THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 1907. THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF LOCAL MANUFACTURES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8392, 4 April 1907, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 1907. THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF LOCAL MANUFACTURES.

At a meeting of the Industrial Association of Canterbury, last week, it was resolved that, in order to encourage the sale of local manufactures, the Association should ask the Government to consider the advisability of instituting a system of gradiug and testing local manufactures of high merit with the object of giving them some distinctive official mark,, so that high-class colonial goods might be recognised by the public as ouch. In speaking to the motion, Mr F. E. Jones, a prominent member of the Association arid a local .manufacturer, said that a great prejudice existed on the part of distributors aB well as sections of the public against articles of local manufacture. He had found great want of confidence and interest in local manufactures by the sellers in the capacity of distributors. With them there were two classes of goods—imported and colonial. If the public asked'.for a "good" article imported was offered; if for something "cheap," colonial was produced. The tendency, thereforei was to lower the quality of colonial made goods to supply the demand for "cheap" goods. Mr Jones drew attention to the fact that a line of imported ships' limejuice in bottles was sold in an uiv known name at sixpence per bottle more than a local article of higher merit. It bore the description "certified to by the Board of Trade." It is, as Mr Jones remarked, an unfor-

tunate state of affairs. We can draw one important conclusion frpm Mr Jones' remarks, and that is this —the necessity for the Government to assist local manufacturers to a greater extent than has been the case hitherto. The Government have adopted a splendid system of grading butter, flax, and other produce, so that English buyers can rely upon the quality of the goods exported. If it is desirable to guarantee New Zealkntl ptfo-' ducts to the English buyer, it stirely. is more urgent that the same'thing should be done in respect to- local consumers of local industrial produets. The prosperity of the dairying industry is due, to some extent, to wise legislation. The grading of butter for export has caused emulation, and the extinction of the export !of inferior quality. This system j might profitably be adopted in the I ca.se of many industrial proJucts,

such as condensed milk, starch, ! laundry blue, soap extract, woollen goods, cordials, biscuits, soap, and other lines. If the buying public could find the Government hall-mark upon the local goods less prejudice would be found .to exist against, them. Whilst the Government has assisted the farming industry by inspection of meat and dairy produce, nothing has been done to assist industrial manufacturers to gain the esteem and. patronage of our own consumers. In Germany the Government assist manufacturers greatly in gaining recognition of the quality of their goods. At Berlin there is a Royal Institute, which has the advice of the best analysts in Germany. This institution studies the means by which the manufactures of Germany can be improved. The establishment of a similar institution or department in New Zealand would probably secure beneficial results for consumer and manufacturer alike.