The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 1882. A FROZEN MEAT COMPANY FOR THE PENINSULA.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 634, 11 August 1882, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 1882. A FROZEN MEAT COMPANY FOR THE PENINSULA.

In this issue ie published a lettr Advocating the establishment of a Peninsula Freezing Company, and we think the writer deserves the thanks ;of the community for having -uttered 'the thought that we hope soon to see take a tangible form. In a former article we advocated the establishment of a branch of'the Canterbury Freezing Company's works in the immediate vicinity of Akaroa Harbor, but we , ha c since heard that that peculiarly inconvenient site situated at Belfast has "boon definitely decided upon as the sole site at present 'of 'the company's works. ' ' To Peninsula men, nnd many residing in the southern part of the province, this U a most inconvenient place., Belfast isn't even situated at the junction.of the Northern and Southern lines, but is some distance up the Northern line Besides, its we before said, it appears to US to h«3 t©o far, from the ship, if we accept Mr Hay's opinion as worth 'any- < thing. It will thus be seen that'it'' would ..be an, undoubted benefit.. to: many if a local company should bo established here, and the question of therporssibili.fcy. 1 of starting such a company is the next thing _ to, be, cpnsidefed. , .' think of our resources and "those. >"6f Ashburton, and ftnl them establishing ', through their indomitable pluck and 1 energy, manufactures, in the shape , of a cheese,and wopllen!, factory';, w.o' cannot * }iclp 'thTnk'ing, surely we should be;, able to do something too, to bring , our; unequalled p-istures and splendid harbor into greater notice.. To quote the' old 4t Jingo " soiig—" We've got the men and got the money too/ We have not got the ships, but thej will come'fast enough in these days of competition, if \?e hold out, sufficient inducement. , JtfoT panted, then, that there would be na difficulty, if the sc'ieme were ehown to be a reasonably profitable one, in ge&ftlg the capital subscribed, the next thing !s. is there a sufficient"•.quan--; tity of stock and. dairy produce on the Peuinsul-i, independent of outside sources, to warrant the establishment of 6uch a company. Our correspondent. gives some information on this head. He is under the mark: with" regard to • sheep. Instead of the 150,000 he speaks of, we see by the official return ! on May 31st, 188.1, that there wore then-. 1GG,200 sheep in the County, so that, : judging from the i;crease in former years, and Ino fact tlut the returns are always a little below tho real number depastured, we may calculate that after the lambing there will be 200,000 sheep on the Peninsula. We next come to the staple this Peninsula-—tho dairy produce. one doubts, that there, is sufficient cheese produced annually, to make a large Bhipmont-Home-occasion-ally profitable, as haa. been snid over and over ag.iin at the Farmers' Club. It is most desirable, by means of exportation, to establish ii minimum price for cheese and butter in the Colony. Th'Tc is an opportunity now of ensuring this boi.ng done under tho fanner-.' own eyes, in their own harbor, where they can h.ive a voice in the matter, make suggestions,

and try experiments. We were glad indeed to hoar several gentlemen, at the last meeting of the club, strongly urgo upon the mombers the advisableness of taking up shares In the Canterbury Frozen Mont Company ; and we are very glad to hear that tho appo 1 resulted in a good many applications being made. It shows that our farmers are fully awako to the important benefits to be conferred on them by the establish- i ment of such a company, and that they will be glad to support a local institution of the same sort. It is of course, as we said before, simply 1 impossible, to imagine any )>lace better fitted for the operations of a Refrigerating Company than Akaroa. Nearly all round the harbor large ships can lay at anchor in deep water, and in perfect safety, within a few yards of the shore, and suitable sites for the erection of the works are'plentiful, and could, no doubt, be procured at a comparatively easy rate. There need be no fear re.garding vssels. We hear that Shaw, Saville, & Co. are following the example of. the New Zealand Shipping Company, and geltiug some of their ships fitted to seciireu pert;6f}, of the trade ; and once a ■'company is 'properly established, and sufficient indueeinent shown, competition will bring the vessels required into our port. "•. ' •'."' ■'' , There is one other thing to be considered, and nhaji- fa,-, what refrigerating works ate required ashore ? Upon the expense of these, depends in a great measure the capital • required by the company. To be thoroughly conversant with this matter, and to have the most perfect and economically worked machinery, is of vital importance to the success !of the scheme. Now, Mr Janes Hay, who is at present at Home, has taken, as shown by his very able letter, a very great interest in the matter, and no time should, be lost in communicating with him on the subject, We are sure that this gentleman will do anything he can towards the establishment of a new enterprise on the Peninsula, and it will be a piece of great good fortune if he remains in England ; long enough to ascertain the necessary paiticulars. Possessing the special advantages o< a haven like ours, with no burning nor'westers, suitable sites close to the shore, some of the most experienced stock breeders and dairymen, best stock, and most fertile pastures in the Colony, we should be able to utilise Akaroa Harbor at lest.