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New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9023, 9 April 1888, Page 4

The intention of the Government to import from England an expert in the art of cheese-making, and in its special preparation for the English market, is an illustration of the change that is coming over the public mind in relation to the duties of the State. Such an intervention in private industry and enterprise is of course an innovation on the recognised principles of what lias been called the "Dismal Science" of political economy but it is none the less a step in the right direction, and a recognition of the claims of common sense. We are every day in these colonies coming nearer to the realisation of the idea that the Government of a country is nothing more nor less than the trustees of the interests of the whole people, as much as are the directors of a joint stock company the administrators of the interests of the shareholders ; and that whatever may be of common advantage, and cannot well be attained by private enterprise, may be perfectly legitimate for the Government to undertake. If this principle had been recognised in relation to our goldfields, we should not have seen private persons losing their fortunes in seeking to discover the right way of dealing with refractory ores, the successful result of which efforts would have been of universal advantage, and would in all probability ere this have given a legitimate "boom" to the whole of the colony. It may be said that our dairymen know all about the making of ; cheese, and that it requires nobody to instruct them ; but apart from the fact that the modern application of scientific discovery to almost every kind of' industry is always making to-day a substantial advance on yesterday, there are doubtless peculiarities in preparation requisite to exactly suit the taste of consumers in the great centre of the commerce of the world, which it is unreasonable to expect that producers in this colony could do more than guess at. On this account we cordially welcome the proposed action of the Government; and we sincerely trust that the step being .taken may prove the first in a course of providing skilled guidance to many an industry which only requires such a friendly help to start it on the way to a permanent success.