A STRANGE STATEMENT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1078, 17 March 1911, Page 8

A STRANGE STATEMENT.

CONCERNING NATIONAL DAIRY : "' "ASSOCIATION. .The following, which, is .from the Syd©y. "Herald's" London correspondent, is nteresting.in a general way, and of pnricular interest for the reference which t, makes to .the-'Homo-representative of he National Dairy Association. •Mr. J.' R. King, (says the "Herald's" orrespondent), who represents tli« Coastal farmers' Co-operative Society, Ltd., and he ..Farmers' Co-operativo Distributing Company of Queensland, Ltd., on the instralian Butter Committee here, quosioncd as to the work of the committee, iated- that it had done some very useful vprk in regard to steadying the/market ind/maintaining prices, lio said:—"At ■he present time we control fully 60 per ieiit.:.or" tho Australian butter, and Mr. Sllison,' New Zealand representative, is vith lis. in sympathy. I have it now lefinitely that ho is joining the commitee ,nest season, which will bring the imo'unt of butter controlled by the com-mittee-to, upwards of' 80 per cent, of the •Vustralian and New Zealand produce, jn these grounds I say that we can, and 10, .steady the market. When spocula:ors were forcing the market down immediately before the holidays wo held v\ meeting of our salesmen' and decided that' no further reduction should take place. "••'With the heavy arrivals and poor demand during the: holiday week, Speculators- expected to be able to buy shillings under..the rate ruling before Christmas; but were disappointed, owing to'the action taken by the committee andUieir;'brokers. From the holding of that meeting.the market firmed. I think if y6u': interviewed the houfes n'ith whom we-are dealing, you will find thoir views on' the power exercised by the committee, to' bo entirely opposed to tho speculative element in Tooley Street. We do not pretend'to: modify the natural conditions of the' London, market.' All we are., hero to do is to see that the. producer's in. the Antipodes get a' fair, remuneration for their.-labours. Strong efforts, have, bscn made by ■ speculative houses in Tcoley ■ Street to break up the policy of direct consignment which wo have taken up in its' entirety, as it is'against their interests', to have a steady market, for any , length, of time. What these people like is : prices up one week and down the next. ro that, they ;cnn get in at the bottom and but at the top. many times during the season." The statement that "Mr. Ellison, was joining the Australian Committee was referred to the National Dairy Association's chief officer in Wellington, and was totally discredited,' on the' ground that ■nothing whatever.had been heard of it by th'e association'. Moreover, the local officer 'is very strongly of the opinion that the' Australian Committee does not and cannot control sixty per ccnt - <" the-colo-nial produce.