DISTRICT NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 114, 3 November 1911, Page 7

DISTRICT NEWS.

J tikoraxgi. I (From Our Own Correspondent). '/ 'Conversation is now restricted to politics and the weather, the latter being the cause < if much profanity. Tiideed. it is diflicult to say which has been , "elided" the most"—the continual cold ' wids or the extraordinary propox.il made at A\ aitara by Mr. Jennings that dairy companies .-hould be compelled to retain i> per cent, of their outputs for home j consumption. Mr. Jennings is surprised that increased cost of production is followed by an increased cost of living, but a lino.-1 everyone, unless he happens to be a politician, would be surprised were it otherwise. As Mr. Jennings talked very glibly of economic anomalies, he is, notwithstanding his long connection with Parliament, evidently unaware of the fact that there is at present an iniP°'t duty on butter, and he therefore unconsciously, offers as his contribution to political economy the following rather extraordinary proposition. Tn pursuance of our acknowledged policy of protection we impose an import, duty on butter so as to keep the price np! ami then we proceed to restrict expert in order to keep tl;e price down. I lev. presto! vote for Jennings and cheap butter! Xo wonder the Daily ws. in its comments on the speech, says in regard to this precious proposal,. "We must confess we are not enamored of it." However, lest it be -aid it is easy to criticise,'give us something better. T venture to suggest that the import, duty on dairv produce be removed, that dairy machinery be admitted duty free so as to lessen the cost of production, and finally that the Dominion be opened up to the white settler, who would speedily convert it from a. wilderness into green pastures, and conseiiuentlv enormonslv increase the natural products of this countrv. But in any ease dairy farmers need not. be alarmed, for even if their milk cheques are I o be curtailed by legislation tliev will be able to get heaps of money from the co-operative banks simply by guaranteeing each other's accounts. I