The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 1880.

Temuka Leader, Issue 243, 16 March 1880, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 1880.

JjsLavj, J. and T. Meek, of Oamaru, are t,ijyui to an experiment that, for a lime, wo hiivo b; en waiting for. In ot-ij->oi i of tho txtroiiiciy lowprices ti u..i», ihoy are to m. i»"d Home a in Jin i.i oauueai, lo tsce in what condil .ui ai.'i \.i*li w liai | roiit they can place it the London market. As far as we can - »-cJL .ii Uie i.;>.->i'Uo-o 1-1 tuciuiicU kimwi „ , !.»e Viii iru ovU.ii a, good out', both 'ii or".;; !;!"* i -.-'iiv.'ii i> ij-u;sl.i»u and ).. . i j ii; J i'iß jurMbiti'iiiLy of .[ i • i-J,i.*J Oalo its Vvoli hi W..CC i-i»o

several limes bun mooted, 'out it-hart generally been agreed that the freight would bear too large a proportion.)o the value of iho cargo io repay the adventure. Even when oats are at eighteenpence per bushel, the freight Home would bring the price pretty well up to that of the Homegrown article ; and when men are veniur. ing in a new scheme they like to see a good margin of profit to meet unforeseen ex. pensi-s or difficulties. Bulk for bulk wh.--a.fc is north about thre« times as much as oats here at present prices, and there is no particular reason why the freights should be greatly different. Whereas, th'-n, the freight comes to hardly half tho value of tho wheat, it is .considerably gicuter than the value of tlio oats. It wool 1 *eem, therefore, that only in very exceptional cases could the export of oats io Britain b come remunerative. There is a way, however, out of the difficulty,' and Messrs Meek are going to givo it a trial. Why pay freight on tho husks and the refuse of the oats'? Why not export the meal, ground and ready for consumption at Home 1 Tiie freight would then bear but a small percentage of the value, and a fresh industry would be established here. We are almost afraid, however, that there is some further obstacle in the way, or else tho experiment would have been made long ago. The fact is, the more refined we send our produce away the greater the risks of transport become. Sacks of wheat can be stoweJ away in a ship's hold withou c being harmed, but oatmeal, we fear, will need a much more delicate treatment. There will be a risk of it getting stale and musty on the voyage, and we almost doubt whether we would recognise again Messrs Meek's excellent oatmeal were we to get ifc in our porridge some morning in tho Old Country. This is' not by way of discouragement ; the result of tho p;ojeeted experiment will decide everything, and we hope all reports will bo satisfactory. The truth is, we need some outlet for our oats. If they are to be consumed in the country they v ill never repay the growing of them uuluns maybe we increase our consumption of oatmeal by drawing our immigrants from Scotland, and the Scotchmen ai« not, now large consumers; sd'd at tho same time they must be grown ; the straw is needed for winter feed, and if a second crop is to be taken off land it cannot h-s well, anything else than oats. Oats therefore must continue to be grown largely, and tho supply cannot adjust itself to tho demand. Tho market will be glutted year after year unless an export trade is begun. The progress of the country, of course, causes a larger consumption as well as a larger supply; we are getting 'more horses and more porridge -eaters every year. But progress has a contrary effect, too. .Railways are superseding;stage-coaches, and trams are reducing the number of cab horses that require feed. The only escape from the glut seems to bo in the' export of out meal : the mills will give work to the unemployed, trade will increase, farmeis will find their oat cvo >s paying, and millers won't need to be idle for want of corn to grind. lu vie »v of these prospects, we wi'oh Messrs J. and T. Meek success in their venture, and hope they will bo able to report it satisfactory.