The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-05-17 00:00:00

THE IRISH BUTTER TRADE.

' The importance of the Irish hatter trade cannot bet
over-rated. It is the sheet anchor of the farmer there
--his all in all—the means of paying his rent and
chargft, deftning the cost of labour, and maintaining
his family. In fact, the butter is his bank. Setting so
high a value Upon national manufacture, we were the
more pained at some recent- revelations- in the great
staple of the.trade—z-the city of Cork. A very injurious
practiCe, not only to the Ctlrk market, but to the butter
producers of Ireland, was- detected, eiposed, and, we
trust, repressed; : before arty real Mischief hid beets
done.
The fatilitres Cr perpetrating 6.6 ria',l,q,,t so oppor-
tunely discovered` by the Weigh-fioVili 6d/dila, *at
so great, that it is a matter of congratulation they Were
turned to more frequent account, and thus inflicted irre-
parable injury to the butter tride in The south. The
rarity of the practice, speaks wall for the general
integrity cif the deiletei that the fre-
qtiency Of such frauds N;rotild brie" ruin r;n the tilde, and
divert to Rolland, Belgium, and the sane towns twat
demand which Ireland:now mainly supplies.
Many persons-believe that Ireland commands .the.
British market—that she is without a rival in the pro-
duction of butter—that the experts of another countries
are nothing compareftwith her own. ,This is a mistake.
The impdrt Of, foreign butter is very large, and has
steadily inereased under free. From 183,511 cwt.
in 1844 it toss to 513,396 'cwt. in 1856; • Since then it
declined tei 41,d06 eWt. in 185'7, and ftirther to 380,000
in 1858.. Of-the Vital fdreigri Hollancl contri-
butes the large quantity of 255,812 eiVt. Now it is
computed that the total quantity of Irish butter shipped
to Liverpool and London, which receives nearly all the
Irish honnieipott,i, is about 560,000 cwt., or little more
than cloilble the thitch; )V.p should not, then, have our
Hibernian friends so sanguine ahrut beating all rivals
in the British market.
The fact that the consumption of foreign butter has
steadily increased, notwithstanding the 55. duty, is a
strong proof that rivalry is not only probable, but prac-
ticable; and to enable the Irish producer to bold his
around now; When all ate placed. on the same level—
with the differetice id freight Only, Which is slightly in
favour of Ireland-411.4 shotild be Mtettli to sit Iply the
beSt pe4ible article, 'and Maintain the repdtatien for
fair dealing V;hich ha; blitlfertO aa.7ra:et6tiSed thO Irish
manufacturei add rrieraaiit; •
Dishonest practices will take place in eery trade, and
the very scrupulous Hollander has not been exempt from
the charge of turning a marc banco by tho exercise of a
knavish ingenuity. It was with no little concern we
saw, some weeks past, a 'circnlar from a -London firm,
complaining of the extensive adulteration in Irish butter.
Messrs.. Yeates; Acocks, & Copernan allege that butter is
largely adulterated, and, as allegations are of little value
withoitt proofs; they give reasons for their belief.
In the "season;' 04 it is Called; which ektends from
the Middle of May to October, iiie adage weekly'
arrivals in. London of Irish hater Were about 8,000
firkins. The average weekly arrivals this winter, when
the season was over, and the cattle are stall fed and
mostly dry, had been 12,00 firkins—showing an increase
of 33 per cent. on the summer's average. Instead of
the Production of butter declining in winter, compared
with summer, it was imtdrted at the rate of 4,000
additional firkins per week.
The extra imports must hive been the produce of
adulteration, in the opinion of our, informants, and they
tell us how the thing is done. Large quantities of beef
fat and suet are sent over from England to certain Irish
ports, where the manufacture of the spurious article is
carried on; *ith. the rid of potato starch, water, and
soda: Of this abominable compound about 3,000 fir-
kins are sold every Vieek in the lionclen Market. The
retailer who gets it much cheaper than theiitire article
—say from 10s. to 15s: per cwt.--forces its sale; and
the consequence has been that this year the import of
the REAL article has declined from 10,000 firkins weekly
to less than 3,000. This is very alarming, and deserves
the attention of all who feel an interest in Irish. pros-

parity.
The decline of the butter manufacture in England,
from the expanding development of the cheese trade, as
well as the incteasing demand for fresh milk in the
towns along the railway lines, affords a great opportunity
to the Irish b'utter producer, of which, in justice to him;
we must say, he took an hotiOurable advantage, and not
only held his grmind, but opened new markets in the
teeth Of the Dutch competition. lie does not fear, and
has no reason to fear, a fair rivalry iii the production of
butter, pork, and beef; but if this systematic adultera-
tion be not suppressed by some means or other, the
butter trade will be seriously affected.

