EDITORIAL NOTES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1106, 12 May 1893, Page 7

EDITORIAL NOTES.

The last issue of the Australasian Pastoralists' Eeview, just to hand, contains a portrait of Mr Whitely King, a well-known New Zealander who occupies the very important position of Secretary to the Pastoralists' Union of New South Wales. Mr King was for many years engaged in journalistic work in New Zealand, but in 1890 removed to Sydney, where he obtained the position he now holds. He has shown himself to be possessed of great energy and tact and talent for organisation, qualities which he exhibited in a most noticeable degree during the trying times of the shearers' strike. The Pastoralists' Eeview has become a most valuable property. It is published in Melbourne and Sydney, the Melbourne editor being Mr E. N. Twopenny, at one time editor of the Otago Daily Times. Both Mr King and Mr Twopenny have hosts of friends in New Zealand who will wish them a continuance of the success they have gained since they went to Australia.

We have always maintained that it is the first and foremost duty of our butter exporters to see that the quality of the article shipped is fully equal to the representations made on the invoice, but we are sorry to say that complaints are being made in London that the quality is often not as represented, and also that many of the boxes are of short weight. This causes very great annoyance, and may tend to seriously injure the prospects of the trade, if continued. The flax export was well nigh ruined by carelessness and dishonesty —let us hope that such will never be the case with the dairy produce export trade.

At a meeting of farmers held at Makino on the Ist inst, Mr Corpe, a well-known resident, who was the convenor, laid before those present a scheme for the establishment of a dairy factory. In the course of his remarks he said that nothing but the factory product will sell at Home now, and it was useless to go on as in the past. He made some severe remarks on the subject of the very poor* facilities provided by the railway authorities for the transport of butter, maintaining that the freights charged were almost prohibitive, and it was with the greatest difficulty that they could occasionally get suitable trucks for transport. The small farmers were not wealthy, and they deserved more assistance. He did not believe in subsidies; but what they wanted was cool wellventilated trucks for transport, and reduced freights. It was outrageous to have to pay 40s a ton to Wellington. On one occasion he had had two boxes stolen at Palmerston through having to leave the doors of the trucks open for ventilation. Greater pressure should be brought to bear on the Goyernment, and this matter should be brought under the notice of candidates for Parliament. Pasture was not better in Australia, and butter was never exposed to a greater temperature than 40deg,, and this was the secret why Australian butter was better in quality than New Zealand. A number of farmers gave in their names as willing to guarantee cows and the question of whether a factory is to be, established or not is to be settled this week.

The following resolution was passed at a recent meeting of the Nelson Fruitgrowers' Association : ' That in the opinion of this Association the present Codlin Moth Bill is of such drastic character that if passed into law it would ruin the fruit growing industry of the Colony, and that unless a more simple and less expensive Act can be drafted than the present, dealing only with simple bandaging of the trees and picking infested fruit from the

trees, and administered by tho fruitgrowers of each separate district, it would be far better that no Codlin Moth Act should be passed.

We have received the first number of the Australian Agriculturist, a weekly paper published at Brisbane. It is an admirably printed paper replete with every possible kind of information of interest to agriculturists, and ought to prove highly successful from a financial point of view. We have put the Australian Agriculturist on our exchange list, and trust we shall be able to extract much matter from it which will be of interest and value to New Zealand farmers.