The herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 1907. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 2780, 31 July 1907, Page 4

The herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 1907. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

We have already expressed disappointment as to the recent decision oi the New Zealand Farmers’ Union to refrain from entering the arena of party l ' politics, and this feeling has become accentuated by the utterances of those Labour leaders who are bent on the formation of an Independent Labour Party. These men are not satisfied with the victories won for LaWbur in Parliament ; but are desirous of obtaining further concessions, even at the expenses of other sections oi the community. They want a- Labour Party that will completely dominate the political situation. * This was shown in the course of an address recently delivered by the Hon. John Bigg, M.L.C., to the Trades and Labour Council at Wellington. He said the Labour Party should be a separate party, working in accord with the Liberal Party, on similar lines to those which governed the Labour Party in the Australian Commonwealth Party in its relations to the Deakin Ministry. It was not to the credit of Labour in New Zealand, said Mr liigg, that it was looking on with folded hands while a world-wide movement for the advancement of Labour was in progress. ♦ He was, however, confident that the time would come when this apathy would disappear, and that ultimately the supremacy of Labour in the Parliament of New Zealand would bo assured. Our whole life, he said, was dominated by political action, and unless unionists were prepared to take part in the politics of the day, they, in effect, confessed themselves unfit for the iranebise.

He knew there was a feeling amongst some of the old trades unions and trades councils that they should have nothing to do with politics. That was mainly the reason why there was no Labour Party. Notwithstanding the determination of these bodies not to take part in politics, they were continuously passing resolutions dealing with political matters, but of which no one took any notice, because they were not followed up by any active efforts. This attitude had been abandoned by English trades ] unions, and as a consequence they I were the strength of the great Labour j movement that had resulted in the return of a substantial Labour Party to the House of Commons. I These remarks of Mr liigg as to the i need of an Independent Labour Party J may be applied with equal force to the i necessity of a party being formed to | safeguard the interests of the farmI ing community from the attacks of Labour extremists. It is high time tl:«‘ "dry bones ot the Farmers’ I nion were shaken up, and concerted action taken by that organisation, with a view to preventing rank injustice being done to those who are the chief contributors to the wealth of the colony. •3f I lie Dairy Produce Exports Committee ot the Wellington Chamber of Commerce interviewed the Hon. Mr McXab. Minister for Agriculture, last week, when some interesting statements regarding the butter industry were made. Amongst other thiifgs it I was alleged that New Zealand butter was in danger ol 1.-ising its high reptlI tatiol! in the London market, owing jto the excessive amount of moisture permitted by some makers a defect, we may state, flint may prove detrimental to (lie welfare of the dairy industry it persisted in. •5f ■Mr llarkiiess. President ol the Wellington Chamber, said lie had received a letter from a London agent which contained the lollowing statcmeuf : "I regret to say 1 have bad to listen to a great many complaints, but the '...list serious was ii. the falling in the quality of our New Zealand butter. Fishiness lias been found, and many of the buyers, who had had their butter analysed tor moisture, found that some of the best brands have shown K> per cent.'’ I'li** writer stated flint many importers su: iniscd that it was evidently the intention of the New Zealand i dairy farmers to kill the salt less butter trade, but this failing on the part, | ol some of the dairy companies would seriously endanger flic business. * One buyer in England was jn trouble because 1H per cent, of moisture bad been found in bis buffer. How it gof. out of New Zealand lie did not know, but (lie writer wished to impress upon New Zealand makers the necessity of sticking to the old standard of 10 per cent, of moisture. Air Meadows informed the Minister that he knew of oi.e of the best brands 1 graded 93 points or over about which there bad been endless complaints. In answer *n Mr AlcNnb as fo wliat percentage of moisture) should be fixed, it was elicited ’that the British standard was 1(5 per ccuf.

The deputation urged the Minister to appoint Mr Cuddie, Chief Dairy Commissioner, as the grading department’s representative at Home for the purpose of studying English requirements. His experience would enable him to return to the colony with clear-cut. ideas in regard to what should be done in the future, and his observations would be extremely valuable, as be bad the confidence of the trade. * The Minister was also asked if he would continue on a more extensive scale the experiments that had been carried out spasmodically in regard to the cool curing of ’ cheese. Mr MeNab stated that he would give due weight to the suggestions of the deputation in regard to the officer who was to be sent to England. At present he had an open mind on the subject. He did not think there would he any difficulty in meeting the wishes of the deputation. In regard to experiments in cool curing, he would see that a substantial forward movement was made during the coming season.