CORRESPONDENCE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13485, 27 July 1907, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

We are not responsible for the opinion* expressed by correspondents. The writer's name, as a guarantee of good faith, must be enclosed in the letter. DROUGHT IN SOUTH ISLAND. - , (To the Editor.) Sir, — The telegrams from the South Island relating to the weather should | stimulate our farmers to greater exertions with regard to crops. It must be remembered that if wheat and oats fail in the South our prices must oe considerably raised, and what remuneration we receive without Southern competition will be considerably enhanced, so that the prices even with all our drawbacks to cropping will become paying ones. One place's extremity should be made its neighbour's opportunity. That these wires are not exaggerated the herewith from a letter I received a day or two since from a "friend who is farming in a fairly large way in the centre of the Canterbury Plains will show. "The land is very dry. We have had scarcely any rain since you left (May 14th). We get shower and frost but no heavy rain to go down to the subsoil, and if we don't soon I fear is will be a blue lookout next harvest for a good many. Feed is now getting very scarce, most of the turnips gone, and old and new straw-stacks getting scarce ; in fact, you wonder what som6 of the sheep are living on. Fat sheep are very scarce at Addington, and anything fat fetches high prices — both cattle and sheep. Fat pigs are dear too, as grain is too high to feed them on." It must be remembered that the Canterbury Plains had, previous to last year, seven wet years and last year's drought had the accumulations of water of these seasons to draw on. Should another dry season eventuate this will be missing. Our farmers have need to be up and doing. — I am, etc., J. J. E. THE DUTY ON TEA. (To the Editor.) Sir, — AyA v "local" in last evening's issue states "that people who can afford to purchase their tea in 51b. parcels will be exempt from duty, but the poor man, who buys in smaller quantities will have to pay 2d per lb. customs tariff." As the "poor -man" is not likely to Smport his own tea by the pound, and merchants usually obtain their supplies in large consignments, 1 can only conclude that the retail grocers mean to try and screw 2d per out of their customers, which they themselves will not have to pay, for presumably they do not purchase less than Slbs.at a time. This is on a par with recent attempts of other tradesmen to bleed a ,Jong-»su.ffering public; but even worms are said to turn, and one can hardly be surprised if friends unite in importing their own groceries. ' — I am, etc., X. 25th July, 1907. [Large quantities of tea are imported in pound packets, and thus subject to a duty of twopence per lb. Since the alteration of the duty, freeing tea in packets over lib. weight, it has been a common practice %q make the pound packets weigh 16i02.,>?»nd thus dutr free. But, now anything: under^. 51b. is to be subject to the^duty. t.This. is intended as a protection to the colonial packer, who <will naturally accept 1 the goods the gods send. him, and have the j extra twopence from the small consumer. It is the packer, not the grocer, who will reap the benefit of the duty.— Ed. T.H.jj .