THE DAIRY INDUSTRY TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11172, 22 July 1898, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,— Oq my return from Australia I read your leading artic'e* on the dairy industry in your i,(RueR of trie 2od and 14th"ins'h. ram glad you have called attoution to i;heso moat important njaf.tta'B, so that the interest of members of Parliament on both sides of the Hou«e will he aroused, and that they will sue the necessity of supporting tho present, or I any, Government in carrying out the rneaiures you advocate! ' This has not beeu ths case in the past, for many members, not.appreciating the graat value of the dairy industry to the colony, look upon nuoh expenditure ax.you advocate as'extravagant and possibly melees, j The present Government have often b«eu assailed in the precs and in Parliament for what they have already clone in this direction. With a ve.cy moderate amount, of expenditure they have, rs is well-known in ths country, dune a vast Mnounfe of good, and the condition of the dairy industry in tho colony is 'ab present far from what one would suppose if the only information at one'd command were'your articles on tbe eubjecb. . , • ■ ■ I have bseu connected intimately with the industry since its commencement in the colony, and have handled as much, and perhaps more, dairy produce than any one man here, and I can say that tho improvement in the quality year by year has gone on rapidly, and 1 know this to be the casa also by letters from my British and Australian friends who handle the produce. / t . ' The result of the instruction provided by Government through instruction at factories, I dairy schools, aud by the Government grading has been to moke our produca more uniform in 1 character, and of better quality. In a trip round' th« whole colony, lately, I was very much impressed with the general improvement, and I know that thn colony has gob good value for any expenditure of Government money. I know, too, that the Minister for Agriculture is willing and anxious to go much further. In-. deed, you will remember that at the Agricultural j Hall he told us that what he had yes done was | merely a beginning, and that, being satisfied, ] he had determined to go further. • i The matter pf the appointment of thisa J dairy experts is no easy one for anybody. ! Some in various places have proved anyfchiug i but a fucco<s, and in a colony like this they I will tilco-some-time to learn their business, i and in oar colony after having got a good insight into the business they have often turned from being experts to being merchants, and left their billess. Mr Sorensen is a ficst-class man, but looking, over the correspondence and the position be took up, I am uoi surprised that h« did not gain his point. lam sorry for him, and I think he muai have been badly adviaed, and I am sorry wa sh*ll lose his aervices. I don't see how the Minister'for Lands could maintain bis dignity and do otherwise, no mutter how. much ha valued Sorenseu'u abilities. In my opinion, he made it difficult to get his request granted ; and I am sorry he saw fib to publish private talk with the Secretary of Agriculture, who was a good friend to him, and who really got him tbe £350 he asked for, as £300 and 15s per day travelling allowance is, I thiuk, quite equal to Yon allude lo what the New South Wales and "Wctorian Governments have done for the industry in their colonies, and compare New i Z«aiand unfavourably. This in f-ir from right. : The fact of the matr.er U that neither the cheese J no? butior in N*w South Wales are nearly as good as in New Zealand, notwithstanding their Agricultural College, which you mention, and j which I don't think is quite up-to-date in itfl ; equipment, and the New South WalfS Governj menb contemplate following on the lines of our | Government. As to Victoria, they sp»nt a lot | of mon<*y in bonuses which did no good to the I producers, and I xw nothing to admire in any parb of their system, fixcipfc their shipping arrangements. I consider them otherwiaa be-' hind New Zealand a long way. lv neither of these colonies are the producers as well off as in New Z«al*nd, nor is the great bulk of their produce better. For my part I would ba content with about our present staff of dairy experts, aud believe they are capable of doing good work and further improving the produce. Mr Eiddell, at the opsuicß of .the laieri and Peninsula new factory building, spoke of the greßt help the Government had been to them, aud he is as well qualified to speak as any m»n in the country ; he makes good butfer, but would not, I know, butter this | or any Government. i I say I would be content meantime with the present instruction and grading, although I would like all you advocate, but what I thiuk Goverameat should first do U to arrange for the shipment of our produce, to land at regular fortuightly intervals. This would do most good, for at present our shipping arrangements sre deplorable. You admire the Cans- , dian department, and rightly so. I may tell you that ono of the first things the Canadian Government did was to subsidise handsomely a live of steamers to carry tho produce regularly, : and they continue to do so I know this means i a large sum of money. '*■„'.■ it is the most bens- j ficial thing that cou!-'; ,<o, prtsent be done for the industry. Tho voto for the development of j mining is very large, and a very proper expenditure, but the dairy industry of New Zealand is worth more to the colony, or as much an the ! mining industry, and the expenditure would be j justified. j As to the matter of the dairy experts not | being allowed by the Secretary of Agriculture to lecture at the A. and P. show, alluded to in I your article of the 14-1 h, some ono has misin- j formed you on the poiiit. The secretary of the : A. and P. Society was, I thiuk, rather late in [ applying. The Sacretary of Agriculture was ! quite willing that; tie expertß should lecture, j Mr Soreusen did lecture, and nbly too ; but both Mr Giiruth aud Mr James Sawers got too [ short notic.% and beiDg unable to prepare j matter declined to lecture. If the secretary of the A. and P. Society wanted this assistance and the experts were willing to lecture, as your | article states, why did be not aak the Secretary of Agriculture, whom he saw every day j during show week ? j I know you would like to see the present Government out of power, and I hope when tbe side you favour get in they will carry out all you advocate; but I am donbtful on that point. This whole matter should be discussed and dsalt with apart from any political feeling or ! bias ; bnt I am afraid neither newspapers nor Parliament will do so—at leant, they have rarely done so in the past on any question, and the whole country suffer severely thereby.—l j am, &c, " j Duuedin, July 19. James Pv. Scott. !

