SHIPPING STOCK.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1632, 26 December 1912, Page 8

SHIPPING STOCK.

MUST CONDITIONS BE ALTERED ? In the course of a recent,interview Mr. A. L. Joseph, of Upper Riccarton. informed a southern reporter, that, in his opinion the New Zealand Government, as compared with Canada, South Africa, and : tho. Argentine, was doing nothing to induce people to import' first-class stock ■ into' tha Dominion. In Africa, and partic- ; iilarly tho Transvaal, every facility and 'encouragement was given to the importer to introduce Jirat-class stock and now 'blood into the country. He said, ive get '■ no assistance from the New. Zealand '• Government so far as our importations are concerned; and as,we have ah.inspector in London to pass all-stud.stock, be,fore- it is shipped, this should be su'ffi'cient".security without'--,'enforcing...' rigid quarantine and ' the -obsolete rules '.which govern the .'quarantine, restrictions. : : These '.'it necessary to detail-stock- for a certain , period b;for'o being lilwrated. As far as .South Africa is concerned, in order, that the farmers may be induced to import the best stock into the country the Transvaal Governinent.ha* made arrangements with the shipping companies trading to that .country whereby tho freight, on live stock imported is very,considerably reduced; in ifact, vessels trading between the Old Country and Africa are more or less subsidised'by the Transvaal Government in ■regard to the stock,they carry. He.kuew 'that to he an absolute fact from the expressions of the delegates', from South ;Africa. who toured New' Zealand, finite recently! and he considered .that, irrespective of the fact that he was a dealer in ■a large way, it was incumbent upon the Government of New Zealand to adopt" the same methods to encourage the importation of first-class stock.

Slock Trains. Referring to the" question' of conveying stock to the, diflerent shows throughout the Dominion, Mr. Joseph said that considering that no provision for watering stock had teen niade : in'.th« railway trucks .wherein prize steek- was it was tho duty of the Government to extend to the owners of stud.stcck facilities which would 'eiyablo them to unload and reload without any extra charge. He referred also to the stock beine,-trucked for market pur T . poses, '■ and' said, that; ■as one who dealt very'largely in marketable sheep and cattle, he felt that ivherc J a stock train cost the dealer from £S-J to such a train should not be delayed, but. should be treated as. a special' train.. If this .were done, it would enable those in charge who were trucking their stock.to have them removed when they arrived at their destination on the same day as they had been trucked. As tliinprs are at present-particu-larly in the month of March, sheep did indt arrive owing to being delayed in consequence of the present regulations.until after dark, and then there was no possibility of removing the stock from . the trucks. If they- could be removed and .looked, after, the stock would not feel the journey half so much... Obsolete.stock train- arrangements' should- be - amended. He was firmly convinced that where it cost a dealer, £H0 for a train : to convey a. trainload of stock, it could ouly be regarded', as a paying proposition for the Department and consequently tho Denartment should treat such trains as specials, and thereby reduce to a minimum tho trying conditions under which stock dealers and owners work', at tho present time.