The Waikato Times THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2048, 22 August 1885, Page 2

The Waikato Times THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

E(]u.il and exact justice to all men, Ot whatsoever state or pcrsuabion, religious or political. Ileiv >li.ill tin" Pre^s the* People's right maintain, Un.iwed by influence and unbnhcd by gam.

SATURDAY, AUG. 2J, ISBS.

The balance-sheets and reports of the several cheese factories in Waikato for the past year are both instructive and suggesth <\ In every case the balance is on the -wrong side of the ledger, yet the future ot the industry is full of promise. These companies did not grow from small beginnings but leaped into business at a bound, and, as a consequence have had to buy their experience step by step. The export price of cheese, too, is such that nothing but the most careful attention to small matters, the avoidance of all possible loss and the taking advantage of every possible gain, will allow of a profit being made. In some cases serious loss has oecui red which was easily preventible, and for which shareholders and management were alike to blame, namely, the admission of inferior milk, milk even which in some instances would not yield more than two per cent of cream. With the necessary appliances to test the quality of milk it seems strange that such a practice, and one so unfair towards the suppliers of pure milk, should have been suffered to such an extent as was proved to be the case, and it will be for directors to see that in the future salutary rules are strictly enforced in this matter. The two gre.it points, however, to be deduced from the past experience of these factories, are that the greatest profit is obtained from the making of butter and the keeping of pigs, and the greatest loss is made in the temporary stoppage of operations during the winter months. Cheese cannot be made after Apiil, and from then until the spring the managers' salaries are still going on, though production has ceased, for it would not do to part with skilled labour on the chance of being able to pick it up again in the spring. True, the work of turning the made cheeses has to be done, and the breeding pigs have to "be looked after, but the cost is out of all clue proportion. A glance at the last balance sheet of the Waikato Cheese Factory shows a way out of this difficulty, and one which at the same time will increase the leturns of the more profitable branches of the business, butter making and pig feeding. On the cheese account the expenditure waß £2,177 10s 3d ; and the receipts £-2/271 18s 9d ; or a profit of £ ( .M Ks 6d ; say, 4] per cent. The butter account, however, tells a very different tale. Here, on an expenditure of £30 4s lid ; we find a return of £10 2s Id ; or say a piotit of more than 30 per cent. .Now, if, when the cheese making season ceased the making of butter were carried on vigoiously, not only should we have the factories producing a saleable article all the year round, but the fattening of pigs and bacon cuiing would be carried on right through the winter. That season too would be the best for obtaining a full price for the butty'i",

really good bitter, o£ uiiifbrm quality such as our factories could turn out, fiqsngjl ready sale in rfcllte Auckland market, whelp it could be realised upon nt onoe, almost, as ftiade. But this impot-tantrbhange cannot be effected by the will of the directories alone. In the case of the Waikato. Factory a complete butter making plant was got in readiness at the end of last summer, but it was kept running only a short time in consequence of the dropping oil" of the milk supply. Factory company d'fctors and milk suppliers must combine to keep up this supply. If the factories are to be kept going, and it is the milk suppliers who are the chief gainers by their continuance, the farmers must show a little more attention to the winter feeding of their milch cows, than they have hitherto done, and in the future they must arrange matters so as to have their cows come to a profit at other times than in the spring. They can, if they lay themselves out for it — and it will be during the next two months that they must take the first steps towards doing so— make ample provision for the autumn and winter feeding of their cows, and lose no opportunity of procuring cows that will calve later in the summer. Crops of sugar-beet, green oats, mangolds, carrots, and other produce, which will not affect the sweetness of the butt°r, may be grown in abundance. The factories, on the other hand, must also encourage this movement on the part of the farmers by offering a better price for the winter milk supply forbutter-making. With such a piofit as was shown to have been made on the butter, the factories might easily afford to give 5d per gallon. Had the Waikato factory given fivepence instead of fourpence per gallon this winter for the milk it made into butter, tbe milk used would have cost £31 10s instead of £25 10s, and there would still have been a profit of some 1.) per cent. The factor/, too, \vhich ought also to grow a few acres of roots for winter pig-feeding, would have the skim milk for the pigs, another source of profit, so that at the very least 5d per gallon might be given for the milk. Now, taking these facts into consideration, we invite the directors of the cheese factory companies to carefully think this matter out and at once, before it is too late in the season, to call for a full winter milk supply in the coming year. If milk suppliers could be insured such a price as 5d per gallon, they would, we feel confident, set about the cultivation of the necessary autumn and winter feed, 'udeed, the provision of green food for autumn is quite as necessary as for the winter. The soiling of cattle in winter and milking a herd of cows may be a less agreeable work than it would be in the fine weather months, but farmers have no just cause to grumble at hard times if they will not take a little extra work and trouble in a matter of such importance to their own interests, as the maintenance of the cheese and bacon factories in the district.

