DAIRY PRODUCE

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 66, 15 September 1934, Page 5

DAIRY PRODUCE

THE BRITISH MARKET.

FOREIGN PRACTICE^

(From "The Post's" Representative.)' LONDON, August 4. \Mr. J. Gillar.d Stapleton, chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee of the British. Dairy Farmers' Association, writes:—; -

"The Ottawa Agreements were drafted with the object of encouraging Empire as against foreign traded It is, therefore, disturbing to find on examining the half-yearly statistics of the Board of Trade, that in the sis months ended June 30 our total imports of European butter increased by the colossal figure of 423,000cwt, roughly, 23 per cent. This is more than one pound weight a head increase for every man, woman, and child in the United JKingdom.

'''It is obvious that the 15s a cwt protective duty imposed upon foreign butter is an adequate foil wherewith to oppose the various economic devices to which foreign producers resort in order to flood our markets. Practically all the European dairying countries now assist their producers to export butter at uneconomic prices—most of them by subsidising or by stabilising domestic prices. The situation is aggravated by the imposition, of rigid quotas by countries that were formerly considerable importers of butter, e.g., by Germany, which lias virtually closed her market to the Baltic States. Consequently, exporting countries had to find a way of overcoming the British tariff barrier, and 'stabilisation' of domestic prices was. found to be the most effectual weapon. "Why all this .talk about Emp;re quotas? Surely tlie first step towards preventing the saturation of the British market should be a clear warning to foreign countries against persisting in their uneconomic practices. Much has beeu said about the economic power wielded by buying countries. When are we going to learn to apply it?"

"The Chinese treat handwriting as an art," remarked Mr. \V. Wah during a lecture to the Theosoptiieal Society at Chfistehurch (reports the "Christehurch Times"). "The appearance of the writing is of as much importance as ttio matter. I speak with reference to-the usual English scrawl prevalent here/ he added amid laughter.