It ought not to be difficult to discover the partiesvAo
lend.themselves to this base fraud. The farmer is
wholly relieved from blame. We suppose not oue
firkin in a hundred i "stripped" in the Cork market ;
for such impurity as the circular states is extensively
carried on in sortie ;Well-known portL The farmer
sometimes gave an extra soakage to the firkin, and extra
salt to its contents, to add a few pounds to the weight.
and depreciate the finality but with knowledge came
improved processes of treatment, and .now complaints of
dishonesty. scarcely ever occur.
Though, we believe, great difficulties exist against
the practical working of an Anti-adulteration Act, espe-
cially in the ease of articles which must unqe:su delicate
chemical tests, yet butter needs no scientific apparatus
to discover whether it be genuine or mixed with non-
butyrine ingredients. At any rate, the process of detec-
tion is far simpler, and there can be little difficulty in
tracing the nauseous article front the shop of the• London
retailer up to the Irish store whence it Was shipped.
We believe legislation may be advantageously applied
to the extirpation of this adulterated article. If a person
sells one-half hog's lard and one-half butter for whole
batter, he is just as criminal and punishable as if he
sold one-half sand for sugar, or chicory for coffee. Per;
haps it would be inconsistent with the principles which
govern the 'relations of buyer and seller to enact that no
person, subject to a heavy penalty, shall mix any ingre-
dient with a genuine article, which will lower the price,

if fraud be not intended. If a person buy a mixed
article at a lower price, knowing it to be mixed, and
where no dishonesty has been practised by the seller,
we do riot see how the law eau interfere between buyer
and seller, prohibiting the one from selling at a cheaper
/nice what he states to be impure. But what the inter-
position of the law can accomplish is this—that no per-
son shall sell as butter a vile compound of yellow fat,.
farina, and soda.

The Irish members will take a deeper interest in Mr.
Scholefield's bill afterthe very important facts communi-
cated by the London firm, who have done excellent ser-
Vice in calling public attention to a matter which so
vitally concerns Ireland. It should be remembered that
very little Dutch butter 'is consumed by the English
working classes; it is generally used by the higher, and
for pies and all kinds of pastry is superior. The Irish
is the favourite of the working classes, and in its pure
state will always, command the superiority, even at the
enhanced price of 2d. or more in the pound. At present
the impure stuff is sold as Irish firsts or seconds, and
thus the character suffers, while the palate grows accus-
tomed to the inferior article. The Irish members should
take counsel on this vital matter. Three millions ster-
ling a-year represent the value of Irish export trade
in butter. It is worth looking after.—The Land.

THE LETTER-CARRIERS', AGITATION.—The London
Letter-carriers have held a public meeting in St. Martin's
Hall, for the purpose of explaining the grievances under

which they labour. Before the meeting closed there
were from 1,000 to 1,260 letter-carriers in attendance.

A SCOTCH CLERGYMAN. ON Hl,z TRIAL.—The Esta-
blished Church Presbytery of Edinburgh have been

engaged for ten days.in the trial of the Rev. Mr. Maetie,
Minister of the Canongate Church, on charges of drun-
kenness and other conduct unbefitting a clergyman.
The charge was found " not proven," by 22 to 14.
FATAL FIGHT.—Two men,
.named Wales and
Brazier, after quarrelling at a public-house called the
'. Bell," in Cambridge, the other evening, agreed to
a fight, which shortly ended with the death of Wales
on the spot. A coronet's jury returned a verdict of
manslaughter against Brazier and Parr, the keeper of
the public-house, and they were fully committed for
trial on the coroner's warrant. .
REFORMATION.THROUGH THE STAGE.—Mr. Benjamin
Webster, who is now acting in Glasgow, has received
the following letter :—" Dear Sir, —last night I
attended the theatre. I sate you act ' Richard Pride.'
Allow me to offer you my most grateful thanks for the
great reformation which your delineation of ' Richard's'
character has wrought in me. Do not laugh, do not
scoff—this letter is no sham ; it' is the fervent outpour-
ings of a reformed heart. ' I look upon you as my bene•
factor, and I shall ever consider myself under a heavy
obligation to you. prink! drink! oh, thou cursed
demon. I have conquered thee! Mr. Webster, again
accept my grateful thanks, and de not think your
audience was unmoved ; you have been the means of
saving me from a debauched life, and perhaps more.
Believe me, I shall ever pray for your welfare while
breath is left me.—P. A. G.".
A WEST END MILLINER'S.—'S 6 were soon at the
portal of Mrs. Smith's studio. 'I confess that it is not
without a feeling of awe that I ever enter one of these
establishments.. There is a sort of gloomy solemnity
about the tall attendant who jerks the door open at one
effort, and gazes at you with preternatural respect. The
graceful page who glides upstairs before you to introduce
you to-the presence ; the magnificent ladies who, having
completed their negotiations in the upper regions, sweep
past you with a bold stare as you endeavour to back out
of the way of their amazing draperies ; the miaistering,
Houris attached to the establishment, with longer waists
and bandeaux larger and glOssier than are ever seen in
real life ; the demure reposo of the. show-room ; the
manner in which orders are whispered about. regardless
of expense; when taken in conjunction with your own
internal consciousness of the entirely trumpery natare
of the business on which you have come there yourself;
all combine to inspire me with a feeling of dread upon
these occasions, in which Flora does not seem to parti-
cipate.—Once a Week,