The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, JULY 6, 1877.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 101, 6 July 1877, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, JULY 6, 1877.

The Poninsula is already famed for its dairy produce, and a considerable trade is done in cheese, made by the dairy farmers. There is another industry, vhich is carried on to some extent, but the product of which might be greatly ir.err-uP'jd, if it were carried on in a more ■f.vstematie manner. We allude to bacon curing. At present, this is only done. by private persons, the bacon that is ssnt into the market is mostly made by rhose who rear the pigs ; each man pur.•iuing bis own particular method of cure. ihe consequence is, that there is no unifbimity of flavour, and the Peninsula bacon has not attained that name for exf«]]enco, which, if once attained, would always ensure it a ready market at such a price as would yield a good profit to ihe producers. The far-famed bacon of Hampshire," and the fine hams of Yorkshire, owe their celebrity to the uniform excellence of flavour which is their disJ .:;ng':ishing characteristic. We are »rmr3, that tlie particular breed of pigs uikl the method of feeding them has ■our- thing to do with the flavour of meat wh'Hi cured, but, still, we know, that the manner of curing has more to do with it th.;?i many, people imagine. In the old; country there are large establishments for bicon and ham curing, and great care is taken in the manufacture. '-'-The pigs fere killed during the winter months'/ it- •■• : ; r

never in the spring or summer, and then only animals in prime condition are slaughtered. The curing process is quite an art; the salting of the sides of bacon and the preparation of the ham pickle is conducted with a care, which, would seem strange to those accustomed only to the, : j}pmewhat rough and always uncertain method adopted in the colonies. Equal care is bestowed upon the smoking or drying, according to the intention whether the bacon should be smoked or not. It is true, that there are bacon curing establishments in Christchurch and its neighbourhood, but the article produced therein by no means reaches that uniform standard of excellence which prevails in the mother country. What wo should like to see established, either in Akaroa, or perhaps better in one of the bays which open upon the harbour—is, a bacon and ham curing establishment. It need not be upon a large scale at first, but of sufficient size to enable experiments to be carried on until an article is produced equal to the imported. We do not advocate the formation of a company to carry out this work, because in transacting the business of a company the expenses are generally greater than when the same affair is carried on by private persons. What we would suggest is, that a few spirited men should subscribe a little capital and start the concern, which we believe would ultimately not only have to be enlarged but would yield a handsome profit. ,

Colonel Whitmorc, well known as one of the Northern members of the Legislative Oouncil, has been trying his hand at a scheme for amending the Counties Act. We have neither space nor inclination for analysing the gallant colonel's plan in detail, but will content ourselves with noticing its most salient points. With the view of promoting more " harmonious working" between the County Councils and the Road Boards, he proposes, that the County Councils should have control in general matters over the Borough Councils and Road Boards, and also be constituted Courts of Appeal for hearing and determining the complaints of aggrieved minorities. County Councils are also to have limited taxing and legislative powers, and the Chairman of County Councils with two or three 'of the members are to be constituted Executives, whose function it will be to superintend the carrying out of public works and the preparation of business to be laid before the Councils. This would be a retrograde movement, a step backwards to Provincialism, in fact, nothing more nor less than the " modified provincialism" -of Mr. Rolleston. We do not want it; we do not want a power called into existence to stand between the Generattjrovernment and those chosen by the people to administer local self-government, which ought to be carried on in the towns by the Borough Councils, and in the County Districts by rural municipalities, no matter whether they be called Shire Councils or Road Boards.