1 Sep, 1897.] . QUEENSLAND AGRICULDURAL JOURNAL. 197 
In Australia no industry is more prosperous than dairying, and a few years past 
none met with more neglect, and grass was often grudged for the old milker. ‘This 
andustry has been created and fostered by co-operation; it employs a large amount of 
labour, and the proceeds are divided amongst the many. It is sometimes feared that 
the market can be glutted; but let the co-operate producers here loyally co-operate 
with the co-operate consumers in England—they can take all the good butter Australia 
‘can produce, and return you substantial bonus in reduced commission and charges. 
‘The same applies to fruit and many other commodities. Have your dealings as direct 
as possible with the consumer, be true to yourselves, and it will follow, as night 
follows day, you will be true to your customers. The co-operators of England want 
all you can produce-—not a little, but all—but they want it good, and they can pay 
for it, and will have it. ‘Do not ask the Government to do this for you; do it your- 
‘selves. Co-operate. Governments are expensive traders; if it does not appear in the 
charges it must come out of the taxes, and it is not fair that taxes should be used for 
these purposes. I have endeavoured to lay before you what your competitors are 
doing to place their produce in the world’s market; let the producers of Australia 
charge these markets with the produce of Britain’s sons—let Briton feed Briton, and 
the grand old Union Jack will remain mistress of the world. 
Mr. G. Stonr (Port Germein Branch) said: We can safely conclude that the 
producers generally are about the only class who are not united. There is no reason 
why they should be divided. (Hear, hear.) farmers should be in a position to 
combine for the sale of their produce and the purchase of their goods. I heartily 
agree with Dr. Ockley when he says, Do not ask the Government to do everything for 
you; doit yourselves. (Hear, hear.) The present Government are certainly making 
can effort to assist the producers to find markets for their produce. But personally I fear 
for the ultimate success of their efforts. Farmers should combine amongst themselves 
cand go in for their own undertakings. 
The GENERAL Secretary (Mr. A. Molineux) said: If they will only co-operate, 
T believe the people in our hills districts would very considerably benefit themselves, 
besides benefiting the colony. (Applause.) They raise fruit of the very best quality 
in these hills, bring it to the city, and sell it through middlemen. They have to take 
what the middlemen will give them, and they cannot sell more than the middlemen 
will take from them. They cannot hawk their produce about from place to place 
because they have not the time, and it would not pay them to do so; their time is 
wanted on tl:eir orchards and gardens, to cultivate or to load up produce again for the 
city. Supposing now that the people in a certain district were to co-operate, they 
would first establish stores in the city or in certain localities where they would have 
managers who would tell them what produce was required from day to day—that is, as 
regards fresh material, and as regards the surplus produce that would be manufac- 
tured at their own factories in the hills. An enormous quantity of produce could be 
manufavtured either by evaporation, dried by the sun’s heat, or treated in other ways, 
and turned. into jams, jellies, marmalade, crystallised fruit, and so on. I have seen 
crystallised fruit and jams, jellies, and marmalade manufactured here far superior 
to anything we import from foreign countries. You will find any quantity of imported. 
produce stacked in the windows of our grocers’ establishments, and even pickles. If 
the producers in the hills would work together they might supply the city with all 
sorts of produce that is required, and they could export a great deal of their manu- 
factured stuff, especially to Western Australia. (Applause.) I do not see why we 
should import from Europe stuff which we grow upon our own lands and much of 
which we really waste. (Applause.) If co-operation amongst the gardeners and 
frnit-growers in the hills districts were adopted, instead of their being confined to a few 
lines they could produce all the year round; and instead of each one manufacturing 
and dealing with his own surplus produce he could send it to the factory where skilled 
labour would turn out a far superior article. And prices for produce would be lower 
to the consumer all the year round; there-would be a very superior product, while the 
profits derived from a standing and regular supply cannot be realised. (Applause.) 
Sometimes a grower brings downa load of stuff, really good produce, and cannos sell it 
as he had hoped. A buyer will say, “ We have got what we want, but we will give you 
half-a-crown for the load,” and rather than take it back he parts with it. It may be 
a big load of cauliflowers, and yet it is knocked down for half-a-crowh. If we had 
co-operation, such dealing as that would be done away with, because the manager in 
the locality would regulate the supply. He would say, “ I want so much produce to 
dispose of,” and any excess could be manufactured in the way I have suggested. 
(Applause.) 
