ENGLISH EYES AND OUR MEAT

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 701, 29 December 1909, Page 8

ENGLISH EYES AND OUR MEAT

o, ;: A. woil-kVown',. settlor of Havke's.'Bay e recohtly'rcceivod'a.lettor "frbni.a. friend B in England,- who' Wrote some things that i sound, appropriate: on the eve of the a coming Wellington Meat Conference. He s said:— .. ""■ '('■■■' f -"Had tile output of New Zealand been f evenly; distributed ■; over,; say, six months, Ji thore, : would"n'(3ver,havo-'been such dis- ' astrously low, price's, or such a jump as |: has^'now), happened; 1 "with "the conset quences I .that "business is..completely disi- organised and trade almost.at a stand- .-. still.'These.".Violent fluctuations do .an •11 immense, amount of'harm in. w>ys,thatn r are libt at--6nce''apparent.r,l am strongly -' ofopinion'that''you''will' never improve o matters much until the-farmers, specuo lators and freozinf' works managers can i all combine 'and in somo way regulate o and arrange, -the 'shipments for each 0 month.; -Of course, ,it would.be much a better to slaughter the stock as. required, v bjt I'\know the.difficulties of. feed, etc. v If."thia : -;cannot.'.be/db'aa,. you must have, p -more storage,,and hold,the:meat in.that f way, as the cost;of -storage, in : New Zeau land would'b'S'nrubu-'lessithjin! here.. At. s the same ,time,' long, storage anywhere is • very undesirable, as there is loss in s :.*eight;V l an'df-:tb,e';:ine! i t.'-8 0 ??. OS col ' )ur > t !more.or'.less...■;,':-/:-' '.'■'• ~ . .'■•' ..".' • "Asi; to" regulating prices, -that is quite ,-' impossible as long as'moat is sold in Men \ Zealand, either, ci.f. or to speculators. , It would have to be sent to London to, j say, halfVa dozen reltablo firms, who 1 should have sole control and arrange .• prices, ."etc;,; /according to market condie tioni'fi'-v':'.-.■.-• :tv.v--.-X'- : .'"' : - ' :.' ~ .. '•- '>/."It'sva^ : giw'fe'miStjiKe : 'J'ftiJ?sßppose that s .while, the. meat' : :wa3?sorcheap at Home a : butchers maintained' usual' prices. No i' doubt ■■', a. few High class shops,, selling • j mostly English • meat,- .did... not reduce B l .prices much,-but;they:were.'quite thb-ex!-. b' ception,'-the great'iriajority.selling at'.cutiv ithrbat prices,,;as :they-always.do. ' 'I've ■ • seen mvself/'good' legs of mutton sold..as j' low as 3d.-a lb., with other joints in proj "portion.:'. I tell you positively .the .shop'; . business is'no good to anyone but a man. ": whb can' manage his own business. ;,I k know/of a company with shops in spleiH i did"-positions : which spent on ' them.-.-The-shops-have now got in a . bank's hands, who would gladly accept 1 J68000.; So you see' its quite a mistake to:, ; suppose that/.the iEnglish bntcher,is coin-; 'j ing money but:of bur meat.", - :