BUTTER TRADE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 305, 18 September 1908, Page 8

BUTTER TRADE.

-o GRADED OR UNCRADED? "So far as can bo ascertained, no ungraded butter left the port of Auckland by the s.s. lonic," said the Hon. R. M'Nab in reply to Mr. Okoy in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. Mr. Okey said ho had received a letter on tbfe subject from Auckland. It was as the rosult of correspondence in The .Dominion of August last. Mr. Okcy's correspondent said that by the lonic 011 March 23, 1907, 2000 boxes of butter were shipped. Of this line 1259 boxes wont through the proper channel, while 741 were sent direct from the factory to the steamer, and were not seen by the grader. On the refusal of the grader in Auckland to allow the shipment, 110 had received instructions by wire from the Department in Wellington that the consignment would be permitted, and it was shipped regardless of the regulations. It wa.s a matter, said Mr. Okey, that should bo inquired into. If lie could get tho information surely the Government could. Tho Minister, replying later, said that since tho statement had been made by Mr. Okey 110 had communicated with the officers of the Department, and not only had 110 boxes of butter been sent away ungraded, but tho number of boxes that had gone away 011 the lonic (as shown in the manifest) corresponded with the number marked and graded by the Department's officers. No instructions had been issued to allow any butter to go ungraded. Mr. Okey responded that the shipment referred to by the Minister was a different one to that cited by him. The Minister complained that he had been unable to get from Mr. Okey the details of tho letter he had road.