TO PENALISE THE FARMER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 736, 8 February 1910, Page 8

TO PENALISE THE FARMER.

■ , "XOT A WORD:" ~ New Zealand maintains ; an* expensiv'o A - Department 'of - Agriculture, with many. \'J. fairly,, highly, salaried ' experts; ra its ...; ,?taff, -for the. purpose, of . assisting the farmer : 'witUyadvico- ( and' improving the' , Jiiality' of its.', farm -products. Some ," 1 ' -Tinonths ago', by 'an ' extraordinary, regula- .- tion,-'the : officers .ofthat... Department; ;.l'- : alone.::'.- with ; -".the ,- .other •• members 0f... tho . Civil Service, debarred from * giving, 1 .information; '; t0.,; the press, 'l'he experts of .the Department may, for SnstanEe. 'boladvised that ,iin: outbreak of. ; ' (disease has occurred among-tho stock in la certain; district, that, a; new pest .is ■ ravaging crops, or that'improved methods of production may .have been discovered • m .connection with somo-branch of the tfarmiDg .industry. 'Under tho old condi-tions;;;-this , nows, -.together with the sug-: • gestions: and .advice -of., the. .departmental ■ ■ experts,,-.was: giyin. to .tho newspaper re- 1 porters,... arid was speedily .circulated throughout the .country, at no cost to tho State;; The departmental publications ap- " ■ . V pear "only at :considerable-intervals, compared;with the daily publications of the ... ' pressjiand- consist principally, o£ leaflets, f ttc.; : .and/.a' voluminous :, ahnual. .report " containing vast stores of valuable, in-. ' formation—a good:part of:-it,however, laving become, .more. interesting than' .valuable Iby .the time.-it : reaches the . farmer's eye. .Ministers, have, said, that ..- departmental "officers are Winterpreting the silence, regulation, and carry- . „ to in .'altogether '.unintended ex-' .. - . treme. '.This:m«j be, '.but from inquiries, v... jnembcrs .of- the.- service were .exiplicitly. instructed, not. to give any . in-, formation. to", the press,' arid, this general ' prohibition has noi', io far as can be gathered, been' rela^cd'.invariy.rparticulnr; ' by subscnuent : advice from headquarter.?. : "So.far as-the Agricultural Department is concerned,'the; position at present is '', that the Minister, the Ha:l..T. Mackenzie,. '--Ss away-iori a"iprolonged'-tour in the' -Net; 'lion and'"Westland. .'districts. "Meantime, Bio information concerning 'matters within , fh'e ; scope of his Department can'be given jc'ut. '■ Tho quotations 1 for produce cabled ' .jcut:by-the High Commissioner from Lon- : jdo'ri'have-Irecently beeii" severely criticised {by- merchants yihroughout: the > colony,- and ' • Itheir accuracy - called into ' question.' As' ..•' i; tbbmp royalties, are' paid on ' the fignves pn" the. 'High advice,", and: 'y : |fsome firms dealing in' butter : guarantee fthnr'.clierits".these prices", it isrimportant ■■ I. that ,there, should bo no doubt as to their Reliability. : The officersof.;' the Depart.

went-of Industries and Commcrco. are ®resomaHy ' perfectly ,'.ewnpeten;t-: to ex'.'."A. /•' §lain. hiw the figures in-tho Government ?• fativice .iru arrived at; but - the -(regulation and no statement in reply can v.- • fbo obtained until tho matter .has passed , lout of '.public s rec6ll<«tion.. ' ■ ■ ■ r What ■ conceivable • harm, for instance, ' as done anybody by an expert officer :r.v r >' ; v et&ting\ that he; has'ireceiycd information ■v;' : :'!that ' an epidemic has; broken' out, /say, among calves in Taranaki, and .that the :jbest''method of,.treating it-is:.so and so?" ?: ; •'' ,I'he prompt* circulation■ of: such,; informaftioa through' the-newspapers-may,-on'tlie , - KXjntraiT', - save many-: farmers, rtvhose iurf'/jv' iter'ests" tho 'Department' was created to V. 'conserve, ' ; fTom .heavy " loss. : . Curiously enough; at .the-'same time, that ?:¥(■ isbeing refused to' tho'-press, ; -the publications• relating, - ' to -: agriculture w>' - .are. being curtailed 'uhder/'the' retrench-

.inent policy. •- ,<!/• V.lt : is dn'rrently-.supposed'. that the:*object X'..xif'. the fsilence was -to .'putiish ■: 'mewspapers; with-which Ministers .Vwore. >v- (displeased, 'but,' if: so,, it is evident,:tha.t'; - » . the. : interests:of, the wlolevfarming com'-f :;,; -'imuinty,'!of New Zealand are> being subor-- : . jdinatalito: the Ministerial whiiii';.; If ■ the ■ : icountiry. as -to: get : -full benefit':-from -the lupkeep/of its Department,of Agriculnirq';': '['r, lit..can. fconly,- be, by disseminating as- . [rapidly i and widely as possible the advice: . .siwhich ife experts have to give thefarmer confronting him from day ito day/jj The farmer needs.. that advice ': rigiit Tiero to-day, and is not likely :to ' - be over-thankful when -i it arrives .- care- > fully' embalmed -in' . the. next annual report.;'. - Apropos of the above, it has been sug,gested:;that.:it 'would be of • considerable ;:. v ■■' advantage'if ■..'.'the"--.statistics collected - •' as- :-. (to" the gilding' and quantity of tliehonrp |e?pprts at the different - parts of the .Dominion were made, available for.publi- - cation monthly. The figures are collected ' iby the Department throughout- the' year, -'■'fibutare.only published.annually, ;and in;a j Bummarisea .form.'.-- A 'prompt'. monthly statement showing the quantities of each- . .v. . (grade shipped-at the . different seaports L ; -would'' -be . decidedly i useful to those : in- '. ' fterestcd in.the industry.. '