THE TEA TRADE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10423, 27 July 1895, Page 3

THE TEA TRADE.

TO THE EDITOE.

Sic,—l venture to think thai; the subjeati of Hr R: L. Begg's letter in your issue of yesterday is deserving of general attention; We are not all prohibitionists, nor even Good Template, bub in New. Zealand practically' all classes of the community are tea drinkers, and as such interested in the question raised by Mr Nelson (of Mesirs Nelson, Moate, and Co.') in his petition to the House of Representatives praying tor the imposition of an additional duty of 2d per lb on all small packages of tea inported into the coloiiy. , ........ 'Mr Nelson adduces as reasons why his prayer should be granted that the repacking;of tsa in New Zetland affords " regular employment to many hundreds of men, women, boys, and girl*," and that the growing practice of importing small packages from India and .Ceylon threatens that industry. It may be explained that tea.leaves tho estites in India and Ceylon in chests and halfchests, containing about ,901b and 451b respectively, und reacnes the wholesale, dealers in thes« packages. Retail dealers in years, gone by used to sell by the pound from the chest, bat eiuce the growth of what is known as " the packet trade" the wholesale firms'have taken to patting up blends in packets of ilb and lib and ia boxes of 51b and lOlbi.'■ This" is'the repacking that Mr Nelson is anxious to: protect by a special duty of 2d per lb. : - Mr Nelson in his petition says that the practice is largely on> the increase of getting the small retail packages made up in India- and Ceylqu ; and as he is a large dealer in tea and doubtless knows what he in writing about, his statement, I think, may be accepted as correct; 'Admitting this state of affairs, the next natural step is to inquire what has produced it. Mr Begg supplies a twofold answer by showing—firstly, tbsfc tho repacking of tea in India Vnd Ceylon does .not cost less than, in New Zealand ; and, Becoadly, that cheap and trashy China tea is imported into New Zealand, and is usod by firms engaged in the packet trade for blending with the better and more expensive teas from India and Ceylon. -

As to tha first of these points, it is significant that nowhere in Mr Nelson's petition is it suggested.that the importers of Ceylon and ladiaupacked packets and small boxes have tha inducement of bsiug able, to effect a saving in the cost of packing by having that work done in the tea-growing countries rather than iv New Zealand, and so suggestive an omission may, I think, be accepted as conclusive evidence that Mr Nelson does not believe that any saving in cost is effected thereby. We are forced, then,, to the conclusion that the growing practice of having teas packed in retail packages ia India and Ceylon is not caused by any saving which that practice effects in the cost of packing. What, theu, is the cause for the preference shown for these cooliepacked packages ? What, but the recognition by an ever-growing number of consumers that the brand "Packed in C9ylon" osr "India" secures to them a pure Ceylon or Indian tea.

, Ai:. Calozabo there is a duty on the importation of tea, designed purposely to exclude ail tests grown onfc of the island, and it can ba relied ou with the utmoßt confidence that not au ounce of tea leaves Ceylon that is not grown or manufactured in the island. The purity of tea ia packets or boxes branded with the words " Packed in Ceylon " can tharefore be absolutely relied on.

I do not know if a similar condition of affairs prevails 5n Calcutta, but what Mr Bcgg says ia his Mtsr would seem to indicate that iS does. 16-would fchiis appear that the growing pcsctio9 which QEr Nelson wonld like to Oiseouraga is febo result of the natural headway whsoh a reliable article makes ia a msrkefc -when placed iv compstitioa with an unreliable end generally inferior article, and it is feo be hoped tiat our lagigJatore may see this with sufficient clearness to ref asa to sanction the additional and ppesial duty prayed for. I have no iotsrest in the tea trade, arid am unknown to Messrs Nelson, Moate, and Co. sud Mr Begg, and my only excuse for writing ia the natural objection that I entertain to having to pay an extra 2d per lb for my supplies of Ceylon tea.—l ara, &c, Dunedia, Jaly 2*

Seiibkdib,

Many stubborn and aggravating cases of rheumatism that were bslieved to be incurable and accepted as life legacies, have yieldod.td Chaiaberljiin's Pain Balm, much to the surprise and gratification of' the sufferers. One application will relieve the pain and snffering, and its centinued use insures an effectual cure. For aale by all lending chemists.

— Calico was made in Calicut, India, as early as 1498.

SPRING BLOSSOM TEA.

SEVEN 2OTJNDS IK ONE WEBS.

