HANDLING N.Z. FROZEN PRODUCE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 998, 13 December 1910, Page 6

HANDLING N.Z. FROZEN PRODUCE.

s. ■»: A COMMITTEE'S INVESTIGADO .v TIONS. rt • ;, k THE FINDINGS. id 10 ■ " ■ ' 11. ' • • ° A few months ago Mr. W. D. Lysnar, c- of. Gisborne, investigated and reported on x- tho methods of handling New Zealand °" frozen produce in England. As a, result !Jj of that report, a meeting of New Zcaj s landers interested in tho matter was held, ;e and a committee, consisting of Messrs. L. H. M'Hardy, H. H. Wall, J. C. Field, (V. D. Lysnar, and H. P. Eeece, was appointed to investigate Air. ■ Lysnar's recommendations. This committee's findings are of very great interest to the : whole Dominion. We published the first portion.of them, on Saturday, and the following is the concluding-portion:— General Remarks. : In addition to those specifically mentioned above who have, been interviewed , in connection with this matter, the com- "„' mittee have caused the following to bo ,f interviewed:—The C.C. and 1). Co., .« Messrs. Borthwic'k and Son, Ltd., Messrs. , r \Y: and B. Fletcher, Ltd. . Mr. Gilbert , r Anderson, Messrs. W. Weddel and Co., j The British New Zealand Meat Co., . Messrs. Lovell and Christmas, Messrs. W. j H. Fitter and Son, London Chamber of . Commerce, Messrs.. Mills and Sparrows, !' il'he London Central Meat-, and Poultry [' 'Markets Association, Robert Cornell, meat carrier. J, ". All these people we're 'specifically asked n their opinions on the recommendations mado in Mr. Lysnar's report, and. none of them took any special exception to the i recommendations which have been finally adopted in this report. l A'superintendent of one of the shipping companies suggested that chutes " should not be used in the loading of the ships, in New Zealand, for the ren-' son that wherever the chute rested on a carcass, it causes that particular carcas's serious damage, and this was.noticeable in nearly every shipment. '-. All the representatives more or less comi plain of.the large number of.small shipments and the great number of marks ' in each shipment, and some of the bills " of lading were shown to the committee,' ■ which disclosed the fact that a shipper shipping under his main mark of, say, No. 25u, from a particular • work, the 1 classification of tho whole of tho carcasses in that bill of lading -were shown, which necessitated tho ship to not only ' account for Brand -No. 250, but also had 1 to ■ account for so many "A," "B," "0," 1 or "D's" of Brand 250, which added very. ■ much to the confusion at the London end, and the committee would strongly recommend that representation should be made to all the freezing companies , throughout the colonies to discontinue absolutely disclosing tho classification marks in tho bills of lading, merely show- - ing one distinctive brand for each own--3 er's lino of sheep. 'Die local merchant 3 also condemned the principlo of the comt panics sending forward small shipments l of meat,, but could not suggest in what way 3 this was to be avoided except by pooling. Some of the representatives complained t also, of a number of New Zealand ships being allowed to arrive about tho same j date, particularly tho British New Zea--5 land Meat Company, and they urged 1 that the shipping companies should so 3 arrange tho arrival of their boats in Lon- ; don at fair intervals, and- not have two or "more of the one company's ships art riving''in London at one time and the r same' time, as is done at tho present 3 time,- consequently flooding tho resources ,- of what must bo admittedly a badlyl equipped port to receive and distribute ) several.large shipments at the same time. . This was noticed by some of the committee who visited tho ports, when they ; saw tw.o boats from New Zealand, of tho t same shipping line, being discharged at . the same timo at tho one dock—the same > owners or agents would bo consequently , interested in the discharge of both ves--1 sels at tho same time. The departure . of tho steamers from New Zealand and ; their arrival in London should be under. . some better system of regulation so as •to time .their arrival at different dates as far as possible. Sonic of the committee inspected the docks at Liverpool, Manchester, . and Bristol, and also consulted the port, authorities in each of tho above cities, and attached .'hereto are tho main portions, of _, tho recommendations and statements \ mad© by those officials. Another matter which the committee's I' attention was drawn to was tho fact that tho following allowances or deductions [ are. made. in London in favour of tho buyer of meat:— . ;' - Every New. Zealand sheep 21b, l Every' New Zealand lamb lib. ) Every quarter of beef '. 21b. . River Plato and Australian— ; Every lamb ~..'; lib. Every 5 carcasses of sheep Sib. Every quarter of beef 21b. [ In addition, all odd ounces, in. each 1 weighing is also deducted. When it is ; remembered that the producer has to : pay freezing, shipping, and other charges | upon tho full weight shipped, 'which ; would represent a considerable item in k large lines of sheep, and .really repre- [ sents a further loss of about £1. lGs. per ' ton on New, Zealand mutton sold through London. Upon inquiry the committee as- • certained-that while it was at one time 1 the practice to allow this at both Man- ; Chester and Bristol and Liverpool as < shown by. the correspondenco attached, J tho exporters in Now Zealand should ' make a stand against these deductions; ■ as this practice is being discontinued in : other places, it should be stopped in 1 London.. It is an old-timo custom that ' should now be discontinued;' ' Tho Question of Values. '■ Upon the question of valtes,, and to > emphasise the necessity of something