THE New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1895. THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVII, Issue 2409, 15 January 1895, Page 2

THE New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.)

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1895. THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

With which are incorporated the Wellington Independent, established 1815, and the New Zealander.

What becomes of the dairy produce after it leaves the factory or dairy ? How does it fare on the road to the chief ports of shipment, to which by law it has to he directed? How is it treated at those ports ? What happens between the cold store and the hour of shipment? These are the questions every dairy farmer in New Zealand is asking’ himself at the present moment and worrying his friends about- —with reason, because he has an Act over him which he has to obey in many matters of minute detail. “ Is this is a f,ee country ? " someone asks. Of course it is s a country eminently free. Freedom, "however, when jt is true freedom, consists in doing, not what one likes at every turn, bnt that which is for the advantage of the greatest number. That point the laws passed by the representatives of a free people decide and regulate. Much depends on the quality of these laws, of comae. One of these is the Dairy Industry Act which has just started the dairy farmers on a new course. It was objected to as drastic. But unless a law is drastic, it is, as a regulator of in dustry, not worth the paper it is printedupon. This Act is not so drastic as the Acts in force in Canada and Victoria, and the prosperity of the dairy industry in those colonies —the envy and admiration of all the other colonies in this respect—is due to those measures. The Now Zealand Act is simple, clear, easily obeyed and certain to produce good effects. At least, we can all hope for the best, on the excellent grounds supplied by the Act. The great thing for the public to understand is the working of the Act. The questions we have referred to they want to be answered. In another column we supply the answers. One of our representatives has visited the cold store at onr port, he describes the accommodation there, he gives the views of the various experts who handle .the dairy produce, ho tells of the grading, and the freezing, and the shipment, and of many other things besides. His account shows .that on the whole the produce (butter is the only article ho speaks of) gets ye.ry good treatment. 'The producers may mate their mind .easy on that point. Their goods are not cramped for want of room, th,o packages are in no way injured In the grading, the freezing is very well done, and the final shipment is expeditious. Still there, are a few things which require adverse comment. The produce trains ought, for instance, to he more regular. Some latitude must he allowed qa a matter of course. But these trains are sometimes unconscionably late. The essence of the thing is that tho butter ought to have the cool night hours only/ But sometimes it gets long day hours, and during these hours it gets a dozen degrees too hot. That should be ended without any delay. We may add that if tho factories had small refrigerators the temperature would leave nothing to be desired. It is a question of .cost and profit. Necessarily an article that arrives at 25 degrees is more likely to sell wnll than one which gets here at 73. Then there ja the grading, which can be done far more reliably for factory than for dairy. produce. The point is worth the attention of tho farmer, Ag a m> much of the parchment • paper used in packing is found to give a disagreeable flavour, and, more important still, there is a “ twangy ” flavour about many of tho consignments which .tells, of the lack of aerating. In this ..connection, wo draw the attention of producers to the 12th section of the Act, which provides that “ every person supplying milk ,to a dairy, factory or ersaroery, shall, immediately the milk is drawn from the cow, pass the milk over a cooler or aerator for the purpose of being properly cooled or aerated,” Wo may add that “ every person who fiQ.ntray«nes this Act in any masher is liable fop every such offence to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds, aud not less than one pound.” We should, under the circumstances, decidedly advise producers to aerate their milk. Then the boxes are not always as clean as they ought to ’ be, in some cases they Mpo not strong enough, and in others the handling/they get is too rough. These -defects w.O frej sure only require to he pointed AU-t pO be remedied. The great thing tfie worsting of the Act has ebowp in tfio short time it has been in force is that it is possible to get a grip of how things are going from hour to hour, and devise remedies immediately for defects. It has been objected that the grading here may not be accepted At the other end. That may he so in the commencement. And the question largely, of .courte, depends on the treatment on tho y.oyqgf) Homo. But given good treatment on the voyage—aud wo see no reason foe doubt op that score—and a prompt remedy of all defects coming to light on the way to ship, tho grading here will come to ho accepted at tho other end, aud all will go well For the present tho Act, by focussing the trade under observant eyes, promises to work wonders, and so has d°no much to justify itself handsomely to the country at largo. THE TARIFF COMMISSION, Thebe was only one Pecksniff, and there is only one “ Superior Person." Why there was only one Pecksniff we need not stop to enquire. Why there is bnt one “ Superior Person” wo are reminded daily. He, is superior to facts j he is superior to figures; as a prophet his superiority is appalling j he has just assumed the superior rile of conscience - keeper to Messrs Duthie and T- Mackenzie —who are both, in his opinion, fit to bo members of the Tariff Commission—apd fils superiority as a critic of tho other Commissioners is characteristic. Tho main fallacy underlying his criticism is that the Tariff Commission is set up to consider the question of Preetrade v. Protection, and to decide i» favour of Protection. The real question is