Not every man who is thin would thank yon for-fatteniDg him. He doeßn't want to be fsfc, o.nd for very good reanons. Unnecessary fat is a load to carry abou*; it interferes with a man's power to work, shortens hia wind, and dulls his wits.

Yet, on th?,-other hand, a certain amount of. fls^h is neepßd for henlth and comfort. For c-saojple : A man sft high should weight aboafc 1801b; a man sft 6in, Wslb; a man 6ft, 1781b. It is a regular ascending ecale. Tha insuranso companies allow a variation of 7 psr oenti. above or below it, aad beyond tho3e limits charge aa extra premium. One shouldn't ba mnch over cr under his proper weight if he wants to be sound and hetrty^and we all do want that!

- Now we will tell yon how Mr Thomas Crosby being under- weight, gained 7lb in a week He had lost l^st, wbich is too ranch off for a man who was never fleshier than be nttnrally ought to bs.

It was this way. He was right enough up to May 1891. :At that time he began to feel ill and out of sorts. He had a nasty tatte in bis mouth—like rotten eggs, he says—sad a thick, slimy stuff came oa hia gams and teeth. Hia appotite failed, and what hs did eat was, as you might say, under compulsion; and right afterwards he would have great pain' in his stomach and chest. Plainly, something t?as amiss with him in that region. He was oftea dizzy, acd cold chills ran over him as tfcough be were threatened with fever. Of course we Bhonld erpecb a man who is handled in this way to lose, strength. Sit Crosby lost strength —in fact, hs got so weak and nervous that hs shook all over, and his hands trembled as if a current of electricity were running through him. : • ' . • ..

To use bis own words : " I rapidly lo3fc flash, was l^st.lighfcer, and conld hardly walk about. Once_ my parants thought I was dyine, and sent:in haste for the doctor. I saw two doctors in Epworth and one at Hsxey, but they were not able, to help me. Oar vicar, Rev. Mr Overtoo,. recommended me to the Lincoln Infirmary, where I attended for eight weeks as aa outdoor patient, without benefit.

■ "Soon afterwards Mr Sharp, a chemist ab Epworth, spoke to me of the virtues of a medicine known as Mother Seigel's Curative Syrup. Being interested in what he said, I left off try.' ing other things and began taking this Syruo. In a few days I felt batter, snd presently* I gained 71b in a week. At that rate I soon back to my work, and have had the btst o£ health,, ever since. I tell these fatfs to everybody, and am_ perfectly willing they should be' published.—Yours truly (Signed), Ton Ceosbt, Ferry Road, Epworth, via Docc23ter, December 23, 1892." "■■;"•■

After reading Mr Crosby's story wo scarcely need to ask why he lost flesh. The minute he stopped- eating and digesting his usual allowance of food he began to fall away. Tree? they say, grow as much from the air by means of their leaves as they do from the soil. Bub men doa'i;. They've got to be built up througii their stomaebs. Indigestion and dyspepsia (Hr Crosby's-complaint), stops this process, and poisons' those who have it besides. That accounts for all the painful and dangerous symptoms oar friend. speaks of. The doctors do'what they-can, but, unluckily, they don't possess the medicine that goes to the botfcom-of '.this disease sad cures it. The remedy is Mother Seigel's Curative. Syrup, and nothing else, so far as we know. It restores digestion, and- digestion covers the ,bones with fat enough for. health and.good look's. .'. -. '.. v

SENSATIONAL WEATHER REPORTS, : ' ' TO THE EDITOfi. '

Sib,—ln-the Witness of the 11th inst, under the heading of "The Weather," to which ray attention has been drawa, among a lot of other sensational matter appears a paragraph wired fxom your Ophir " Correspondent," stating, on ■what he saya reliable authority, that pa Morven Hills there were 10,000 wethers snowed np, and had : been offered to anyone who cared to atSempt their rescae.

Ido not'for a moment; doubt, Sir, bat the loss of sheep here, a3 elsewhere, will probably bs heavy, bat; so far as the 10,000 referred to, I beg to give your " Correspondent's " statement a most unqualified denial; ;'■ ■ The attempt to ; rescue and the hope of rescuing any sheep enowed tip on Morven Hills has never been abandoned, as your apondent" would lead your readers to infer, much.less handing them . over to the tender mercies of your "Correapondfinfe" or anyone else.^-I am, &s., Morffen Hilb, July 20. The.Makagee.