be- , ing done to better regulato the prices, . and - to have somo better control of the • day-to-day values of the meat sold to , Smithficld, as well as the: better regula- . Hon of supplies of meat being forwarded . into England, the committee would [ point out that on July 1 of this year . tho best Canterbury lamb ' was worth 1 5 7-lGd. per lb., and on the-21st of the , same month it had fallen to 4jd. per lb ; This drop was brought about in the i faco of the fact that New Zealand shipi ments were coming to an. end, and we , also attach correspondenco showing the fluctuation of tho day-to-day values from July up-to the present .time, i The committee also desire to respectfully suggest that strong representations should be made to tho port authorities . of London, and the Sniithfiold Market ' : that their cold storage and berthing ac- . commodation opposite anv such stores should not be leased or sold to any peri sou, firm, or company, unless it is done direct to a particular country in order to localise that country's produce as a whole, otherwise a mouopolv would be created to a few to the detriment of the many, and the committee would al=o suggest m handling and sorting any produce m any of these stores that it should bo done by the corporation's own staff, and not-by the. individual, owners or representative of the producer. Three'members of the committee had an opportunity of meeting the chairman and about nine members of the Central Markets Sub-Committee on the 27th ulto when the whole position was fully discussed ill a very satisfactory and am'icabie manner, and tho committee hope to have before they leave London some definite assurance from the Central Markets' Committee that they will endeavour to improve the present conditions of affairs so far as they are able. It is only fair that it should be made quite clear that as regards the Port of London Anthoritv leselt it has no jurisdiction or control over frozen meat discharged first of all fi.-om tho vessel itself, which is under tho jurisdiction of the shipowner (a strange provision, which wo aro given to understand grow out of a settlement which took place at. the time,of tho great dock strike twenty-one. years ago), or override into barges, which convey the goods to private or public up-town refrigerating stores on the river. Hence tho features which we condemn most strongly aro those that at the moment aro to be attributed to the handlers of the goods, outside tho Port Authority's control. Port of London Authority. We have felt, however, all the way through that a now body such as the Port of London brought into*

l! existence to rectify the very, matters of \i which we complain, is the one most fitted to grapple with the provision of accommodation for a great and growing trade of this kind. Therefore wo have had a series of interviews with the officers of the Port Authority, and "finally had an opponmity of discussing the matter with Lord Devonport, the chairman of the-Port Authority,.who gave the committee a most attentive and sympathetic hearing, and gave' them to understand that he was convinced that the system of .distributing frozen . meat iron! the Port of London is unsatisfactory. - He also stated that it has, however,, to be noted that as regards the Port of London Authority itself, it is not responfi' siblo for Hie handling of this trade, save n, and except when the shipments are land(l ed over the quay and stored in their cold [ t storage equipments. Tho main source of faulty.handling which gives rise to the >- deterioration of the goods of which you 1, complain is the passing of.them over the 5. ship's side- in barges of private owners, 1, °l! o ' ucr necessities outside the control of the Port' Authority. In view of'tho , assurances of your deputation, which, i ,V ,V , understand, ' are to be amplmod and confirmed on your ;V return to New ' Zealand, the e , ff • pn £ineer will -bo instructed forthwith to submit plans, specifications, and.-, estimates for tho ■ erection of cold storage equipment of the most up-to-date character on an approved spot in the Port i- of London's authority's docks, the most d central and convenient for which disi- tribution over the metropolis and to ine land points. ~ The committee have had an opportunity ;. Ox inspecting most of tho London dock's t with tho view of learning which would ~ be the most suitable for the discharge of ~ the New Zealand produce. It lias been '. suggested that tho South West Indian f Docks should be utilised for this pur- >, pose by improving the' entrance and males' ing, it suitable for any size ship to go I, into it, and on the side df the dock which joins tho adjoining dock that provision i should be made to' discharge at least s three New Zealand ships at. the one e time, by having a properly constructed e shed right across the pier that divides y tho two docks, the ground portion to be utilised for general cargo, and the upper '- story to bo equipped as a cold storo for s tho purpose of receiving .the cargo direct f from the hold of the ship in' which it - is suggested that it should-bo sorted and i redelivered to railway vans, cart's, or into . barges on the other side of the pier from - where tho ship would bo discharged. As this dock is at present connected ' with - the railway running to all parts of Eng- - land, and that there is 29 feet of water s at present in the dock as compared, with s 28 in'the Victoria Dock, which is now ,t used for tho purpose of discharging New c Zealand' cargo. The" committee undor- , stand that tho port authorities in any j case intend to deepen this.dock to a depth . of 31ft. Again, this dock is within an , hour and a half's drive with a loaded van f to Sinithfield meat market, as compared 1 .with about a. two and