DAIRY SCHOOL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 53, 26 November 1907, Page 2

DAIRY SCHOOL.

THE LIST OF CANDIDATES. IS A DECISION NEAR? ' . The scramble for tlip dairy school, which has now reached nil acutc stage, is of rntlior ancient origin.. As long ago as the. early flays of All'. Kinsella—before tho reign of tlie Hon. M'Nab. began—a dairy school was thought about, and letters offering it a horno came in from various quarters. The applications were, however, of a tolerably mild nature, and as a general rule merely pointed out tho superiority 'oi tho particular, district advocated, over all others. But as tho pile of applications mounted up, heat was added to tho agitation, until at last such a burning desire took possession of various worthy towns and townships to secure the p-tent'rigM,!; to the daii-y school that tho Minister was driven into desperate straits. Peaco was.- secured by the announcement that Mr. Singleton was to go out -into tho world to study foreign dairy schools,, and that nothing further'would be dor.e till his return. -The 'splendid -peaco, 'however, was short-lived. Mr. Singleton has come back again; 'and the battle of the dairy school is ronowed. Almost every town that calls itself a dairying centro, and is up-to-date, has forwarded its claim; and all that is llow awaited is tho great final ballot. On whom will the choice tall? Apparently it must'be on one of the following;— Stratford,. .1 Ha v, 'era, Martori, Palmerston North, Levin, Feilding, ... Wobdville, Hastings, ■ . •> Hamilton, for these places represent the full list of nominees—tho ballot' paper. There will be only ono eleetor —the Minister —aud wo believo that - only, ono vote will bo. cast. Waikato may. be-eliminated at once,-for tho Minister has expressed tho opinion- that .the Auckland district cannot benefit ■ from,- a school outside of the Auckland district, aild no doubt! tho converse must be the case also.. Tho -predominant 1 dairying, districts of Taranaki, and' Manawacu, and Wairarapa, ■could not benefit from... a dairy school at Hamilton. ■ • • • Hastings also must doubtless bo counted out for the same reason, till Hastings, in its rapid expansion, becomes worthy of a dairy school, of its very own. 1 Ol the rest, Eeildiiig has thrown a strong card._ Mr... Lethbridgo, the member for tho district, -has. offered to give a site of 50 acres ■at Makeno, aud the. Hon.- Mr.-M'Nab will -visit it. Peilding also lias' a bright future'before it, which further: strengthens' its claim. For to be the ccntre of a strong,growing dairying population is ,v powerful argument. ■ - - • Levin, ' however/ replies with the claim that,-as .a dairy school'would-be incomplete without an ftxperimental- farm, it' must be established'where an experimental farm-ex-ists.'-. It- is; 't-liSy say, assented'' that tho* t'cachers and the students of tho dairy school shall be in touch with the sources'of supply y-to, study how 'Lo produco .thc mill;. - There is only- -'ono 1 phico that' fulfils this requirc;;ment.- ' It is' Levin. '•!'• ■ ■ M.irtou relies on its central position, : and its accessibility to' .othor .districts on the' railway lines. A largo area! of tho laud' around Marton has been acquired by a syndicate,- and will bo nut upon tho market in' dairy-farm sizes.' The syndicato offer's -ttf give 10 acres of land'for tho dairy' school. ' Tile claims of Hawora' and Stratfrird-'-wero-' • put forward, unaccomjialue'd by any offeii's'of land;'- Each relics on the.,'obvious superiority':of'its: district abovij all others'.-Strata ford,.thinks tho Glairy, school would m'ako a i-good/union, with its technical school,, ■ • Hastings 'contends 'that its lands ..are be-, ing rapidly developed,- and promises ; soon ,to 'be a great dairying territory. The claims in this respect were ! piit forward by tho Chairman of the' Hcretaunga Co-operative Dairy Company as'far back a5'19.06: The district has not reiterated its claims since. Hamilton impressed its importance upon tho Minister by deputation in November of last year. Woodville's case has been supported, (like that of Hawera) by its Chamber ,of ■ Commerce. .-Palmerston North offers to give-a site : .for the school on the - Manawatu A. and P. Show-J ground, and the Palmerston Borough, Council is. offering ; one of- its. roserves ■ ; (pf 45 acres) as an endowment. These are exceedingly weighty arguments which, with the central position and the big population, must be nearly unanswerable. The claim that Palmerston is on tho Main Trunk lino has, however, been rudely wrecked by tho people of Levin, who point out that, when the shorter route .takes. the main lino straight from Levin to Greatford, Palmerston will be completely side-tracked. On the whole, tho Minister's task is not an enviable one. -.Probably when the House rises he will devote himself .to weighing up the various claims, and a final decision may therefore bo considered to bo near at hand. : : I