NEW ZEALAND APPLES.

Motueka Star, Volume IV, Issue 165, 20 March 1903, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND APPLES.

Mi W. D. Holbrook, late produce merchant, Manchester, writes as follows from Duriehill, Wanganui :—I see it suggested for New Zealand apples to be shipped to the Old Country. It is a matter of great surprise that New Sealand has so long neglected this part of its produce trade, when your near neighbour, Tasmania, has for some years regularly shipped apples Home. They have been well received and regularly sold as "Tasmania ns" ; my recollection of them is that they wete remarkably good, but not over-

cheap, although I do not call to mind prices, etc. Such extensive markets as Liverpool, Manchester and the vast population of Lancashire and Yorksh re would gladly welcome good fruit at reasonable prices from anywhere, more particularly from New Zealand, if I correctly gauge the feelings of these two countries. Take your other and important produce, butter. The big butter merchants of the leviathan distributing market, Manchester, could dispose of all the butter you can make for some years forward, and look round for more. At present the Continental producers are raking in the "dollars." Even such far away countries as Finland and Siberia are sending fairly ltrge quantities of butter to the Manchester market, via Newcastle on-Tyne and Hull. The butter trade, particularly, ought to be to the pocket benefit of New Zealand, and would be -if colonial producers will but throw the same energy into the trade as the colonial ten contingents threw into Smth. African fighting. Recollect, there are about twelve to thirteen millions in population fed from the Manchester distributing market. Another point of great moment to this colony is the matter- of direct shipment to the Manchester por-t, instead of to London. If -hipped direct to Manchester, New Zealanders would save the difference between heavy dock dues in London and light dock dues in Manchester ; they would also save heavy London cartage charges and commission on sales, or brokerage there, besides a rail journey of 200 miles and the consequent railway freight, which is not by any means a light charge. This excess profit by direct shipment would pi-sict"-cally all eouie into the producers' hands here.

Captain Robert Calder Allan. C. 8., R.N., who died in January last at his residence in Shirland-gardens, Maidavale. in the ninety first year of his age, served as master of the Resolute in Captain Austin's expedition to the Arctic regions in 1850-1 in search of traces of Sir John Franklin's expedition having charge of the magnetic observations. Then, as master of the Hogue from 1852 to 1856, he .served during the Russian war in both Baltic expeditions.

Rear-Admiral Cochran in an interview, declared that all his statements could be sworn to. "'" These floggings.'" he said, «* have been going on for years, and I hope and trust that this exposure will end them,"