The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1908-07-28
AUSTRALIAN SUGAR
INDUSTRY WANING
CANE GROWERS ARE GRADUALLY
TURNING THEIR ATTENTION TO
DAIRYING.

The following article is from the
Wardell correspondence of the Sydney |
Daily Telegraph:
Is the sugar INDUSTRY under present |
conditions worth preserving? This |
seems to be the problem that is agi- !
tating the minds of cane-growers to-
day The opinion of rs per cent is |
expressed by the fact that they gra-
dually turning their attention to dairy |
ing, each year adding to the number
of cane paddocks turned over to grass. |
Last year the area under cane decreas- |
ed by 1900 acres, and it is estimated !
that this year will see a further de-
crease of 1900, making a total decrease
of 5000 acres for two seasons.
Naturally this continued decrease in
c. S. r. Company, and they have inter
viewed farmers to ascertain if posi-
bic the reason. This resulted in a
meeting being called by the Sugar In
ters generally. At the meeting which
took place in the Victoria Hall War
dell, on Saturday, growers were pre-
sent from all parts of the river, but it
was very evident, from the discussion,
that they were not by any means the
fault of the government in granting a
subsidy, which was no subsidy at all,
but a cunning device to enrich their
own Golfers at the expense of the in
dustry for the government took from
the industry in excise "a and gave
back G3, thus robbing the industry of
c 1 in every four.
The price of labor was given as one
reason, but it was pointed out that
that would only affect those farmers
who grew inferior cane, and who, re-
ceiving very little, or nothing, for
On the other hand farmers who had
crops of 40 tons per acre, giving
high density, and receiving from lis
to C per ton, would not feel the labor
c. S. r. Company to blame for not
giving some definite statement as to
what would be paid for the cane when
the bonus began to disappear in 1910
Certainly they had promised to main
tain prices to 1912, but that was not
/ sufficient inducement for farmers to
plough aut their grass lands, espe-
| cially in the face of the fact that in
some instances less than Is per ton for
cane had been paid, and the farmer
been saddled with the cutting and cart
ing, costing some As d per ton. In
the event of the same scale of pay
ments being made by the company in
the future, on the withdrawal of the
/ government bonus, a large number of
farmers would be only working at
! loss, and the opinion OF the meeting
seemed to be that unless the company
was prepared to revert to the old sys-
: tenn of paying all alike a fair price of
so much per ton; the area under cane
! cultivation must continue to decrease,
and the industry finally come to an
/
end in this district
A resolution to the effect that the
sugar industry cannot be continued un-
der present conditions, was lost, not
withstanding the fact that a previous
resolution was carried unanimously,
viz, THAT the Minister for Customs
be invited to visit the Richmond River
to give an opportunity to growers to
place before him the many disabilities
under which they work" A further
resolution was also carried unanimously,
THAT the committee of the Sugar In
dustry Defence League collect all ne
cessary information to lay before
him. "-Wardell correspondent of the
! Daily Telegraph. June 13.