MEAT EXPORT TRADE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 133, 1 March 1920, Page 6

MEAT EXPORT TRADE

" SEND A COMMISSION BOME" V - UPSHOT OF PALMKRSTON NORTH DISCUSSION Telegraph.—Special Correspondent. Palmerston North, February 29. The moat- commandeer was discussed by tho Manawatu Sub-provincial Execu--tiyo of. xllq Fanners' Tjnion at Palmer,':.g|;bu.NortU;bn Saturday. ' ■ A letter was received in which the Wanganui Sub-provincial Executive invited, the meeting to endorse a resolution ' urging, the Government to send Home' the commi66ion ivhich had boon selected some tvrelvo months ago. Mr. Tancred Cooper, speaking for the Wanganui executive, gave it'fls his opin-Jon-that the commission should be sent Home. The members would deal with tho Government officers direct, and not with tho trust, and they would undoubtedly ffain a lot of useful information. It would be a. dcplorablo tlung if ■we were going to have a glut of meat ' in our stores when the commandeer was lifted. At Wonganui Mr. Burrell had, read.a letter from Sir James Wilson in which the latter expressed surprise at • Mr. Burrell's thinking it was too late to' send the deputation _ Home. sir James had received advice from Sir Thomas Mackenzie and from Mr. t A" aid M'Lean (who was now in England) strongly advocating that a commission should be sent. J.i ' j Mr.' C. W. Duncan attributed the position to the shipping combine and the Meat Trust. It had come to his knowledge through ope who had just returned from the Old Country that the stores there wore more than full, find ' that the Imperial Government would not • let the meat out as it thought tliero was no guarantee that it would get further supplies from here at the conclusion 01 the. commandeer. It was of opinion that the people at Home would be on the verge of starvation'in the near future if Australia and New Zealand sent no more meat. Tho Americans mre in 4 sound position 1 because' they had their • Meat Trust in the Argentine. • ... Mr. G. A. Monk pointed out Zcfllfind hfld been . asking the Imperial authorities to take away tho meat in store in order to relieve the situation here, and therefore they could have no Teason to fear that New Zealand at any rate would not maintain a supply. It was. the American Meat Trust that was relieving the position to-day in that country. It resolved itself into a question whether the British Dominions could bring sufficient power to bear on tho Imperial authorities to make nn attempt to' "squash" the Meat Trust, or whether, the trust was strong enough to buy the British Government. One thins was certain: the trust was not strong enough to buy the men whom it was proposed to send Home from here and the New Zealand producers could not rlo better , than send them away immediately. There was no doubt that their interests had been neglected. He'm'oved a motion to the effect that fhe executive should endorse tho sending Home of the commission at the earliest -pcssiblo date. • Mr. F. W. Hubbard, in seconding the, motion, said Sir Walter Buchanan had stated that he favoured sending Home a commission, but did "ot favour the personnel of the commission that had been set ui). Some were of the opinion that Mr. livsnar should be included in the delegation. • . ' Mr. Hubbard- asked how many men were in a position to know what was the condition of the meat in our freez'lhg*chambers to-dav. They should make it-their business to find out the true facts of the case, and should know what the meat was like. He had heard many statements as to its unsoundness. Mr. J. Balsill ventured the opinion that, so far-as the meat in our own cold stores was"concerned, it was in' <mhd condition. ' As far as he could gather, the trouble was that the temperature was not kept to the proper nivnt. after the meat -left the stores, and this was a matter which should be looked ipto.. After further discussion the motion was carried.'