THE BUTTER COMMISSION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13214, 27 June 1906, Page 6

THE BUTTER COMMISSION.

■SOME FURTHER NOTES AND

COMMENTS.

[]'ROM OUR OWN* CORRESPONDENT.]

London, May, 19. Last week 1 sent you tome particulars of the evidence which was given by Mr. H. C. Cameron, of the New Zealand Produce Department here, to 'the Select Committee of the House of Commons, which had been set up to make inquiries into the . adulteration of butter. Mr. Cameron's'' evidence was strongly against the blending or "faking" of butter, but some of the committee, notably Mr. Flyn, seemed rather to take the view that things had better, remain as they are. . ;

After the departure of last . week's mail, Mr. Flyn and Mr. Lonsdale subjected the New Zealand (Produce Commissioner to a lengthy cross-examination, and the tenor of the questions put to him can be gathered from one of them.

■ Mr._ Cameron had been urging that the blending of butter, even when pure, should not bo allowed, except, in the case of farmers' small lots. What, objection could there be, Mr. Cameron was asked, to a merchant blending tea from India and Ceylon with a little from China, if the teas wero pure. Mr Cameron, : however, would not iaQinit the parallel. His contention, of course, was that if New Zealand butter is &old as such, and only as such, in the retail shops, the retailers will make a feature of it, as they have» done with Danish butter, and that their customers will ask for it. There are, of course, two sides to this question of blending. One reason for New Zealand butter being in such demand and bringing the high price it docs is its quality of dryness. And the greater the degree of moisture allowed in butter sold retail the more m demand will be the driest butter .obtainable by the wholesale dealer. Put ill another way, the more moisture which butter sold retail is allowed to contain the better value foi the money will be the dry butter bought wholesale. — . I note that one member of the committee urged against tho argument that inspectors should be employed to inspect dairy factories here, that while the limited population of New Zealand would, allow of this being done, it would be impracticable to do the. same tiling here, among so many mil-. lions pf people. That certainly has been found to. be. the ease with regard to frozen meat, for complaints of meat frauds roll in tllern W 'H ' f UIK ? loth , in * can be done to stop them. Ihe fact, is ', there are too many complaints to cope with. . . ■