the adjustment of the anomalies, of which tho Customs Tariff is, as everybody, who is i not “ Superior,” is quite well aware, is full. | 1 Another fallacy is that the Commission is ] supposed to consist of commercial experts. None of them " pose as commercial ex- . perts,” not even Mr Duthie, who a commercial expert by the “ Superior ' Person,” nor Mr T. Mackenzie, who, without any more pretension to expert rank than any of those fiercely described as not experts, is pronounced by the " Superior Person” to be quite fit to serve on the Commission. Why Mr Mackenzie, who is not an expert, should he fit to serve when others are condemned for not being experts nobody can understand, and nobody is likely to care. As to Mr Duthie, who is Superiorly branded "expert,” it is of course clear that he has considerable commercial knowledge ; but it is equally clear that if he is an expert at all he is an expert in one line. He has, we feel sure, no more idea of posing as the. possessor of expert knowledge of the whole tariff from end to ond than he has of taking the "Superior Person’s” advice to refuse to act. The fact, of course, is that tho value of a Tariff Commission depends very largely on the evidence of the witnesses examined. We may, therefore, remind tho “ Superior Person,” in passing, that when tho Commission makes a report contrary to tho weight of tho evidence it will he time for him to charge them with the fact. At present his prophetic instincts, though good enough to induce him to make Superior assertions, are not of any value to anyone. Besides being valueless, they are wrong. Major Steward is not a subservient Ministerialist; he has, on tne contrary, a sore feeling against Ministers on account of the Speakership. But he is a man of just mind and very conscientious, as his decisions during his tenure of the Speaker’s chair very fully testify. To refer to Mr Tanner as a blind follower is too ludicrous to be anything hut a wilful perversion on the part of a writer who has betrayed some acquaintance witli the course of Parliamentary business. Mr Tanner is one of tho most independentminded, determined men in tho House, and as fair as he is independent ; just as unlikely to take orders as to the exorcise of his judgment in the capacity of a commissioner ns Mr Duthie. Mr Hutchison has a fair mind on this tariff question; Mr McGowan has given many evidences of sound judgment, knowledge of the world, aud independence of character j and Mr Stevens, who hails from a country district, cannot by any stretch of imaginative explanation bo regarded as likely to display rabid Protectionist tendencies. Why the callings of these men should be sneeringly referred to is a question interesting only to students of snobbery. The Tariff Commission is, on the whole, a fairly good commission, and may be expected to do reliable work. INTERFERENCE WITH BELLIGERENTS. It is impossible to credit the report (from Shanghai) that Admiral Freemantle was ordered to use force to prevent the Japanese squadron from entering the Yang - tse - Kiang. Such an interference with the rights of a belligerent would not be tolerated for a moment, and would have been tho subject before this of very earnest diplomatic protest. If the British Government gave any such order to their Admiral as that represented, it could only “ have been after agreement to that effect with all tho Powers who are watching the struggle in Eastern waters with no less keenness and anxiety. In that case the orderswouldhaveheenmadopuhlio.But it is notorious that Lord Rosebery’s attempt some months ago to obtain a European concert was a dismal failure, and was so denounced by nearly every journal in London. The more likely explanation of the neglect of the Japanese to sand a squadron into tho great Chinese river is that such an expedition is not part of their strategic plan, which strikes at the capital, and has no force to spare for desultory operations, AN ENLIGHTENED PLAJL The great difficulty of the timber trade in every colony is the difficulty of getting seasoned timber. In fact unless a steady supply in bulk of seasoned timber can bo relied on, it is useless to seek outlets in distant markets. The only result of sending away unseasoned timber will be a bad name and consequent death to the industry. Those engaged in the trade are perfectly aware of the fact, but for lack of capital are powerless to cope with it. Invention has come to their assistance with artificial processes for hastening the work of nature in this respect. la the trade availing itself of those facilities ? Not in New Zealand we fear. But in Sydney,,a cable message informs us this morning, a .large plant for seasoning timber is about to be erected on a 1 site given by, the ..Government in a busy part of tho harbour, and there | is the further information that the Government intend building a wharf close by • for ocean-going ships. The process employed is said to be able to do the work of ■ seasoning in three weeks. That is an example for New Zealand to follow as fast as possible. It is well known that no rimu ' was available for the trial shipment to London because of the difficulty of getting it seasoned. Now there are millions in ■ rimu. Where is the enterprise to get a seasoning plant ? Wo trust not far off. THE FATALITY ON BOARD THE BULIMBA. Tzce explanation of the engine-room people is the most extraordinary we ever remember to have heard. If that explanation is correctly reported, the engineers, or some of them, warned the unhappy young woman of the danger of going near the machinery when in motion, aud seem to regard that warning as an exculpation of their weakness In yielding to her persistency. It is pf course tlpe strongest condemnation of their conduct, for it is an admission that they who knew the danger allowed a person to incur it who was ignorant and foolisfi. We would not be in their position for a great .deal, Tho result of their weakness ought to bo a lesson to all \vlio are in charge of machinery.