three-quarter ' hours' drive between Smithfiold and the ,■ Victoria Dock, where-the produce is at l present discharged by the New Zealand j boats-. It is also-suggested that a proper i elevator should bo provided to facilitate s the unloading and sorting of tho produce 3 as it comes from the ship's hold. • With i these alterations and improvements the . committee are of opinion that all the dif- - Acuities, and delays that are now becat sioned in the discharge of the produce . would be entirely overcome and the fa- ; cilities.would bo tho best-the port author--7 ities could provide. i " ' The Shipping Companies, i The port authorities desired to know > if their authority authorised and car- • ried" out suitable improvements at the 1 South West India Dock, would tho New i Zealand shipping companies use them for • tho discharge': of. JJew Zealand produce, i In order-to ascertain this the. committee • interviewed the three New Zealand' conii panics in the matter. They- ' wcro all- : . sympathetic and expressed their willing- > npss to use that port so long as pro- ■ 'vision, was made for the safe navigation i of their vessels in arid out. The ropresen- , tatives of the Tysor Shipping Company, • Ltd., -took au opportunity of inspecting • the South West India Dock with sevi oral members of the committee and.ithe. ; port authority officials', with, the result > that they have written to the committee- ■• to say that if provision is made-'at- those ■ docks they will utilise that dock for tho i discharge of their boats. Their letter to : this effect is attached hereto. There '~ has . been some correspondence with i tho,,. Shavr, Savill, and Albion i company on this head which is attached hereto. The two points in. this cor- ! respondence aro that the superintendent [ of the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Co. • states that very extensive alterations and . improvements have to ,bo made to this dock. As.this is what is suggested to be ; done, it may be assumed, in the faco of the emphatic statement of the chair- , man of the London Dock Authority, that ; this will be done.: So;' on this head, i so long as the producers in New;.Zeai land give any reasonable expression •of opinion, that ' they will direct that so' far as their produce is concerned; advantago will be taken', of the up-to-date facilities which the Port Authorities may provide. The other main point raised by this correspondence is that under the terms of the bill of lading with the ' New Zealand shippers, it will bo necessary to get their approval. The point tho committee understand tho Shaw, ; Savill, and Albion Co. make is that by 1 the suggested alterations the ship would ' hand the cargo over to'tho harbour au- '' thorifies to sort in their' freezing store 1 and redeliver to the shippers' represen--1 tative, instead of the ship itself handing I it' to the shipper as at present. The committee cannot conceive that tho New Zealand producer would be.likely to mako ' any. difficulty on this- head. The other 1 phase as to the disinclination of the, ship- \ ping company to come so far up the ' Thames is met by the fact that the Canadian boats still come further up the Thames than the euggested dock.. This fact, coupled with the Shaw-Savill's assurance that they themselves will raise no, difficulties in the way of taking full advantage of any proper facilities offering for the dischargo of their boats at the best possible jilace from a producer's or shipper's standpoint, so long as their ships are safe. The New Zealand Shipping Company' have not, so far, officially replied, owing- to the absence of their marine superintendent, but that company's manager has assured the committee that his company will facilitate matters iu any practical way possible. A Reasonable Request. In. view of the request of the chairman of the Port of London Authorities that producers of Now Zealand should, give them some reasonable assurance that if his authority provides p.-per and up-to-date facilities for the nandling and sorting of New Zealand produce at tho docks, that full advantage will be taken of those facilities by tho New Zealand producer. This the committee consider is only a reasonable request, in ' order to show their bona'fides in the ' matter. The committee desire to express their ' very great pleasure, and appreciation of the attitude, of not only all the controlling authorities whom they have interviewed, but also practically all of the mercantile people who are interested in the question of the handling of produce in England. On all sides, it-has been admitted that tho present system- of handling produce in London is unsatisfactory, and they, one and all, give. the committee their assurance that they will cheerfully co-operate and assist in putting matters on a better system, and it is extremely gratifying to note that thov have accepted .tho suggestions in tho same spirit in which they have been made, which is for the mutual benefit of both the people in London as well as in New. Zealand, The committee, on their part, have intimated that they intpnd to have tho position of the whblo- matter fairly placed before the people of 'oalanrt, so that the producer in New Zealand will bo acquainted, so far as possible, with all existing circumstances at this end which'will enable'.them to judge as to how they should instruct their, representatives in London to have their produce handled, and if. it should become c necessary to have the matter placed be- 'i fore the' Government and Parliament of . Now Zealand. The committee state that , they would give full publicity to any promises or undertakings to 'hare i m '. , provements effected for the handling of ] produce in London. "Dated at London this, October 19, 1910. j ■ ■.! :— 'j • i