The Pi.tko County Council, after a twelve-month's temporising, lias at last been compelled to adopt the expedient of striking a general county rate, every other means having signally failed to extricate it from its impecunious nnd very unhappy position. To our minds — and it must have appeared so to the majority of the council — no other course was open to it, and though the striking of a rate might for a time be postponed, still it was the only way out of the difficulty, and consequently had to be adopted in the long run. It will be sepn by our report of the proceedings, which are published elsewhere, that Cr. Firth proposes to make a refund to the various ridings whenever the revenue of the revenue of the Aroha Hiding is .sufficiently large to enable this to be done. Should the goldfield go ahead, the revenue from gold duty, &c, to the council will be very considerable, and though this may be given over to the other ridings, still the money cannot be put back into the pockets of the ratepayers, who will now have to pay pretty smartly for the council's unwonted liberality in the Aroha Riding. Mr Hal com be, of the Thames Valley Land Settlement Company attended the meeting, and protested against the levying of this rate, nnd moreover intimated that he would use every legal means in his power to oppose it. He contended that the council's expenditure, which had landed it in debt to the time of XI O,OOO was illegal, and this was aggravated by the unpleasant fact that the whole of the money had been spent in the Aroha district. This was a great unjust ice to the rest of the county. The rate meant a direct contribution from his company of about c£GOO, and this from all accounts would be repeated next year. He drew attention to the fact that though the Pateteie riding had contributed a large amount of rates in the past, still the company had had to form its own roads rmd erect its own biidges. What form Mr Halcombe's opposition will take, we aie not aware. No doubt, whatever it may be, it will inconvenience the council, but we think Mr Halcombe will have to pay the rate all the same. The Auckland Agricultural Company is the largest ratepayer in the country, and Mr J. C. Firth is not far behind. The other ratepayers will only have to contribute about £\ 100 amongst them. It appears that Mr Larnach has kept his promise, and has had .£3OOO put on the estimates as a grant to the council. Should this pass the House, the council's indebtedness will then be greatly reduced, and it will be able to carry on the business of the country, and give its attention to uoiks which are now neglected.

Mr E. B. Walker arrived in Cambridge on Thursday nijht, having been neaily si\ months on a trip to the old country.

Mr W. W. Crawford, of Auckland, finished the erection of the cliee-<o-nt iking machinery for the W.tilcato Land Association at Tauwharo yesteiday.

The Rev. E. H Gulliver, MA, will preach at S. Andiew's Chinch, Cambridge, to-monow, tho seivice» and music being special for the anniversary celebration*.

The Hamilton footballers are expected to attend puictice on Sydney Squaro to-day, at 3 p.m., as the return match with Cunbridge takes place on this day fortnight.

The Piako County Council held its usual monthly meeting .it Cambridge on Thursday afternoon, when a quantity of important business was disposed of. The pioceedings are published in full elsewhere.

Tenders are invited for the construction ot the To Kuiti Contract (10 { miles) Trunk Railway. Plans, &c, can bo seen <it the Public Winks Offices, Hamilton and Kilukihi.

A grand vocal and instrumental conceit in aid of the funds of Trinity Church, Ngauiawahia, will be given on Friday ne\t. The best Wailcato talent has been secured, and the entertainment should prove a succor.

The New Zealand Frozen Meat Company notifies that that it is now prepared to receive applications for space for shipment of sheep Mid lambs. Such applications should be sent in ai early as possible, as the shipping companies require three months notice.

