton and Fremantle. The standard for Australia is 62lbs. The wheat in Geraldton district may be very light, as it was in 1915-16 season. The Geraldton cargo might go 58lbs., and we would bring the ship down to Fremantle and have to be very careful in picking out good wheat at Fremantle so that all would average out to the f.a.q. standard. 4388. In the United States they have a Grain Standards Act. In what way does it apply?—It sets out the grade. I have a copy of that Act, the Unites States Act, and if you like to peruse it I will send it to you. That is the basis of the grades, but not the price. I can let you know what the prices are. All these grades in America are fixed by regulation and all the wheat business is handled on that basis. The grading is controlled by the Government. Say we ship a cargo to San Francisco. The Government inspector grades the cargo, no matter who it is going to. If you dispute his grading you can appeal to the chief of the Bureau of Markets at Washington. And on paying a fee for arbitration they will arbitrate and decide whether their inspector's decision is correct or otherwise. The inspection of grain in the United States is an intricate business. A sample of Australian wheat might conform to No. 1 grade on four points, but on the fifth point it might fail. It may be up to No. 1 standard in all respects, but too much moisture. The maximum moisture in No. 1 grade is 13.5 per cent. This might happen to have 14 per cent. of moisture, and under the grading the inspector might put it into No. 2 grade on account of the excess moisture. The seller of the cargo might think it should not be put into No. 2 grade on account of that small fault, but under the Act the inspector might be right. As far as the shipment of wheat from Australia is concerned. The American Government are on the easy side in grading wheat, or in saying what grade they should go under. Wheat that might be put into No. 2 has been put into No. 1 grade. Those are all the remarks I was going to make on shipping. Most of my remarks have been to point out from my point of view that under present circumstances it is better for the Government to do their own shipping than to allow anyone to do it for them, owing to the difficulties they are likely to get into with the Imperial Government and the Government of the United States. Therefore it is better for the Government to do their own shipping than to trust to private people who perhaps would not be inclined to go to the expense of sampling of repairing bags that the Government would go to. 4389. By the CHAIRMAN: It might cost more money here or they might lose a little at the other end?—It is not a question of losing money, but perhaps of faith. The Imperial Government are not likely to reject a cargo of wheat which they perhaps might be entitled to, but they will probably send in an official complaint. Still, they would be very diffident in doing that. They do not wish to embarrass the Australian Governments at the present time. The next point I was going to mention is the difficulties we are having in regard to the shortage of railway tarpaulins. We have had a fairly heavy loss in cash on account of wheat consigned from the country arriving at the mills too saturated for milling on account of having remained some time in the wet, and getting mouldy, rendering it unfit for milling purposes. It has had to be re-consigned on to Fremantle, and eventually treated here. It is hard to say whether we shall be able to make a first class sample of it by the time we finish it. In that respect we incur a certain amount of demurrage through the shortage of tarpaulins. When the wheat arrives we shift it to the depot as soon as the rain has stopped; if it is only for an hour or so we take off the covers and get the truck unloaded, but if the truck is uncovered we have to wait until the final shower has passed away so that the wheat is dried sufficiently to be stacked. On that point, on account of the shortage of covers for trucks of flour, we have to take the flour out of the shed at Fremantle when we have had flour that we wish to ship direct. That means double handling. But I may say in justification of the Railway Department that at the present time we are shifting more wheat to mills and depots in winter time than in the past. Even in normal times we are asking them to supply a larger proportion of sheets than they have ever done. I have been on to them repeatedly on the matter, but they say it is almost an impossibility for them to get the sheets. In pre-war days, I am told, the cost of sheets was somewhere about £5 each, and now they have paid up to £15 recently to secure covers. There is no doubt the shortage of covers has happened. I do not think they are holding them back and refusing to supply them in any shape or form, and I am confirmed in that view. In shifting wheat the Railway Department this year have given us every possible assistance they could. Where we have wanted to shift wheat off railway lines I have got into communication with Mr. Shillington and asked him to station railway engines at certain portions of the line, so as to keep certain parts clear, and, as far as practicable, he has met every request. He has run special trains within reason wherever they have been wanted. So far as transport goes this season, we have no complaints to make against the Railway Department, and it gives me pleasure to state that, more especially in view of the criticism the Railway Department has been subjected to. In clearing up the railway lines this season, I worked on the basis of trying to get those lines cleared first where the rainfall was the heaviest; places like the Great Southern, Growangerup, Kojonup, and also the Toodyay-Bolgart line. The Railway Department gave me every possible assistance. You have asked me questions with regard to dockage on wheat. 4390. This question was asked Mr. Murray, "We were told the dockage was fixed at the request of the Westralian Farmers, Ltd.," and he replied, "That statement has been made throughout the