THE GRADING PORT QUESTION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXIII, Issue 81, 26 April 1901, Page 2

THE GRADING PORT QUESTION.

TO THE EDITOR, Sir, —I notice in your issue of to-day that Mr. J. G> Harkness has goon to eorne pains to ondsivour to the I few plain statements mads in my lottor I on the above subject a few days ago. I certainly think if Mr. Harkness lia<l been prudent, he would have kept silent on the matter, for the dairying community are not so dense as not to recognise plain uncontrovertibls facts when they read them, and no matter how my friend wriggles away from tho main issun, the men most interested can see the paint even if clouded by [ the volumnious eloqueace of Mr. J. G. H. I had co intention of pursuing this matter further, as the dairying community are quite capable of taking care of themselves, but your correspondent, who has used my name pretty freely, has forced me into the position. Mr. Harkness makes the sweeping statement that " a grading port at Patea will put the iadustry back for 10 years." It would ba iatereßtitig to know how Mr. Harkness arrives at this conclusion' I rather think it will push it ahead for these reasons, that several factories in southern Taranaki will save much time in getting their produce to the grading port, tint indications point to cheaper handling, and that the butter will be carried in better condition to Wellington by reason of the fact that the carrying steamer will be fitted with refrigerating plant. Mr Harkness say* I have avoided the main issues. What ar* the main issues? I should ray the cheapest an) most effective mode oi getting the produce to the Home boats I hold it has been proved conclu sively that al buttnr and cheece pro duced south of Stratford can be handlet cheaper at Patea than at Moturoa aoc it is not nscessary to go over the s\m< ground again. The whole silvation o Mr Harkness' argument seems to resl en a uniform railway rato. Now, i Mr Harkness is a business man, sure'; he has sense enough to know that tl.i Hon. J. G. Ward is not going to rui , hundreds of tons of dairy produce pas an accessible port and carry it for i distance ranging from 40 to 60 mile for bo other object than concentrating the whole of the dairy produce at oni centre. To follow out Mr Harknest urgument to a logical conclusion, th< interests of the dairymen would bi festered by having one grading port fo the whota Island, at New Plymouth which needless to soy would be absuri in tho extreme. Further, I cannot ac cept Mr Hitkness' statement that tfci< Minister ha* publicly ttited that h. will adopt the uniform rate. Tha fac is that tho Minister said he would cm aider tho matter when revising th tariff at the eud of the financial yeat Further it is Dot beside the question ti suggest that if the uoiform rate is t be bo far reaching, the Minister ma; be good enough to rail all the but'er tc the central part, Wellington, a con tingemy just as likely as the one M Harkness is so prone to embrace Mr. Harkness attempts to make a goo' deal of capital out of iha help some r the Patea people have been giving ii the matter. It would be hypocrisy t< state that Patea people are r.ot helpin; the project all they can, butt-) s iy tha they are " running the show," is as fa removed from the truth as the east i from the west. It is true the Cham ber of Commerce issued a circular, bu at the request of some of the factor; companies interested. It is true tha two gentlemen, not connected witl dairying, wect to Stratford and re coived a most chilling reception at th hands of the President of the Nations Dairy Association. It is true that i deputation of dairymen and other went to Wellington, but at tho ex

press request of the provisional directors of the new company. The pki'i fact is that the southern producers hare madn os much use as thfty could of th<» P.itea people t,o further the dairying interests, and the Pati-a people have bfen willing victims oh the ground that any beneSt to the dairy industry was indirectly a Vnt-fb to themselves. As to originating and carrying out the scheme, the Patea people h'iva done nothing more tHan ' hey have been asked to do and that has not b*en much. On the question of unity, for reduction of freights, etc., Mr. liarkmess evidently forgets thu the interests of southern and northern Tarauaki are identical and it is very unlikely tint, if unity is required for j any purpose affecting the industry as a whole co-operation will not obtain. This disunion argument is robbing more than a very red herring and r,o' likely to do any harm, Again Mr. Harkness ingeniously quotes part of my letter in reg-trd to cost of works and studiously avoids giving what follows. What I pointed ouo was the dispirsity in th» ccst oi the respective woiks, one ,£SOOO, the other .£15,000. The proposed works at Pa to i will be cipab'e of storing fuily Inlf ,the output of the whole of Tar>naki and of freezing more than l.| times th./ whole of it. Therefore as far as thu works ..re corcsrnfd it wau'd only m r -a>> the cost of extra storage loom to rU'.-,] with the whole output of Taw.ua.kiV with a fund of freezing power to space. Th ; s is capable of proof by expert authority ss well aa the assertion made that the whole works can bo erected for .£SOOO. In fact an export mitl-or- | ity who has gone into the m .tter fully within the last few days rta,'ei that the whole thing can be done for .£4750 —aud that inc'uding electric light I plant which was not included in the original estimate. Th's leaves .£250 far contingencies outside the actua l works. As to price of Motoroa works. I have nothing to say beyond stating that on ilia abeve estimate thn cost soems excessive. Now, sir, I huve! [trespassed toa much on your space, but [I crave your indulgence. I think I jhave proved (hit from a commercial point of view the sou i hern producers hive all the of the argument, and pentiment don't count for much in dairying questions. "• Having in view the fact that works at Patea will bsupported much morn hrartiiy than at first anticipated and that th«re will lio no ncc°ssity I'or oxpwimivs works at>J New Plymouth. it might bo eliercd u/i a suggestion to Mr. thi'kiws that ho move in 'ohc matter of joining hands frtlt tb» Wvsli Co?Aii

Company mid thus promote the unity lio litis bcon ft) Htrongly urging. I feel niiß Ui'i i.isw Company would conduct '.lie. liagot.ktious for works at New Plymouth with litany i a I,u u modicum of ••!><» "jffi'HOi'ilijiiiry y.ti11 *,\:n Producers ( JuiiKiiiLtttM luw iii iittcmp'inff to dftbiili t.liu jjiii'clitiso of Uiu prwont, | work*.---I *m, etc., J. Jf. llouAjwAy.