OUR MEAT EXPORTS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2391, 22 February 1915, Page 4

OUR MEAT EXPORTS

The Government and the meat freezing companies' representatives are to bo congratulated on having so promptly met tho request of tho Imperial authorities in the matter of meat exports from the Dominion, Apparently it has been deemed advisable by the Imperial Government to ensure that all supplies of meat i'rom the overseas Dominions shall be available if necessary to, meet the requirements of the British troops and their Allies in Europe, and that the surplus shall be placed beyond the control of those in the Mother Country or elsewhere,who might attempt to take advantage of tho situation to charge excessive prices to the ordinary consumer. No patriotic citizen can offer the least objection to this course. It is not proposed to penalise the producer and the exporter in any way. They al'e to be paid a fair price for the meat they produce'for export, but a wise precaution is .to be taken to ensure that the meat shall be utilised to the best advantage. Apart from tho prevention of the exploitation of the public in this time of national crisis it is as well to be prepared for all emergencies. One of the vital factors, in the present gfeat war is the supply of foodstuffs of all descriptions to the belligerent nations, Britain and her Allies are Eeeking to embarrass Germany and Austria by cutting off all supplies which those nations have been accustomed to draw from other countries; and equally it is necessary that the Allies while doing this should make provision for a continuance of their own overseas supplies. Wo have not been told that France has yet exporiented the pinch of a shortage of foodstuffs, but the ravages of war over her eastern frontier cannot have been without effect in this direction. It is in the near future,. however, that this wili bo most felt, and in; looking to the futuro the. Imperial authorities are no doubt considering the position of our Empire's Allies as well as that, of Britain herself. New Zealand, Australia, indeed all the overseas Dominions will take pride in the fact that in addition to contributions of. men and money and ships they—or most of them— are able to assist in tho struggle by maintaining to the full their overseas shipments of foodstuffs to tho Motherland. They can be relied on to do their share in this as in every other direction within their power. The diversion of a number of our regular trading vessels from their ordinary carrying business to that of transports for the troops and tho munitions of war is a phase of tho situation less easily dealt with. The Prime Minister has been making every possible effort to overcome this difficulty, and there is reason to believe that on the whole tho inconveniencc will be less than Was feared. It may be taken for granted that in view of the _ importance to tho Imperial authorities of maintaining regular food supplies, they as well as our own Government will seek to so arrange matters as to reduce the dislocation of overseas shipping arrangements to a minimum.