The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 536, 2 September 1881, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2.

VVe reprint elsewhere the report from the London office of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency on the shipment of cheese forwarded from the Peninsula by the Orari. Our readers will perceive that the shipment has resulted in failure. We sympathise with the shippers in the loss sustained by them of so much of the staple commodity upon which they rely for support As representatives of the community at large we regret this failure, as wo feel sure that it will cause a wide-spread feeling of disappointment, and a successful result would have had the effect of inspiring us all with well-grounded "hopes of a vastly, increased prosperity as awaiting the district. ™At.the same time we vould strongly uige upon our dairy farmers and al] interested in the matter not to accept this result as final and decisive. The brave man never gives in on receiving even a knock-down blow. Failures have attended the path of adventure and experiment from time immemorial, and success has only been evolved out of repeated disaster. Looked at in the light of an experiment, with a full determination to profit by the lesson it conveys, the Orari shipment may yet prove of sufficient value to compensate for the loss it has occasioned, though some of the individual losers may probably imagine that they are victims in a cause in which others will reap the benefit" of their mistakes.

The report makes evident that there were two causes for the failure of this shipment-, which show that it is by no means conclusive against'the theory that cheese may he shipped",to England and a commercial success 'made of the transaction. The fir t of .these is the failure of the arrangements for lowering the temperature. It was claimed for the freezing mixture that its use would suffice to reduce the temperature to a little over GOdeg. It appears however, that whether from, defects in the freezing mixture or neglect in its application, this result was not obtained, in fact t.iat the cheese would have had a far tatter chance if it

had been stowed in the lower hold, without any special precaution as to temperature. The temperature appears to have kept as high as from 75 to 85 degrees for a considerable period ot the voyage, and its was found difficult to properly "ventilate the compartment in which the cheese was placed. Another reason for the failure appears :o have arisen frc.w> the fact of some of he cheese shipped having been of inArior quality, and quite unable to stand ■ he effects of such a voyage. We re-

member that prior to the shipment an id*-a was mooted that it would be well to have all cheese examined as to quality before allowing it to go on beard. Against this proposal it was urged that every lot of cheese would stand or fall on it? own merits, that i f any turned out badly, the loss would simply fall upon the owners of such lots, and that the good article would no* be thereby injured. Experience has shown that this view is entirely fallacious. On opening the compartment it was evident that the cheese which had become putrid had corrupted the rest. The wharfingers refused to admit it into their stores for fear of contagion to the remainder of their stocks ; and finally the whole shipment, good, bad, and indifferent, was sold at one all-round price o* 18s per cwt. As according to tho description given, a considerable portion was only fit for manure, it follows that ' some of it must have been of failquality, to have induced buyers to encumber themselves with that which was utterly valueless. But all fared alike in the market, Asa comment on what we have just written, and as bearing out our original contention, that the failure of this shipment is due to preventible causes, wean ay refer lo a letter from Mr J. B, Barker, which appears in another column. Mr Barker gives therein the particulars of a small shipment of cheese made by himself to London. No extraordinary care appears to have been taken over the shipment. The cheese was " stowed in the ship's hold amongst the cargo." It had sweated on the voyage, and for all tint it realised 63s .per cwt, a price which our correspondent rightly considers a very fair one all things con-

sidered

Tbe moral of the whole transaction, and one which we hope our dairy farmers will endeavour to profit by is this. Let cheese be selected, well packed and treated in a fairly reasonable manner on the voyage, and there is uo reason whatever for doubting that a remunerative export trade can be opened up. But if ever a joint shipment is again made, it will be essential to its success to see that none but cheese of fair quality, and in fit condition is allowed m form part of it. Freezing mixtures will have to be eschewed, unless it be practicable to conduct some experiments before hand as to their efficiency, and some one can be found to be depended on for keeping them applied. But the main point for our dairy farmers to remember is not to be discouraged. To try again, taking all reasonable precautions against failure, and to be thoroughly united in their next efforts, and thereby spread the risk over as large a surface as possible.