IMS BIACKERRAS UPON THE LOWER j HARBOUR. i ' '.'-> r;iß HDITOR. J Sia, —The remarks of air Mackerras at the S last meeting ot the Harbour Board, as reported iv your paper, arf likely to produce a wrong . imaresaiou with rugani to the several schernss submitted for the improvement of the channel : in obe neighbourhood of the North Spit, and. as be referred to one proposed !>y me in IS9D, I vow request i small space in your columns for a correction. That gentleman's history of the different proposal* <nbaiitted.would lead to the belief that those of the writer hare been j met op «ll baads with uncompromising j condemnation, t-nd that the superiority jof those of Mr Inspector Stephens and iMr Napier Bell had been so triumphantly j established that there is go use of any further j consideration of the pro'jlem. {fc is the object of this letter to demonstrate gomethiDa; totally different.. \ ■ - Wben tho wnt'jr bscatno a member of the f Harbour Board id 1890 h» drew attention to the

unsatisfactory condition of this p%rt of the harbour, tbi result of natural forces, the development and operation of whicb he bad i frequently remarked upon in his reports when

! engtueer to the board. After some opposition it was admitted that something of »' remedial nature must bo undertaken sit ones. The | writer then prepared a scheme For a'longi- ; tudioal walJ to uxtent from tbe Kaik jeity, about half way towards Harrington Poiut, witb ' the object of preventiug the North Spit pushing the deep water close in upon tbw Peninsula side—in fact, at the part of the.channel which is

