enormous powers. Their objects are to protect the public against impure food, help the farmers by advice, and raise the standard of the colony’s produce on foreign markets, chiefly by a system of grading, which affords to the buyer a Government guarantee of quality. Dairy schools are held, experimental farms and stations are conducted, and means are taken in all directions to place the dairy industry on the best possible footing. The Department of Agriculture is one of the most important in the public service and its sphere of operations is extended almost every year.
State control is a prominent feature of the policy inaugurated by Mr. Ballance and carried out by Mr. Seddon. It has been applied in many directions, some of which are entirely new and rather novel. State-ownership of the railways and of telegraph and telephone systems excites no comment in the colony, as it is looked upon as the proper kind of ownership, and a suggestion that these public services could be better managed by private enterprise would be received with ridicule. In 1901 Sir Joseph Ward, as Postmaster-General, took a bold step by adopting the universal penny postage system. It was the first universal penny post introduced by any country in the world. It was estimated at the time that the colony would suffer a loss of £80,000 a year, but the business increased so rapidly that the loss was found to be only £34,000. In 1895 the number of letters posted in New Zealand was about 40 per head per annum; by 1900 the average was 49. The introduction of the universal penny postage sent the average up to 64½; and now it is between 70 and 80. Sixpenny telegrams, introduced by Sir Joseph Ward in 1896, represent another reform that is highly appreciated by the public.
It was Mr. Seddon’s endeavour to extend State control in many other directions. This policy gave rise to much criticism when he started on that part of his career which is marked by his Premiership, and he had to fight hard for the principle. Latterly, the right of the State to step in and take part in the affairs of individuals, competing with them and taking a share of their businesses, has been generally admitted by the people.
