South Canterbury Times, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1882.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2764, 1 February 1882, Page 2

South Canterbury Times, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1882.

In another column we publish a'trade announcement of Messrs, McLeod Bros.’ soap and candle manufacturers, ■of Dunedin, a perusal of which should be very gratifying to the colonial mind, showing- as it does that soap and candles can be produced iti New Zealalnd of , a quality to compare favorably with those of any other Australasian colony, and even with those of Europe. Leaving out of consideration altogether the honors obtained at New Zealand exhibitions, the fact that McLeod Bros.’ exhibits won for them a first award at the Sydney Exhibition, of i . and a gold medal at the Melbourne exhibition of the following year, proves that : in the opinion of independent judges we do not need to depend upon the European manufacturers for supplies of these domestic requisites, and yet it is a fact that, considerable as are the quantities of goap aad candles now manufactured in the colony, vtiry large importations continueto be made. We send home tons and tons of tallow every year to be distributed in British and Continental factories, and then send for them back again in the shape of pounds of candles and bars of soap. Of course this carrying to and fro is not done for nothing, and for all that we get returned to us we must pay the carriage both ways. We have several times deplored the absurd prejudice that exists against anything of colonial production, and the prejudice against the home manufactured candle is a strong instance of the general distrust or dislike, or whatever it is that prevents our manufacturers from selling in the markets on really fair terms with their foreign competitors. A member of the firm above-mentioned gave some instructive evidence to the Local Industries Commission a couple of years ago, a portion of which puts the prejudice referred to in an almost amusing light. Speaking of the candles made in the colony he said ;—“ The article produced, I have no hesitation in saying, is as good as any imported,, yet our customers are throwing it in onr teeth constantly that it is colonial —a thing that ought rather to be in its favor. We»have thus to throw away the duty, which is so often supposed to be taken from the pockets of the many. We have to do this regularly. We - have to compete at first with the prejudice that exists in the minds of the bulk of our consumers. . . . It is a fact

that,, people regularly and through prejudice and force of .habit give from Id to 2d per pound more for an, imported, candle that, is to say the. least, no better than the coloniall . .. . . The , colonial article, no matter how good,' will not command nearly the same price as the imported.” He did not complain* however, of the prejudice the people have against the colonial article, but mentioned it as , one of the difficulties the local manufacturer had to contend with, which reduced the prices at which they could sell, and made their fight with the foreigner harder. Mr McLeod insisted that it could always be taken for granted that the colonial articles, of equally good quality, would be sold cheaper than the imported. He —and of course he may be considered as a representative of manufacturers,not only, of the articles he. spoke of 1 but of other kinds of articles—was quite prepared to sell at the same prices as were given for imported goods—but. the prejudice in question obliged him to sell much lower. He admitted that people preferred well-known brands and neat packages. They bought for these. “ The contents do not matter so very much.” With what bitterness must Mr McLeod have said that! “The contents do not matter so very much.” Possibly, though, ho smiled cynically as he said it, at the folly of people paying a penny or twopence for a label, ..or (we do not know what sort of person he is) he may have said, it simply, as one who sees and makes full allowance for the influence of mere fancies and fashions and habits upon people’s every-day actions. : It is enough to make one speak bitterly or laugh cynically, however, to hear the outcry there is every now and then made about the colony not prospering as it ought to prosper, and good muscle and intelligence being only half employed because we have so few manufactures, when all the while the people at: large decline to do the only thing that can remedy such a,state of things—viz M to use, and prefer to use, articles of local production, whenever these ‘ are intrinsically as good as imported articles of the same kind. But it is pleasing to know that in spite of having to combat an unreasonable prejudice this manufacture is being rapidly extended, and in a few years it may be hoped and confidently expected, that“D.R.J.’s” and“D.R.O.’s” will cease to be mentioned in the market quotations. The firm whose name we have taken some liberties with have been able to extend their business to such an extent, we believe, that their premises and plant are being enlarged and extended. This will he regarded as a hopeful sign by those who desire to see New Zealand become, industrially, an independent country. There is one portion ■ of Mr McLeod’s evidence that will seorn curious to the bulk of our readers. This is that candles are used in the London market as a kind of money. They are often used “as an article to be consigned in order to finance with. Candles are not perishable and do not depreciate. A man in want of money has only got to send in a lot of candles, and he can got the advance on them he requires. This is a fact well known.” The idea of a parcel of candles being deposited like title deeds, as security, strikes one as very odd. ;