THE OUTLOOK IS QUEENS LAND.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1273, 25 June 1886, Page 2

THE OUTLOOK IS QUEENS LAND.

Stock-growing and the P-ueservmj meat Tk*de According to the " Q icenslander ” the business outlook in Vueensland is not a particularly bright nne. Goldmli ing is in a fairly prosperous condition, and if the importation of coloured labour from the Pacific Islands, Java, or elsewhere, were winked at, cane-growing and sugar-manu-facturing, which seemed to have weathered the crisii in their affair?, would go on. But the two departments of trade upon which the farmeia m&iuly depend are in a very uasatis f condition. Wool-growing is suffering seriously from heavy drought, losses, and extremely low prices Cattle-raising his also had to contend with special difficulties. The owners of horned stock are dependent £< r their income mainly upi n their annual cast of “fats”; but during the list year a large number of the her s h-ve not yielded a single beast fit for the butcher. Their owners have, indee h been lucky where starvation losses have not been sustained, for in such cases the want of fat s ock simply means the lo s of a year’s interest up m the capital value of beasts which ought to have gone to the market. Herds which have escaped the bad season and bean so exceptionally favoured as to produce tna usual draft of ftv& beasts must have proved a’moe; mines c£ wealth to their owners. For faunae I prices have prevailed, and even the misfortunes of some stockowners have been j the source of uuusud profit to others But unfortunately, as the “ Q ie?n lander” points |out, prospects for tie fuiu-e are not bright. Jn the coat districts the luxuriant crop of grass which now clothes the country moans abundance of fat cattle a few months hence Abundance in this respect means low if not unremnuerative prices, and, unless an export nvvket can be found. tli r year of plenty will be sca-oely less disastrous to the great body ot Q lemslan I graziers than the last two or thr e years or drought have been. The English marktt offers but a poor prospect, for tallow, like all the other staple products of the world, is depressed in price, aad neither fv CSS ,n nor canned meat can be quoted at oricts remunerative to the manufacturer except i" seasons when meat is plentiful and cheap. Boiling tor tallow l r mer y supplied a market compatible with profitable grazing. At present it noes not do so , ond the “Queenslander” considers that, unless the meat preserving establishments i f the colony c me to the rescue, a targe proportion of the year’s draft of fat beeves must remain on their runs engaged :n theT unprofitable pursuit of eating their ; ow i hea s Oil. In February, when the last alv cos left, there was not a sing e ; meat factory in opera ion. High pric.-e , f the live animal and high wages to employe's, combined with law prices m the Bouden market, had crushed the industry. A desperate effort was bem*. made to revive the trade, and the stockowners were being mos. urgently appealed to to subscribe the lequired to put one of the largest meatpreserving concerns on its feet again. Whether they have done so or not, we have not jet heard. I? they doi the future career of the undertaking will be watched with some interest. Up to now the venture has not been successful, but the directors of the concern declare that all that is necessary is suffic’cnt capital to enable them to continue the supply to the market iu the country until the trade which they are certain can be secure!? has been established.