The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1892.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4047, 25 February 1892, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1892.

' A statement made by the President ' of the Chamber of Commerce in Wei" lington last week when moving the adoption of the annual report, is one well worthy of consideration. The frozen meat trade, he is reported to have said, had undoubtedly guttered by reason of the poor quality of the meat sent home, Without attempting to discuss the accuracy of this statement, we are inclined to believe 1 that such a remark would not have been made by the President if quite unfounded, and from the past history of New Zealand industries we are disposed to think that it is porfeotly true. It has, we know, been said that New Zealand, for commercial immorality, ranks high among the countries of the world. This is, no doubt, altogether too severe and too sweeping a slatement, but we do think that the standard of New Zealand commercial morality mightbe considerably higher. I An industry is started with infinite care and trouble, a first-class article is produced, and a market found. Once found the market ia speedily swamped—not, unfortunately, with an over supply of the same high-class product, Were that so, we should hare little to say, But it is not so; for we find that the one apparent idea is to produce the article and put it on the market. What matter that by reason of the eagerness to satisfy the demand, a bad or second rate article is produced. Home it is sent, in appearance first-class or labelled as such, it is sold and the money is received and a fine profit is themomentary result. What matter that the trade as a whole suffer I The individuals who have made or are making money by what is really their dishonesty care nothing for this, Little care they that the goose that ia laying the golden egg is being done to death, Not thus do they reason, but thus do theyaot, and so themrket is destroyed and an industry killed. We oan vividly, call to mind the butter making' industry. It was I started, a market was readily found, and it throve, and thus we saw happen exactly what we have described, and kegs and cases of ill-smei* ling, deeply discoloured, lumps of matter were shipped home | as first-class New Zealand butter. The New Zealand butter market > sank until it had almost disappeared: , itwaß cheaper nnd better to indulge i in olea margarine than in real Ne? Zealand butter—realbutter: save the mark I The greatrst effort and care [ was then required to restore the j market and revive confidence, but by , patience and by good shipments of ■ genuine first-class butter the market - gradually rose again to what it is now ■ —one of the most promising indus- ' tries ever initiated in this Colony. Yet even now the" trail of the serpent" is seen to some small extent. Consignees , are complaining that i second-plage butter (good .enough, no doubt) is being shipped Jjqnie as firstclass. .'l'Jierearelawsprobahlywhjch will give a purchaser a remedy against the feuds of. the vendor, there aro laws that prpyide for the inspection of factories, and the mark? ing and branding of articles o( produce, and yet books full of statutes, shelves of law and precedents, and lomes of regulations', are absolutely useless, unless backed by a general ftqnfgmpt and abhorrence of anything approaching gpjpmeroial immorality. 0«r ifopressipn afso ja that the, "»«es of ffrajjax market was gaptly it less forcibly—of the ... aw manufacturer. In spite of repeaJ warnings and protests, inferior and badly dressed flax was shipped to London by every opportunity.. All were greedy for profit; few cared for a good, steady, reliable, and honest trade, If a community simply regards a man as a clever business man, who has cleared 60 per cent more than his neighbour by reason of his having sold at the same price as bis neighbour an: immensely inferior article, there, is no hope for a higher standard of feeling as to what is honest or dishonest in trade All matters that affect;.a nation or a country affeot the individuals of thatnationor.country-very imperceptibly no doubt m uianyoasos, but

the fact remains nevertheless—and were we in want of an example we could find none more capable of illustrating our statement (ban this very question of commercial morality. It would be perhaps too much to say that in New Zealand, where nothing is produced on a really great scale, a single dishonest producer does adireot and appreciable injury to the industry he is engaged in, but without going to this length we do not hesitate to affirm that such a statement is a long way nearer right than wrong, It is that we would fain impress upon all producers, and not least upon those who produce the meit for the London market. It seems to us a most extraordinary thing that in the face of the great competition that is looming ahead from Australia and far more dartgeroußly froin Canada, they can be found who are sosbort'Sighted, so bliud to their own interests, as in any way to give cause for complaint as to the quality of our frozen meat, After years of toil and perseverance the great prejudico which so strongly existed against frozen mutton has been removed, or nearly so, and,with this fact fresh in our minds, we find that the frozen meat market is disturbed by the quality of the meat shipped home. Is it impossible, is it a weird dream, to think that the producers of New Zealand staples might have, if not sufficient far-sightedness, atleist sufficient patriotism to refuse, even if they have the opportunity, to harm the industry by sending Home an article that will destroy the good reputation of the product, It may be too much, to hope that men will weigh immediate profits against a mere sentiment; but .we would if such a feeling is incapable of being so lightly awakened, ask those who are freezing anything and everything to pause and weigh their prospects of a future fall m prices with its probable attendant future loss, and then let them decide. If it be true, and as wehavesaid we are not inclined to doubt it, that the New Zealand mutton exported is of inferior quality, and this in spite of our having the magnificent stock that we have, then there must indeed be some truth in the statement as to our commercial morality, and it is time that the Government took the matter in hand and appointed inspectors who 6hould have full power to condemn any second class article shipped its first class. The greatest loss the colony could possibly saatain would be any permanent injury to the frozen meat trade.