The Daily News. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1904. VICTORIAN PRODUCE EXCHANGE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 267, 15 November 1904, Page 2

The Daily News. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1904. VICTORIAN PRODUCE EXCHANGE.

The state of affairs revealed by thi investigations of the Butter Con: mission has aroused interest as action amongst Victorian produce and dealers. The outcome of thi awakening has been ths mooting of proposal for the establishment o an Open Farm and Dairy Produc Exchange, in which all in any wa; connected with this importan branch of trade will have representa tion. The objects sought are : (1 "To protect the interests of the pre ducers of the State of Victoria (2) to maintain uniformity of char ges for selling and buying all kind of dairy and farm produce, includini milk, cream, butter, cheese, poultrj veal, eggs, pork, grains, cereals fodders, vegetables, game, rabbits and all other farm and dairy pre duce ; (3) to do such other thing and to take such other steps as th committee may deem expedient fo the benefit, and in the interest ol the association, its members, ai producers."' The representativ character of the organisation ma; be best realised when the persona of the general committee, of managt inent is considered. Two honorary members, with full voting powers, will be nominated by the Department of Agriculture, while of the remaining twelve members, six will be elected by all the butter factories, firms and persons producing butter, who subscribe to' the association. The northern, eastern, ,and western districts of the State will have oqual proportions of this number. The steamship companies interested in the carriage of produce to England and elsewhere will be allowed two nominees, as will also tho consignors of grain and cereals for sale by the association, the consignors of other produce having the same right. The grocers and city produce agents will be allowed two representatives each. So that even in its remotest ramifications the farming community will be enabled to lift up a voice in the disposal of its commodities. A suof-conumitleo of five, to be called the Trades Committee, will be elected annually by the general committee, and in this, too, has the principle of equal representation been safeguarded, as it is set forth in the rules that one member each shall represent tho buyers, tho agents, and the general consignors ; the manufacturers to have two nominees. The present rates of insurance and cartage charged by the agents will be continued by tho association, the commission being one penny on each package. Separate salesmen or auc- . tioneers will be appointed for butter and other produce. The principle of co-operation has been introduced into New Zealand, and has proved a great success so far as the buttor trade is •oncerned. Any failures, indeed, are attributable not to the system, but to the management. But though co-operation has been applied to the production of this, one of our most important nrticlos of export, no steps have yet been taken to extend the system to its disposal. The idea has been canvassed by several of our most prominent producers and exporters, but trade jealousy has hitherto prevented any satisfactory outcome being arrived at. The fluctuation of prices on the London market is due largely to tho haphazard and irregular way in which our produce is sent forward. So far as quality is concerned, our dairy managers are beginning to realise that, with ordinary care, they are quite competent to hold their own with any foreign competitor, not even excepting the Danes. The secret of much of the success of this progressive people is ■ that, not content with up-to-date methods and supervision in their own land, they impart tho samo spirit into their trade relationships in London, the article being treated under tho co-operation system from the time it leaves the cow until it reaches the consumer. In marked contrast to this, New Zealand dairymen are content to lose a large proportion of their legitimate profit he- , cause of their reluctanco to follow the idea to its logical conclusion. But its advantages must surely in time be brought home to those most , interested, and then nothing but its , trial will content them. Given this, ' the future of Taranaki's foundation industry is certain to be even more remunerative and beneficial to the wkole community than has its past. ' NOTE AND COMMENT. An old man of eighty-three, who earns a precarious livWAS IT MR ing by selling matches SEDDON ? on the Thames embankment, unfolded a strange story at Bow Street Police Court a few weeks ago. At the age of twenty-four, he stated, he had emigrated to Australia in company with the many thousands who flocked out to the newly-discovered goldfields. He went to Ballnrat during ' the rush of 1856, and managed to | secure a claim of fairly-rich ground. "One day," he continued, "a strant gcr who was down on his luck asked me if ho could take my wash dirt. With troublo this dirt yields a good percentage of gold. I readily gave permission, and after a time the stranger joined me, and we dug together for seven months, and shared the samo tent. Ho'was a good digger, a good companion, und a good man, and while we were together we became fast friends. Ha left me at the end of seven months to try his fortunes elsewhere. I came back to England in 1899, my little wealth having been taken from mo by injustice, and at the time of tho Coronation I onco more saw my old I

dig'ger friend. H« , was then tho I'rimc Minister of one of the 'Antipodean colonies. He had not forgotten me, 'but was kind, and wished >o be kinder. I dined with him, my old friend, at the Hotel Cecil, and ■during his stay here I hnd my meals at the hotel at his expense, He wished to give me money, as did another colonial Premier, but I can accept assistance of thai kind from no one." The old man's name was William Burt, and his voice quivered ns he spoke of the generosity of his Premier friend. He was obviously unulble to continue earning his own living by selling moltchcs in the streets, and he appealed to the Magistrate to move the workhouse guardians to give him outdoor relief, and save him from becoming an inmate of the dreaded "house." The Magistrate returned a sympathetic reply, but explained that in such matters the workhouse authorities were supreme. The old man's references to his colonial Premier friend seem to point, the Lyttelton Times suggests, to Mr Seddon. Unfortunately for a good story, however, the inatchseller fixes the date of the incident at 185(5, whereas New Zealand's Premier did not arrive in Australia until 1863. Tho building of turbine steamers for Australasian waTHE FUTUBB OF ters by the Union THE TURBINE. S. S. Company lends additional interest to the news that the trial of the Midland Hallway Company.s new turbine steamer Manxman, built by Vickers, Son, and Maxim, at Barrow, has established a new record in propulsion by means of the turbine, In her several runs over a measured mile en the Clyde the Manxman gave a speed of twentythree knots. Hitherto steam pressures for turbines have been kept down at 1501b per square inch, butj in this vessel 2001b pressure has teen I provided, and this has led not only ■ to higher speed, but to economic results. The Manxman has been built for the Heysham and Isle of Man service, and will carry 1500 passengers. Turbines seem likely to play , a very important part in the maritime traffic of the near future. Great passenger lines are now being, , equipped with the new typo of engines. It has been employed in the ' Allan liner Victorian, recently launched, and the Cunard Company r have two turbine steamers on order. The turbine is BaW to be admirably suited for fast passenger and other rapid steamers, whether engaged in a short home trade or on long foreign trade voyages. One of the chief advantages, apart from the question of speed, which the turbine possesses over the reciprocating engine is that bad weather does not prevent tho turbine making its normal Speed, and passengers in any oi ! the three turlbino stea- " mers may count, so far as the end gines arc concerned, on being land's ed at schedule time, notwithstanding J heavy head winds and seas. Ques--11 tioned by a reporter regarding the 1 commercial outlook, a member of a large firm of turbine engineers stated ' the other day that at present the t turbine was not economical for " tramps or steamers whose average • speed was below fifteen knots. Even " in ocean passenger ships a speed J above a twenty-fivo knot average " was generally fatal from an economs ic standpoint on account of the huge t coal space necessary to be reserved, i crushing out cargo, etc. ; hence they • did not anticipate a further develop- - ment of speed beyond twenty-five ' knots in passenger ships until the s fuel difficulty, had been overcome. 1 With regard to thss navy, the enr gineer affirmed that tho turbine .was ■ for all ships, wito but a few isolatd ed exceptions, preferable, because ; the propelling power was less liable ' to damage during war. They therol fore expected large developments in ' this direction.

ON THE FOURTH PAGE. Literature. Theatre Royal. Banquet to Dogs.. News by the Mail. A Wild West Show. Chinese Coolies in South Africa.