HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE.

CORRESPONDENCE. HONOR TOWHOM HONOR IS DUE
 Editor. Sir, —There, is one import. Nt feattl in connection with the dairying industry in Taranaki that I never seem to. hear any allusion to, and for great, number of years never mentioned in any of the New Zealand newspapers,, and that is the name of the pioneer hand of the present factory system a Mr Chew Chong who (as far as 1 know, at any rate) had the first daily factory in Taranaki up at Eltham; it may have been the fust dairy factory in New Zealand. Mr Chong was not only a pushing merchant, importer and storekeeper, having a business at New- Plymouth as weil as at Eitham, but showed his great faith in this dairying business by putting a lot of his money into it. and offering to lend suppliers the cash to buy cows with. I write from memory, of course, and would like to see this statement refuted if it'a not correct. As I turn it over in my mind now, at this particular time  there was considerable bad feeling (I think it was really race hatred) around this new Eltham factory of Mr Chong's. Some sneaky person or persons (I don't think they were any of Mr Chong's countrymen though) thought to damage his factory, reputation and. business by working up a trumpery case of alleged fake weights at the factory. Inspector Duffin. Inspector of Weights and Measures, New Plymouth, was sent for and came to Eltham. The butcome of the Inspector's visit was that Mr  Chong came out with flying colors; he was actually cheating himself and paying out more than he ought to hi» milk suppliers—the farmers. Milk was purchased by weight in those days. The informers. were sadder men, anyway; perhaps sorry financially they made a complaint.
I have made these statements off and on for a good many years now to old Taranaki residents, and have not had them so far contradicted. If I am misrepresenting in any way I shall regard it as a kindness to be contradicted. I only want to get the truth and to uphold it. I always regarded Mr Chew Chong as a splendid business man, a good pioneer, and a gentleman- Gladstone's statement contained a lot of truth in it when he once remarked that the "colonials disliked the Chinaman more for his virtues than hi» vices." I don't know if Mr Chew ChoTi£ is still alive or not, but I beg to offer one suggestion: it would only be an act of British, fair play and longdelayed courtesy to tender Mr Chew Chong; some practical appreciation of his pioneering services to the dairying, industry —say, at the coming Winter Show at Hawera. In writing what I have I am only prompted by the spirit of rendering HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE. Kakaramea, May 26. Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXV, 28 May 1913, Page 5