The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 1886. N.Z. PRODUCE AGENCY COMPANY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1452, 9 January 1886, Page 2

The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 1886. N.Z. PRODUCE AGENCY COMPANY.

The enthusiastic reception which his neighbors and fellow colonists accorded Mr W. Postlethwaite recently on his return from the Old Country, shows that New Zealanders are capable of ap predating energetic and intelligent efforts put forth on their behalf. “ The evil that men do live after them, the good is bften buried with their bones,” has, we regret to say, been frequently proven true. Honest efforts, resulting in much good to the public have too often been overlooked, and it has very frequently happened that this insensibility to the value of their services has made good, able, and energetic men indifferent to the public weal. We are glad to say that Mr Postlethwaite has no cause to complain as regards the reception he received on his return to his adopted home. If he wanted an incentive to work harder he could have found it in enthusiastic manner in which his excellent services were acknowledged. Mr Postlethwaite, however, is not a man to be moved one waf or the other by public acclaim. He is certainly sensitive to criticism, rather too much so in fact, hut at the sXine time he will do what he thinks best without waiting to inquire what the public think of it. He would undoubtedly have worked as energetically without such expressions of appreciatiotfas he recently received; hut such recognition cannot fail to prove pleasant to him, while at the same time it gracefully acknowledged the excellent services he has rendered. Mr Postlethwaite went to England ostensibly to enjoy himself, but instead of doing so he directed bjs attention to our commercial relations with the Mother Country, The result of hie iniuries has been made public in a letter which he addressed from London to this paper, and also in the speech which he delivered in Geraldine, The com elusions he arrived at were that we. are working very bard in this colony to produce marketable articles, and that .middlemen, commission agents, and

others are reaping all the benefit. Mr Postlethwaite has undertaken to alter this state of things as much as possible, and it appears to us that the plan he has sketched out could not be improved upon. It has been well known for a long time that exporters from this colony have been, if not robbed, pretty well fleeced, and we have seen no more intelligent way of dealing with the matter than that which Mr Postletbwaite suggests, He has gone to work since he returned with commendable energy. He has issued a prospectus with a view of floating a Company that will take New Zealand produce out of the hands of middlemen, and dispose of it to the greatest possible advantage. Wo have now a copy of the prospectus before us, and learn from it that the proposed Company contemplate making an effort to reduce freight, insurance, landing and delivery charges, storage, and agency charges. The present premium of £5 5s is regarded as too high, and the Company will take such steps as will reduce that at least 10 per cent ; and the promoters are sanguine of getting it much lower if the producers are unanimous. They also propose to secure suitable buildings in Liverpool and London, erect refrigerating machinery for keeping the meat sound until its sale is effected, and they will endeavor to sell the cargoes of meet over the ship’s side, so as to lessen the expense. In fact, the object of the Company appears to be to take care of the interests of our producers in England, and to get for them the highest price at the least possible cost. The names of the Provisional Directors are a sufficient guarantee that they will do their best to attain this end. Their names are Messrs John A’Deane, W. L. Newman and H. R. Russell, of Hawkes Bay ; W. Postlethwaite, and H. F. Gray, of Canterbury ; John Kosa, of Ross and Glendinning, Dunedin, and Mr D. Ramsay, of Liverpool ; and Sir John Hall’s name appears as one of the subscribers. Almost all of these are large exporters, and it is to their interest to secure the greatest profit it is possible to obtain. To float this Company Mr Postlethwaite is exerting himself at present. He could easily have floated all the shares in England if be had desired to do so, but thought it would be better to let the producers take them up so that be would secure to the colony the profits which would be made by the Company as well as the increased prices which would be obtained for our produce. Mr Postlethwaite is quite right in (his. What is ruining this colony is that all the shares in our Banks, our Agency Companies, our Land Companies, and almost every institution we possess, have been taken up by people living out of the colony, and consequently all the profits these institutions make leave the colony in the shape of dividends. This is what is impoverishing the colony. Mr Postlethwaite’s plan will reverse this order of things, and secure to us any profits which vhe company makes) as well as tho other advantages we are bound to gain by its existence. We congratulate Mr Postlethwaite on the intelligence, industry, and business capacity he has exhibited in this matter, and w« sincerely hope be will be successful in floating the company.

FIRE BRIGADE FOR GERALDINE. Wb have frequently urged upon the people of Geraldine the necessity of getting up a Fire Brigade, but so far our warnings have not been noticed. The fire which took place last Thursday night will doubtless speak more forcibly than we can. Had it broken out on some very recent nights, when high winds were blowing, the effect would have been disastrous. The upper end of the town would have been burnt to the ground, and persons whose properties had been destroyed would have admitted then that it would have beenbetter that a Fire Brigade had existed. We are surprised that a community other? wise enterprising can be so apethetic in a matter of such vital importance. There is not perhaps in New Zealand a town of the same size which has not its Fire Brigade, We understand that a movement is on foot now to take steps in this direction, and we trust, no time will be lost. The Town Board ought to have taken the matter in hand long ago, but unfortunately public bodies seldom seem inclined to go beyond the four corners of the Act of Parliament under which they work. They seem incapable of seeing anything beyond a road or a footpath, a stray cow, ora nuisance, We remind them that their capability to be useful is not hedged in by such narrow limits. They ought to regard themselves as persons on whom the responsibility of advancing the interests of the town, and of devising means for promoting the general welifaro depends, and apt accordingly. We are not alluding more especially tp the Geraldine Town Hoard, than to other public bodies. The Geraldine Town Board is not worse than other institutions of the kind, in fact it is not as bad as some we could name. At the same time we remind its members that they ought to take the initiative with regard to the fire brigade, and that it is absolutely within their functions to do so.