The Western Star. (PUBLISHED BI-WEEKLY.) JULY 23, 1881.

Western Star, Issue 464, 23 July 1881, Page 2

The Western Star. (PUBLISHED 81-WEEKLY.) JULY 23, 1881.

Theee are three. different modes for the disposal of produce succesively adopted in iNew Zealand. The first is that which has been very generally up to the present time .made use of in lliverton, Invercargill, and the towns in the south, of the colony; the second that which has been for some years customary in the provincial district of Canterbury ; and the third is only now .struggling to establish itself, but has not yet been in force anywhere. In Southland and Wallace the farmer brings jhis = grain’-into principal town of his district, and as there are no regular grain- merchants always open to buy at something near what is considered .the market price, sales are made to the’ Storekeeper from whom the farmer- gets his supplies. As this general storekeeper’s capital is. usually small, and;’the for grain buying much smaller still, the larmef vefy often- cannot sell at all unless at a ridiculously low rate ; for it is not worth-while for the storekeeper to lock up|Sis. capital unless he gets a large prolyl! The farmer has been practically .at, bis. mercy, and thus it even >yitbiu the last t^^Sls^tHat'bats'bwevbeen sold at lOd, Jd,-Bd,pr even jßtf a bushel. In Consequence, where the harvest has been abundant often there has been no profit Whatever to the grain farmer than ihe- whole value of the been spent in producing 'and fringing to market. Of late a most advantageous change has been accomplished, many of the farmers havrog taken to shipping to the home market'.through merchants in the large towns who have made advances on the shipments in order' to keep their indigent, friends above water. The result has been in many cases that instead of gettingJLGd to Is per bushel for their crops, the returns have been Is 6d to advantage oyer the former method; is obvious, and there has been well founded jubilation over it, Mt for all that it is not the best that might be' realized. 0 The second method of conducting fhe, produce ■ has-been that usual for some years past in the province of ‘Canterbury. In consequence of the Jayge quantity of grain which has been produced, and also on account of the larger capital and better banking credit ofJ:ue Christchurch merchants, it has been worth while to establish the g'fafd; trade there, as a separate business. This , has been a great convenience and the cause' of a better return to-'the farmers of the provincial district of Canterbury, because the competition between merchants of good capital has raised the purchasing price for grain to something like the actual market value. It is true indeed that the market price in Christchurch, Timaru, &cr, has always allowed the grain merchant to buy at such rates as to ship at a fair average profit, and in the course of "a. year to make a good income by .doiug.so, still-the method it a great advance Upon that customary: in our more remote-market. .The far ujer has at any time only to bring hit l-grate tirftd'towin in the former case, battfalways effect a sale within

half an hours’ time at something very near upon the current market value. He will not be obliged to take lOd per bushel for oats when they are intrinsically worth Is 3d, but at a reduction in price of about 2d ou what he knows to be the actual value to the shipper, he can always secure a customer at once. If he wishes to ship his grain, the merchant with whom he usually deals will arrange the matter at once, and grant him an advance to the extent of' almost the full value. But this system of trade, though not the worst is not the oest. The farmers of the central part of the colony have lately been making strenuous endeavours by means of cooperative associations to secure for themselves the profits which hitherto have been made by the merchants. They complain that the latter get the oyster, and themselves only the shells ; that they themselves, after constant hard work and anxiety throughout the year, have to he contented with very bare incomes, whilst the merchants, who merely bay their grain without trouble or risk, roll in wealth. By combination they propose to become themselves largo capitalists, with good credit at their bankers ; they propose to save part of the commission on advances, and part of the interest charged as well ; they propose to save part of the commission charged by the consignee by appointing their own broker in the home country ; and lastly, they propose to retain the profit which the merchant has hitherto had on the differenca between the market price and the actual value to the shipper. The movement for forming a Farmers’ Cooperative Association, which began a few months back at Timaru, has accordingly been eagerly taken up by the Canterbury farmers all over the province, and it is morally certaiu that it will soon spread all over the colony. The Farmers’ Club in the Amberly district has already .formed ii self into a farmers’ co-operative association, and other districts have decided to follow suit. It will be doubtless a great advantage,if they prove to bo successful, as it is almost certain they will be, if their association is well managed. After competition the principle of cooperation is the most powerful factor in the production of national wealth. This is the grain of wheat in the bushel of chaff furnished by the doctrines of the medern Socialists, and even the illustrious Milk profound thinker and sound political economist as he was, in the last papers which occupied his attention, namely his posthumous essays on Socialism published in the Fortnightly Eeview, gave his unhesitating adhesion to a modified form of Socialism in political economy. It is not unlikely that in the future, co-operation, if conducted in a prudent and yet energetic manner, will accomplish almost as much for our national wealth and prosperity as competition has in the last hundred years. Unfortunately a want of organization amongst the most interested prevented the formation of an association in Southland for a similar purpose, but, with the example and success of other districts before us, there is no reason why another and more successful effort i should not be made.