The Waikato Argus [PUBLISHED DAILY.] A Guaranteed Circulation of Over 7500 Weekly. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 1905.

Waikato Argus, Volume XVIII, Issue 2908, 21 June 1905, Page 2

The Waikato Argus [PUBLISHED DAILY.] A Guaranteed Circulation of Over 7500 Weekly. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 1905.

At a meeting of the Hemp Committee of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, Mr Holmes, the chairman, made some proposals with regard to that industry. It will have been noted that complaints have been made that the grading marks upon some of the shipments have been altered by dealers in the import markets, and that those who bought on the strength of certain grades have been defrauded,and in consequence manufacturers have lost confidence in the Now Zealand article and are returning to sisal and Manila fibre. The possibility of perpetrating this fraud goes to show that all the trouble and expense we have gone to at this end has done more harm than good, it has damaged the trade and gained for those engaged in it a reputation for impudent dishonesty It is little satisfaction to us to know that the fraud has been committed in other countries—New Zealand is the sufferer. It is now for us to adopt some means of preventing a recurrence of forgery of brands. This in itself is not, however, sufficient : what is wanted is the preparation of samples of No. 1 or No. 2 or other qualities to bo deposited in the commercial salerooms of the consuming country. Those samples would be a guide to the graders in the colony, and would in addition bring to a forger of the brand conviction of dishonesty in a Court of law and adequate punishment, This course is pursued, or was some years back, with regard to Mauritius sugar. There were twelve grades, each grade being shown in a separate bottle. Whole cargoes of this sugar were sold in Mincing Lane on the statement that there were included a given number of bags of specified grades. Any error in the guarantee was easily detected by comparison with the standard bottles. The old proverb in reference to giving a dog a bad name applies equally to manufactures ; it is for the Government and all concerned to sec that, in consequence of mid-practices or carelessness, one of our leading exports shall not suffer from a bad reputation. Commerce is very sentative, and it takes very little to turn it into a new channel. Considering that the export of fibre during 1903 was valued at £595,684, we cannot afford to be careless, neither can we afford to leave any channel open to dishonest traders. Of this we are clear, grading, no matter how carefully done, will bo of only small value unless standards arc prepared which shall be a guide to graders and dealers alike.