Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1895. THE BALANCE AT BALLANCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5132, 17 September 1895, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1895. THE BALANCE AT BALLANCE.

Tii k balance at the Ballance Dairy Factory lias boon struck and tho figures nvo on tho wrong side so fur as they concern the milk suppliers. The result of this is painful no doubt, but we think the settlers interested are not taking the right course, It will be remembered tbat in March last there appeared an article in our columns headed " A Tarpaulin , Muster," in which we made it abundantly clear that factories that wero advancing against milk on the basis of prices ruling for butter in 1893-94, would show a loss on balancing, and wo said " How then will thoso fac- " tories tbat have entered into con- : " tracts on the basis of prices ruling " in 1893-9' i, come out at the balnnc--1 " ing this year. Instead of a distribution of profits there is certain to " be ■ a ' tarpaulin muster' to make " good tho deficiency. Then tho milk- " suppliers, under a mistaken notion " thata butter-factory isan eleemasyn- " ary institution, will rant and roar " over their hardships and sufferings. " They will fail to understand thata " factory cannot pay more than it. " earns, and some of them with " characteristic pig-headedness will ; " cut off supplies and ' rather make ' " pig's swill of tho milk than sell to' « the faetory at less tbau 8d per " gallon."" % ™y a reply to ' this article Mr W. W. McOardle, ; who, if we mistake not,was a Director ! of the Ballance Dairy Factory, led ; jisj tp Relieve that his factory did not coma within the scope of our comments and could /ijid would tnain- ; tain An advance ot §d p.er gallon. [ It was a cheering lettep \vb ,\vero at the time pleased to giye it prom-1 wejiceinow columns, although \ve . expressed .a jyi,sb to accept actual: ' -<tts rather fen insertions. ! rem.. •• • 4 aijd The results i.. ' 1 ■- i much as we regret h,\, ' —«kjß, as to a tarpaulin muster being in., sary have proved correct. There is a deficiency iu the accounts of over £l,lOO an amount which will have to be refunded by the milk suppliers. Tins pill the dairymen of Ballance find difficult to swallow, and a whole

| crop of low suits is certain to follow, Tho Ballance Factory is one of many ' co-operative concerns, and was ewcted by the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Company, at a cost of £3830. The contract witli the suppliers, as far as wo understand, ; was that the Loan and Mercantile Company should advanco up to 80 per cent, of tho butter fat', aud the amount expressed in penco would, of course, vary with tbo market fluctuations. As a matter of fact, the Company appears to have made a standard advance of Bid per lb of butter fat, whilo the prices realised by the butter ranged from G7s to 925, or an average of 75s per cwt. It must be admitted that tho output of the Ballance Factory was in point of quality equal to the best butter exported from the Colony, and the average of 75s was equal to the best average price obtained by other factories. It will be seen from this that the Loan and Mercantile Company more than fulfilled the terms of tbo contract. It advanced 100 per cent, of the value of the butter, instead of 80 per cent, or to put it in another form, the advance was equal to a fraction more than 3d per gallon of 10$ lbs. The Company erred on the side of liberality, and perhaps it would have been better had it adhered to the strict terms of its contract. As a matter of fact, all that the Company now seeks to recovor is the amount advanced, no excess of the sum stipulated by the contract, We must not overlook the fact that tho Ballance Factory was under the control of local Directors, and tlie question arises: How far are they responsible for the present state of affairs. The Directors must have known that the advances made by the Company were out of proportion to the market value of the prodnco, that such advance was contrary to agreement, aud in the interests of the milk supplies whose nominees they were, the irregularity should have beeu promptly stopped. We shall probably bo told that the suggestions of the Directors were set aside, even admitting this there

was nothing to prevent the Directors calling the suppliers together, awl informing them of the trend of affairs. In omitting to take restrictive measures, the Directors were somewhat negligent, and therefore cannot escape from accepting some of the blame for the present unfortunate condition of the factory. However, the Ballance Factory shows a deficit of over £l,lOO, and as a consequence litigation is to be resorted to, to settle the difference. Milk suppliers, with a chorus of delight, seek to repudiate their contracts and shelter themselves behind legal technicalities. Had the season turned out brilliantly and the year's work showed a profit instead of a loss, we wonder whether thero would have been just the same eagerness displayed to tepudiatc agreements and cut off supplies. Somo of the milk suppliers have also done their utmost to discredit the company, and in doing so have madesome very wild and very foolish statements, which, to say the least of it, is most ungenerous. We are sorry for the settlers who have to face the delicit and pay up, and we are also sorry for the Loan and Mercantile Company which has been induced to erect one of the finest factories in the colony, and is now threatened with loss and litigation. The present state of affairs is detrimental to both sides, and the sooner a settlement is arrived at the better, An amicable arrangement would be the best, but so long as the milksuppliers fancy that they have a monopoly of the grievances, there is not much hope for a peaceful solution. The season is now fastadvancing, and neither side can afford to be idle; it would be good policy, we think, if arbitration wero resorted to as a means of settlement, and failing that a compromise should bo arranged to permit the factory beginning operations at once, leaving the matter in dispute to be sottled in due course.