The Daily News. THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 1901. PREFERENTIAL RAILWAY RATES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXIII, Issue 53, 21 March 1901, Page 2

The Daily News. THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 1901. PREFERENTIAL RAILWAY RATES.

The Paten paper is vary 'severe on Mr Harkness for his efforts on behalf of the Dairy Industry. In a recant issue our contemporary says:—" We notice that Mr Harkness, chairman of the North Island Dairy Association, was very much in evidence at the meeting of Kaponga Dairy Factory Oo.'s shareholders the other day, and that he threw the whole weight of his influence against the proposal to grade butter at Patea. It would have been m ,ra becoming, in view of the fact that Mr Harkness is, by virtue of his position, the guardian of the industry as a whole, had that gentleman shown less bias and a disposition to give every section of the province its dua. For instance, he made a great deal of the preferential railway tariff, but he forgot to point out that if such a concession were made it would not affect the position of a grading port at Patea in the leas*, for it must naturally follow that the rate would apply to Patea or Waitara just the same as it would to New Plymouth. Bat in amy case, we doubt very much whether the Railway Department will be able to make moh a concession for a long time to come in face of the substantial reduotioas that bavs bean made' in other directions lately. We regard this argument very much in tbe nature I of a rid herring, intended to draw the! dairy companies interested off the real , scent. The fact is that Messrs Harkness and Diva, and others interested in the proposed Moturoa Co., are themselves beginning to recognise that the arguments in favour of a grading port at Patea are unanswerable, and are moving heaven and earth to cloud the real issue. The fact is becoming patent that if £SOOO will amply cover the cost of up-to-date freezing and grading works at Patea, sufficient to deal witb ©V6r 1000 tons each of butter and cheese, the price of the Moturoa works at £15,000 is somewhat tall and will 1 mean a big liability on the companies who contribute towards it. The facts and figures in support of Pate j works ar« bassd upon the authority of experts, and there is no getting behind than). The companies interested may also rrst assured that a grader will be forthcoming if a sufficient quantity of dairy produce is forthcoming, and theie is every reason to believe that such will be the case. A<3 we sa'd bffor-?, we expected at least fair play from Mr Harkness, but judging from the reports of our northern contemporaries, be is decidedly against us." Considering that both Mr Hnrkness and Mr Dive have nlvvays been uaeornpromisisg opponents of the harbour rate, it is very amusing to see them accused of acting in the interests of New Plymouth. They are both farmers and large ratspayers and are therefore in full sympathy with farmers, while their position in connection with the Dairy Industry and the services they have rendered it should have protected them against the article quoted above. The difference between our contemporary and Mr Harkness may be summed up in a few words. The former is prepared to sacrifice the interests of the Dairy Industry in its desire to see public money spent in * Patea, while the latter is prepared to mtike great personal and public sacrifices to secure the advancement and prosperity of the Dairy Industry. la flfikirig for a reduction of the railway rate, Mr Harkness knew it would apply to Patea as well as any other port but j Mr Harkness was considering the welfare of the Dairy industry and not the | interests of any particular port. Mr Harkness contends that Jche subsidy! formerly given tbe dairy produpe to-) wards the cost of freezing and which is being withdrawn should be continued in the shape of reduced rates on the railway. Mr Harkness is further of opinionjthat the profits, if any, on the cost of freezing should go into the pockets of the producer, and that these profits will be larger, or, ia other words,

the coat of freezing and grading! smaller if worked at one centre instead ot two, The woak point in tho argument ia favour of Patea as a grading port (though we have no wish to entor into this question) is cue fact that tlio harbour ia a tidal river, obly workable for a very f mall olaoe of steamers at or übaut high tide. Our contemporary (■peaks fabout works for 1000 tons of butter and cheese, but, has it ever considered the nnmber of steamers of the claes visiting Patea it will take to convey that quantity to Wellington. The other day the Mapaurika leit Now Plymouth at dead low water with 18,000 boxes of butter on board and a considerable quantity of cheese, druwing 17 feet of water. She left Now Plymouth on Wednesday arriving in I WelliEgton early on Thursday, Her j cargo was transhipped into the Home steimei 1 which snh'd the same evening for London. It would have required 8 to 10 s'.eamevs from Patea to handl? this quantity and if one sleamer had failed to get out of Paten rivar in time the loss to the Dairy Industry would have been vary considerable. The chief question the dairy farmers have tooon-

eider is the interests of ths dairy indue-! try and not the interests of either New ! Hymoutb, Patea, or any other port.