CORRESPONDENCE

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 59, Issue 33, 11 March 1930, Page 5

CORRESPONDENCE

A. M. ROBERTSON,

A. L. BAUMGART.

(We do not hold ourselves responsible for opinions expressed by correspondents.)

HASTINGS FRUIT ASSEMBLING SHED.

iTo the Bditor.) Siv, — The controversy in regai'd to the erection of the new fruit assembling slied in Karamu road extension has given a few malcontents the opportunity for publishing so manv misleading statements that it would appear to be in the best inerests of the federation, the local association tund the large section of local growers, tliat there should be published a compreliensive and considered statement concerning the matters of pooling and central point inspection. In the meantime we 1 do not propose to discuss the slied site, since a committee. representative of the various parties concerned, is being set up imniediately to endeavour to arrive at some solution of this difficulty. It would appear to us that the matter which is causing our growers the greatest concern is that in voting for pooling (which was carried by an 84 per cent. majority) they did not realise that they were committing "themselves to the expenditure of £2600 to provide an assembling shed and the accompanying siding. This is perfectly true. They were not; and it would be possible to conduct pooling witliout such faeilities — in fact, this is actually being done at the present moment, and will continue until the shed is complete and running. What will probably be news to most of our growers is the department's view re central point and orchard inspection. Towards the end of 1928 the federation branch manager and local orchard instructor, ^cting under instructions from Wellington, made an inspection of the Hastings station yard and neighbourhood with a view to discovering a suitable shed with siding access, in order that the central point inspection might 'be brought into force in Hawke's Bay — the only district in New Zealand, be it noted, where orchard inspection has survived. The quest was liopeless and the Director of Horticulture agreed to continue orchard inspection for another season, but intimated that it must c-ease and that the necessary shed must he provided; so, for the 1929 season, orchard inspection continued. In October last, when the Assistant Director of Horticulture was in this district, the matter of central point inspection was revivcd, and we were again told that orchard inspection must cease and a shed be provideff. Following upon this a general meeting of growers unanimously decided upon taking a poll on the question of forming a Hawke's Bay provincial pool. Mr Napier, Federation _ General Manager, attended this meeting and later advised the local executive that if the poll were carried, an assembling shed would be an essential in order that definite "liues" might be made up for the

various saies which the Control Board was negotiating and also that all fruit should he sorted for its most suitable market. This information was passed out to growers by articles in the local press and every effort was made to give those concerned the fullest possible information which the local board possessed. The poll was carried and the board proceeded to carry out what they believed to be their duty in the matter — the providing of a shed which would make possible both central ooiut inspection, as required by tlie department, and the convenient sorting of export fruit as recommended by the Control Board. , An estimate of the complete proposal indicated that a levy of ld per case on all export fruit would cover the whole cost of the work done in Hastings. This is a lower charge than is made in any other district in New Zealand, and if the results from the Haw'xe's Bay pool even approximate to those obtained by the Auckland one, the penny should be a remarkably good investment. There was no hole and corner work about the proceedings. The N.F. Fruitgrowers' Federation, fts agents for the Control Board, had to provide the shed, etc.. and make the levy, and so far they have done everything in the proper constitutional manner, i.e., through their local advisory board which is elected annually at the Hawke's Bay provincial conference. The Hawke's Bay Fruitgrowers' Association is not directly concerned in the matter. During their years of trading they built up certain funds and it was considered that a loan by them to the federation to meet the cost of erection of assembling shed would be a good investment for the association and at the same time a move that would be beneficial to the industry as a whole. Here again everytliing was done in order. The committee unanimously supported the idea, and a su'bsequent general meeting attended by about 100 members, gave its sanction by an overwhelming majority, only six hands being raised in dissent. We have to tlianli Mr John Rich for his letter on Saturday night. Difficult work is not made easier by misleading publications. But we are assured tliat by far the majority of our growers are behind us in this matter and that those who endeavour to cause dissent, dissatisfaction and unrest are a very small minority. Thanking you, sir, for liaving given space for such a lengthy epistle, we are. etc..

Acting Chairman N.Z. Fruit Export Control Board.

Branch Manager N.Z. Fruitgrowers' Federation.