now causing so much trouble ami anxiety by reason of tb« very acute turn which vessels have to twist round. That scheme tvai unanimously adopted by'the board, and a resolution carried that the plans fe pent to Wellington for the "approval of the Governar-ia-Counoil." Tile letter, however, which was sent went beyond the intention of the nieaibe:rs, and noted for the approval of the Government a hint that if that .'wore given they might be expected to provide the funds for the work. Mr O'Connor, the colonial marines engineer, came and inspected the locality ; agreed with aie as to the ueeessity for immediate action: said that he conld not.advise that my scheme should' be disallowed, and then,'had it not beeg for the manner in which the latter to tha Government had been written, the approval-of the Governor-in-Gouiicil would hive foltotred. Going further, however, than was usual with similar applications, he expressed the opinion that a system of groins or spurbanks would be cheaper. One of bis suggestions was a wall acrosis the main channel, which would have beou a qairter. of a mile in length ; and part of the way in water 45ft in depth. Finally he recommended that the matter should be referred.to Sir- -Tobn Cuorle. This was in July, 1890, and had that advice been promptly acted upon the opinion of that' engineer would hn.v« been obtained before his death—early iv 1892. Mr Inspector Stephens, however, thought that it was not necessary to go so faras London for advice, and he submitted a scheme of his own, which, it may bo presumed, he. thought was . following, .out the principles of Mr O'Connor's proms. and this was hurvieii up to Wellington without the members of tlie hoard having an opportunity of discussiug it. By this time- Mr O'Connor had ceased to ba marine entifueer—and let thi« ba specialty noted, for Mo Muckerras implies that he had ?iven hia approval to M.{ Stephens'a scheme of

groins. Give also special attention to what follow, for on previous ocoasious wheu this subject of , the channel at the Maori Kaik has baen uuder discunciori it haa been attempted to l( j suppress theopiniqn adverse to Mr Stephens's j n proposals, and similarly Mr Mackerras has not oa found,it expedient to refer to it in his recent 8 I; speech. Tb.fi board'was written to by the jf Uudijr-fooretary Marina department in this , c manner: "I am to ntftta that the actingil marine engineer, to whom the matter has boan )r referred, reports that, in his opinion, it would be 8 a risky proceeding to, placu the groins in tho n position indicated in tho plan submitted, as if constructed and maintained intact for any conf. sidfltable length of time they would bo more [. likely to causa sand to accumulate, and form banks ia the channel near tho sites of the v groins than to direct the currents in such,a j. vvay ss, to increase tlw depth of water in tho a manner desired :, and if they were demolished by -the waves and currents they would only a furnish material to fill up the deeper and c wider,parts, of. the channel where the scour is r j weakest." . This very severe condemnation of Mr Stopheas's schema is osrtaiuly very different 5 from tho impression which Mr Mack^rraa's remarks am likely to make in the minds of your readers. The' p/obuble prejudicial effects of the groins upon the channel, if they stood, 1 bore out what; the writer had already said upon ' the dams subject. ■ ~•'•■ ". ." '■.■"■•-' Up to this point in the history, then-, we have r an opinion given' by our colonial marine engineer thai; a longitudinal wall should Dot bn [ disallowed, and had it not bfien fora little bit' - \oF- by'-pl&y that scheme would hava .received? tbe; approval of tho Governor-iu-Cpuncil, ' And we have \ aDother engineer ron'sulted by the Govorotrisnl; giving a very strong : opinion < against:-groins, ■sa that so far 1 as .Government recognition goes the longi--1 tudinal wall has by far the bstter statun. This is erneedinply important in this aspect, that Mr Napierlßell'a design was a following np of the same principle and, to a considerable extent, of the samo methods of construction of groins, so that what applies to Mr Steptens's is r-qaally condemnatory of Mr Bell's. And that is the relative position of the two rival systems at the present moment, and ths very reverse of what Mr Mackerras said it was. I hive on previous occasions urged the claims of the longitudinal wali to such an extent that it is not desirable to debite it at present, though at an opportune moment I may take up sonic points in Mr&ipier B«11V ia«b report for the purpose of showing, hotv. mucli the resuU of the last .sis yents' operations upou the. half-mila of. channel iv smooth water has discredited that gentlenian's fiwt report. It caa scarcely bt ssid that the programme of Messrs Bell "and Stephens has been » success whu'n it has resulted, in the expenditure of vast suras of mouey in drpdgiqg n channel through shifting sand, the complete obliteration of th»t chanu«l, aad r<tl»pf<e Co a condition quite as bad as it sra3 eight rears ago.—l anjj &"., July 20. G. M. Barr.