FARM AND DAIRY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 1, 26 June 1911, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY

MR. lIARKNESp' ISIT HOME. (New Zealan Jairyman). 'lhe rea-1 object i„ Mr. Darkness' visit to England is now an open secret. It was to form a "trust," including the whole of the butter and cheese from New Zealand. To work this, of course, it wa.s necessary to secure the l>ig money firms of the trade as members of the ''trust," but luckily for New Zealand they would not entertain the proposal for one moment . Let us make this scheme plain. It was that tho whole of the output of both butter and cheese should go forward to the firms in the "triwt"\)n open consignment, and only through the National Dairy Association. l>ast year at lease fifteen thousand tons of butter and cheese went Home en consignment without recourse, at ft price equal to 57s for cheese and 113s for butter for the whole ■season. The factories who had the good sense to take these guaranteed advances have thus luckily escaped tho terrible loss of £0 a ton which the open consignors had to endure. We have not heard that there has been any arrangument made, and are quite certain no such arrangement could be made, seeing what, a large amount of without recourse business is done by the leading firms in the trade. For twenty years some of our leading factories have snipped their outputs without recourse, witf'most satisfactory results. Surely three per cunt, commission is sufficient to allow stroii" ] firms to give the guarantee without recourse. But a rebate ami a guarantee both could not be expected, and would not be given by any firm. To do away with the guarantee was no doubt clearly the object of the visit, so as to force ail the business on open consignment through the Association. In view of the frightful losses that were made last year, we are sure that everyone with any common sense will rejoice that the mission was « failure. We make this declaration altogether apart, from the fact that tne proposed "trust" was perhaps a "combine in restraint of trade." The reason of me half per cent, is perfectly oovious: It is to provide billets for a few of the men who have been hanging on to the industry for years, in hope of sooner or later annexing one of the fat billets. <ai course, they know that tiio guarantee without recourse is tne .safest poliev in th<* interests of the fanners, but as it ooeg not include rebate to pay the salaries of the men in the fat billets, it is no good te them."