November i, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
295 
fully and sorting with sieves of a very small mesh, 
but the invoieo should be at least one of 3,000 lb. 
to be a test of what an estate can produce and 
what should bo considered a purely commercial tea.— 
Yours faithfully, S 
ME. WM. MACKENZIE'S PROPOSAL FOR PUSH- 
ING CEYLON TWA IN AUSTRALIA. 
No. I. 
" Call you that backing of your friends ? 
A plague upon such backing.'' 
Henry IV. 
Nuwara Eliya, 1st Oct. 1887. 
Sir,— I am glad to hear that well-known voice 
once again crying from out the wilderness of the 
lowcountry, to the denizens of the mountains, to 
come out and help as one man to push Ceylon 
tea at the Molbourno Exhibition. The voice is not 
one of sweet seductive wooing, but sounds like the 
outpourings of a spirit terrible in his wrath if his 
behests be not obeyed. 
With what sneers and withering scorn does ho 
not write of the " men of leading on the Planters' 
Association Committee" ; accusing them of " cold- 
ness and indifference" to hi« scheme, "prejudice 
and preconceived partiality " for the Glasgow found- 
ling. He opens his extraordinary letter of fire, by 
saying "I am at one with Mr. Rutherford and the 
Committees of the Nuwara Eliya and Dimbula meet- 
ings in recommending support to tho Glasgow Ex- 
hibition." 
After having, I presume, quaffed a creaming bum- 
por of " Nahalnia " broken pekoe, and before the 
fumes are off, or the Pambagama cock has time to 
mount the " midden " and crow, Mr. Mackenzie 
startles us by denying his opening sontence, when 
he states that he considers subscribing to the Glas- 
gow Exhibition " amindirectioneffunds"l He says 
tho Committee have thrown cold water on the 
Molbourno proposal, and that my example will be 
fatal unless others with different convictions come 
to tho rescue. Ho then proceods to turn a tap of 
boiling water on us ; places us on tho fire ; and 
leaving us to simmer there — disappears. 
Thcro is not a lino in Mr. Mackenzie's letter to 
show us "liuw to do il"; and, if he is to do any good, 
ho had better come up here on the 15th, and 
give us a lead over, and I promiso to give him 
Exhibitions enough. 
I do not believe there is a single man on the 
Planters' Association Committco present at the 
Nuwara Eliya ax cling who would not gladly support 
both the Glasgow and Melbourne Exhibitions. For 
myself I would go further and add Brussels. 
Mr. Mackenzie's statements, that the Committee 
wisli to "shelve Melbourne"; are "misleading their 
districts" ; and have "assumed an attitude" hostile 
to the Melbourne Exhibition, will 1 should say not 
bo accepted by any member of the Committee. It 
is quite competent for any member of the Associ- 
ation to bring tho subject before the general meet- 
ing on the 15th instant, when, it is to be hoped, 
we will see such enthusiasm that will leave no 
doubt an to funds beiiiK forthcoming. 
The whole matter is one of funds. Mr. Mackenzie, 
I regret to sec, docs not touch at tho root and 
essence of my letter on the subject, but confines 
himself to abusing the Committee. 
Were tho scheme I proposed adopted, ot creating 
a fund, we would always be in a position to know 
what we could, and what we could not, do. As 
things arc, tho Committco could not possibly tako 
upon itself tho onus of advocating tho expenditure 
of, say, li 1 1,000- for tho two exhibitions without 
knowing where the money was to como from. 
Personally, I will go shoulder to shoulder with 
tbotu who desire to push lea at the two Exhi- 
bitions, and am prepared to subscribe on the basis 
of (he scheme I sketched out. That is, if 1114,000 
bo the sum required for these two Exhibitions, I 
would subscribe on my proportion of the island's 
crop of 22J millions, and this would be at the rate 
of 03c per 1,000 lb of tea. 
Mr. Mackenzie says he has more faith in planters 
subscribing than I evidently have. I have faith in 
the same men coming forward again and again to 
subscribe, and of a few converts, but it is more 
dillicult making planters believe in the good 
done by Exhibitions than he seems to be awaro of. 
Will he be surprized to learn that, although every 
district was canvassed and both newspapers strongly 
advocated support being given to Mr. J.L. Shand at 
the Liverpool Exhibition, the value of the tea sub- 
scribed did not amount to more than £150 ! 
The value of the Ceylon crop (the greater portion 
of which was sold in Great Britain) for the same 
year amounted to COOO.OOO. Comment is needless. 
My motto is "Support everything but let all pay." 
H. K. RUTHERFORD. 
ho. II. 
Goatfell, 1st Oct. 1887. 
Sib, — I had already put my pen to paper to 
express my concurrence with Mr. Rutherford's 
opinion that it is a great pity nothing has been 
done towards representing Ceylon tea at tho forth- 
coming Melbourne Exhibition ; and now that Mr. 
Mackenzie has taken up the subject, I am the 
more strongly inclined to write in favour of some 
action being taken to secure such a splendid op- 
portunity of advertizing our teas. 
I think Mr. Mackonzio does Blr. Rutherford some 
injustice, and, no doubt, the latter gentleman will 
disclaim any intention of throwing cold water upon 
any scheme projected for the benefit of Ceylon 
tea-growers. The object, however, for which I 
write, is to urge upon all interested (and who in 
Ceylon is not ?) to make every possible effort to 
get our teas introduced into the Australian 
market ; and as the Exhibition will afford 
such a grand opportunity, it certainly ought 
not to be let slip. Comparatively little has as 
yet been done towards introducing Ceylon tea 
into Australia, and in saying this, I do not lose 
sight of tho efforts put forth at the Melbourne 
Exhibition of 1880-81, efforts which, I feel bound 
to say, were very largely successful, but which 
have not since been adequately followed up ; 
the development of any trade having been left 
almost entirely to the private enterprise of individ- 
uals with insufficient means to carry on what 
must prove at best a very tough light against 
vested interests.* 
Compared with the number of individuals who 
through their connections with the United Kingdom 
havo done so much to advertize Ceylon tea at 
home, the number who are connected similarly with 
the Australian colonies is very small indeed, and 
therefore it is not to be supposed that the tea 
can be advertized in the same way to any great 
extent in Australia, and consequently if we would 
obtain a market there, some additional means 
must bo adopted. I believe a Ceylon Tea Uouso 
selling tea in the cup would answer tho purpose 
of advertisement to a great extent; but I do not 
think this would be sufficient. Tea must be put 
direotly into tho hands of consumers, ovon brought 
to their very doors, if results are to be attained in 
tho immediate future. 
* This, and, as wo explained, tho demand in Loudon 
for all that Ceylon could produce at prices which 
the A,; ; i .ili. Li would not pay. l'neej have uow 
coujc ucarcr the Auotrahau level,— Ei>. 
