CO-OPERATION.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2534, 6 October 1888, Page 2

CO-OPERATION.

I TO TILE KUITOR Slit, —The telegram which appeared in your issue (if lust Tuesday, ru the rise in the price ol bread in Christchurch to 5d the 41b. loaf, and your able leader on co-operation in the same issue induces me to write a little further on the heading of this letter. If, notwithstanding the rise in the price of flour, Canterbury bakers are able still to Bell the 41b. loaf at 3d, why in the name of Mahommot's big dog should Waikato bakers charge Bd. It appears to me that not only the farmers, but the working men, small tradesmen, and head ol families generally want rousing from the lethargy into which they appear to have fallen. They attribute the deep depression which at present exists to the faults and errors of this and previous Governments. Undoubtedly the taxation in the colony is oppressive to the last degree, and it behoves every man to urge retrenchment in every shape and way possible, but as the colony if it wishes to progress (as it must and will) cannot repudiate its heavy liabilities, it behoves tlie settlers to make the best of the situation, and to see that the value of their produce is not eaten up by tlio various rings and speculators who have been tlio curse of the colony for the last few ye irs. It is true the speculators have not always succeeded, at first they were content with land and building syndicates, by which prices of real properly were largely inflated, and the speculators thought they had made enormous profits, but as these transactions were mostly done on credit, nnny of them have come to grief, but the survivors grown smart by experience, and being of course the shrewdest men amongst the crowd, have cleverly managed to evade their responsibility and suffered the weakest to go to the ground. This is evident by the various bankruptcies that have occurred in Auckland during the last few months by which many of the oldest and most respected citizen have gone to the wall whilst the promoters (the nionied men) have escaped scot free. My object in writing this letter is to show that neither the settlers nor the working men need depend upon the Government to remove the difficulty. The remedy lies in their own hands, and it is only by the united action of all parties interested that the result can be achieved. The real panacea is co-operation, which will bring producers and consumers into actual contact without the intervention of the middleman, but as many of the. Waikato settlers are rathor more than full up with co-operation as propounded and carried out by the late North New Zealand Co-operative Association, I will endeavour to explain shortly my meaning of the the way co-operation should be carried out. In the first place it means that a number of people having interests in common should unite themselves together for a definite purpose, and there are two ways in which this can bo done in Waikato, first by Waikato settlers binding themselves together and chartering a vessel to carry their wheat to England. A vessel say of 1000 tons burthen, would be able to carry about 15,000 bags of wheat, equal to something over 00,000 bushels, at a cost of certainly not more than (id a bushel. The freight would not have to be paid till delivery in Loudon was effected, and more-

over if the farmers were associated, I think they could get a reduction in railway lreight to Auckland. Secondly, this idea should be supplemented by the excellent suggestion in your leader, that tha flour mills at Ngaruawahia .should be leased for the purpose of supplying the local demand. These arrangements can be carried out by simply uniting amongst themselves with very little expense, as every farmer who required money would be able to hypothecate their bills of lading to any of the leading banks, agencies or shippingcompanies in New Zealand, lfWaikato farmers will only depend upon them- , solves for one or two seasons, we shall soon find that the district will advance, and become as Nature destined it to be, the granary of the North Island. I had intended to write about the establishment of a co-operative bakery in Hamilton, but as the question is now Going canvassed I will ] wait till I can give you full particulars, I have moro to say on this subject but fear that I have already occupied too much of your valuable space. S.-ffice it to say that unless the public generally take united action to escape from the evils they are suffering from, they deserve to bear the loss which has been and still is inflicted on t thoni.—Yours truly, 1 T.C.if, \