BUTTER CONTRACTS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13672, 10 April 1908, Page 2

BUTTER CONTRACTS.

ALLEGED BREACHES BY- NET# ■ 4 ' L •; ZEA^AN&ESE^. ' tf ' „ / COMPLAINTS 'FROM ENGLAND." 4t has long $een lknpwn ■ tbjat the New Zealand butter factories ■ which sold their, outputs by contract at the opening of the season were hard pressed to be able to Send Home the quantities bargained for. Interest in the question has been renewed by the ajrival. of. a letter from the . Produefe|otoanmissioner in Lon4f>n 7 (Mr S. Cameron). He says: — v . ' "I greatly regret having to report that serious charges were mac(e to us by several merchants concerning the/ manner in which contracts entered 'into with them for the sale of New Zealand factory outputs of butter had been broken. There is a strong feeling that, .owing to the unexpected high .price (that has been ruling this season for butter, shippers have been diverting part of the factory outputs and have been either selling a quantity in. the Dominion or shipping it. 1 Instances were given" in which, the quantity of butter delivered to the purchaser Tiere was not half that guaranteed. Naturally, merchants wno had made contracts fot a certain supply had entered ; into business engagements at 'this end on the estimate of the quantity arranged for, and they were being heldj to such bargains as they had made, j The merchants 4 however, not having j received the stipulated quantity, canrj not supply their customers, with thej result that, while, they have; t£ satisfy their agreements with.,, tibeir, fecal $ue-j tdmers, they can get" no redress from the shippers in the Dominion. The ] , complaints, for; which there appears to be good ground, are far too general, and tho tact is doing a deal of injury | to the ;good name of the dairy produce trade of New Zealand, vowing to the suspicion that is cast on the business morality *of tftds% engaged 4uf it. -No satisfactory reason can be assigned for the- great deficit in 'the quantity of the butter delivered from that contracted for. It is known that the season has not been so unusually dry as to* account for it, an^ no information has been received that tlii qoa^tity^produced 'in those factories making butter has Bhown a serious decline. Naturally, therefore, strong suspicion exists in the minds of merchants, who have purchased forward, that they are not receiving fair treatment. The complaints have been so numerous and serious that, as instructed; by you, a Qasble^ gram has been despatched to the Prime' Minister, informing him of the charges made, and asking the reason for the deficiency in the. supply. It is hoped that the reply will be an explanation i satisfactory to the purchasers." The cable message sent by Mr Cameron to the Premier, Sir Joseph/Ward, bore the date of February, 19, and was •as follows: — "I have recfeSved cqm- , plaints that factories are not. shipping . amounts of butter contracted for .'Buyers under impression quantities beimg diverted on account rise in prices. What cause is thers-for decrease?" , Sir Joseph Ward replied as follows t (( — "Small supplies going forward' on 'account dry weather throughout Doi minion. There is no ground for complaints of butter being diverted."