The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1883. A Serious Situation.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 1061, 29 September 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1883. A Serious Situation.

The people of Ashburton are proud, and justly so, of having been among the first to establish upon a large scale such an important colonial industry as the manufacture of cheese and butter. Our example has been followed by several places in the North Island, and wherever Mr Bowron, the gentleman appointed by the Government to dispense knowledge on this particular subject, has lectured, he has invariably pointed to the Flemington factory as a model institution of its kind. Bearing this in mind, we had reason to congratulate ourselves on having founded an industry in our midst, which would benefit not only the shareholders, but also those settlers who practised dairy farming. The reports that reached us of what was being done at the factory were eminently satisfactory, and it must have been a surprise to our readers to see a paragraph in our issue of Tuesday last, stating that an extraordinary meeting would be held on the and proximo to determine whether or not should be suspended during the coming season. Advices from England, it was said, had arrived of such a nature as to make an immediate decision compulsory, and from this it would appear that the situation the shareholders are called upon to meet is a serious one. What is the precise nature of the message received from Home will of course be divulged at the meeting, but evidence is not wanting to enable us to hazard a conjecture of its purport. Re cent papers from England tell of the prospect ot large importations of cheese from America, and these will, it need scarcely be pointed out, cause a very decided decrease in the price of that commodity—a decrease which may fairly be estimated at ios or 12s p r cwt. The product of the Flemington factory, as everyone who has tasted it can testify, comparts favorably with the average cheese manufactured at Home, but it stands to reason that anything like a paying price cannot be realised in a glutted market. As a matter of fact it is doubtful whether the net amount obtained for the English shipments will be more than four pence half-penny a pound, a price which in the present state of things would not pay —in fact this is the quotation just now for Akaroa cheese in Christchurch, and even at that it is difficult of sale.

Having indicated the position of affairs, we may say a few words as to the remedy. Up to the present farmers supplying the Flemington factory have been receiving fourpence a gallon for milk weighing ten pounds, but as it takes eleven ounces beyond that weight to make one pound of marketable cheese, it is apparent that no margin will be left for labor in manufacture and for carriage, if the cheese is to be disposed of at its present market value, either at Home or in the colonies. The situation, although certainly not pleasant, is sufficiently clear. Either the farmers must supply milk at a lower rate or, the factory must be stopped. If those who make the greatest profit from the industry are not willing, to sacrifice themselves, the Directors will have no other resource than to cease operations, at any rate for a season. Under the present circumstances threepence half-penny is the highest possible price settlers must expect to get for milk sufficient to manufacture a pound of cheese, that is, a little over a gallon. Whether the farmers will submit to this material reduction in their profits remains to be seen, but as there is no alternative except to cripple an important industry, which must ultimately return a handsome profit, we hope that the sacrifice will be submitted to. , At any rate, the final decision rests with the farmers themselves, and as the issue is so important to them they should attend the meeting next week en masst so that the matter may be thoroughly discussed and a resolution come to.