The nomination for the vacant seat in the Cambridge Town Board will take place on Monday, 31st hut., and tho election will be held on Tuesday, the Bth September. Both candidates, Messrs Richardson and Asher, are being strongly suppoitcd.

It has been decided to send the locomotive which the Puko County Council had built for use on tho Aioha tiamway to Auckland for *ale Its nnnunnm value is h\edat£4oo. The engine onginally cost £800, and should ba very seiviceable for coalmine tramwiy-, <&c. It has never been in use.

Te Koutu Lake at Cambridge is now being gradually stocked with fish. A few months ago Mr Wells pmcuied four golden carp and let thorn loose, Fiom all accounts these have thnved, and will no doubt mcicisc. On Thuisday Mr Kukwood let loose two more golden iarp, which, with the others, should be the means of stocking thi.s veiy nltiautive pond.

" Echoes from the Cafe,"' Auckland Notes, "Nil Duspeiandum's" second lettei on fiee tiade, Te Aw.unutu Police Court repoit, therepoit of tho C.imbiidgo Town Boaid meeting last night, the Aroha Ti imway report, the icpoit of the complimen taiy conceit to Mi H. T. Sibloy, all in type, and other matter-" of local interest, arc crowded out of this issue.

In the House of Representatives on Thursday, the Lind Bill w.is> further considered in committee. An amendment to .strike out the six ye.us lesitlenco condition in the case of dcfened payment lands was lost. The celebrated Mclven/ie clause providing that no peison owning land capable of canying 4000 cattle, oi 20,000 sheep, should bj allowed to take any additional land on pastoial license or lease, was also lost.

We are requested by the ladies 1 committee in connection with the Catholic entertainment, to state that at a meeting hold dining tho week, a vote of thanks was pas>,ed to all the ladies and gentlemen who ash'sted at the Lit; enteitunmont. A special vote of thanks was passed to Mr S. K. (ireville Smith, who acted in the c ip.i city of st igo in mager, and to Mr Tetnp'o,, who performed tho duties of mu-ic.il dirxtoi, for their valuable .seivice*-. The total leueipts amounted to £14 !K, and the net amount to t!) ."is Sd. It i-> the intention of the committee to give another entertainment, wholly dramatic this time, at an early date.

The following statistics relating to the boiough of Hamilton have been compiled for the Austialian Handbook and may be of interest to some of our readers : —Ihe annual value of rateable property for the present year is i'l0,0">0, bringing m a revenue on a rate of Is in the £ of £")02 10s, exclusive of license and auetioneeis' fees, dog tay, &c. The capital value of property is estimated at £SO,OOO. The aiea of the borough it. KJ'.K) acres, the mileage of streets foimed, S\ miles, the number of dwellings 312 (exclusive of churches, schools, lulls and other public buildings), nuinb°r of ratepayers 377, number of lateable properties 730, population (estimated), 1800.

Tne Rev. E. H. Gulliver deliveted a lecture on the life of General (iordon, to a large audience, in the C.imbndge Public Hall last night. The lecture was of an instinctive and impressive character. Musical selections, \ocal and instrumental, were rendered at intervals.

The road between Ngaruawahia and Hamilton requires some little attention. There is a lug- qumtity of water lying about, and \uhicle ti.itfic at night is attended with some d.mg'i. The slight ti-tree fence which sun muds some of the nasty pitfalls is not a sufficient protection.

A meeting of the members of the C.»mbiidge Tennis Club is called for this evening at the Criterion Hotel. Intending membeis are also requested to attend. As the club is about to .start the new season, the business of to night's meeting will be of an important character.

The following special messages to the Prp«* Association, dated London, August the 19th, have been published: —It is prob able that Victona and New South Wales will be allotted L'o,ooo feet each at the Colonial Exhibition, and th.it Adelaide and Queensland divide the -pace in the annexe. The joint exhibits fiom the *-eve>al colonies of wine and wool will be placed in another portion of the building - -Mi John Kuskiu, the ait cntic, who has been suffering from ceiebial disease, is now ieco\eiing. -The pioposcd reduction m pie-.s cablegrams will gieatly depend on a leduction being made by the South Australian (Joy eminent on the rates charged on the Poit Dai win line.--It s expected that the hop crop will be up to the average. The Continental crops show a Mirplus, and American shipments are tending to depress prices.