FARMING & COMMERCIAL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2414, 20 March 1915, Page 10

FARMING & COMMERCIAL

BEEP PRODUCERS AND MEAT * CONTRACTS , l I - PRIME MINISTER'S REPLY. By way of reply to the allegations ot t tho meeting of farmers held at Palmer- 5 ston on Thursday regarding the ar- j rangements made by tho Government c for the acquisition of meat supplies, tho <; Prima Minister made the following * statement to'a Dominion reporter:— ' ''I communicated with every freezing l company in New Zealand in the follow- 1 ine terms: It .has been stated to me that some freezing companies declino c to' afford facilities to producers for put- « ting,meat f.o.b. on their own account J for sale to the Imperial Government.' j I shall be pleased to-hear anything you ; have to say on this matter." I- received. rep]ies from all of the twenty t companies operating in ,Ne\v Zeaalna, and all but'one replied that thoy were l q affording the facilities referred to, but y three companies stated rtliat they had T no space to' for new business, and were, declining'-Ito accept _ stock from t persons who liad not . previously sent J stock.to. their works.; £ ; "As to representation at the confer- ' a ence.' I may say that tho confcrcnce t was called , first, of all to consider tho J scarcity of ships, but. two-thirds or j; three-fourths of -those prosent were 4 farmersT-Sir James /Wilson, • president 5 of the Board of Agriculture, Mr. John Grigg, vice-president, and very many 0 others. It was quite impossible to k have all the, producers; represented. I j" point out, also,- that certain con- j suihers!.'organisations have complained 1: that tha conference was t only, of producing interests; and that consumers were not represented upon c it."-. , -.v--;-T:- 11

NEWS AND NOTES.