The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, SEPT. 1 1883. Meat Export.

Feilding Star, Volume IV, Issue 38, 1 September 1883, Page 2

The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, SEPT. 1 1883. Meat Export.

At the second annual meeting- of the Wellington Meat Export Couk'Uuv, held last Wednesday, the Chairman, Mr W. C. Bvchvnan, .M U.K., B.ii<i: — "l.'egarditi" tlie obtaining suppiijs from tlie WeJt Coast, lie mi_ht say that little had been accmujilisln d a>yet, but the Directors bop d to inakf.; arrangements shortly for briuginj" down stock alive, or else in a frozen state, by a vessel designed for that purpose. He regretted that the overtures received from Marlborough, Wanganui and Patea districts, thoug-h fiirlv satisfactory, were not so gooj as the Directors had anticipated.'' Mr Nathan said " that flock owners had entered cordially into the speculation, but had left the heat and burden of the day to the shareholders. Had the shippers taken mure shares in the Company, their profits wou'.d have beec larger, and what th<;y had taken out of one pocket in the purchase of shares they would have been enabled to put back again in the other pocke.t in the shape of dividends ." Mr Colman Phillips considered that the Wellington people should hav° taken up usore shares in the Company, and not have left the enterprise so much to the shippi-rs. In order to wan; shippers to send away none but gooM sheep; he said he hod only netted 4* on his shipment by tiie Lady Jocelyn. whilst another shipper had got 5s and another had averaged 9s. Mr John Stkve.ns, M H.R., said that if the Company made 12 shipments per y^ar, and each shipment gained for the Company the same amount ol profit as accrued from the Lady Jucelyn ship ment, shareholders would obtain a profit of 120 per cent, per annum. It will be seen from the foregoing that although the business of meat exportation is now proved to be a most profitable one, yet the amount of ■■ utside support received fmm the general public by tiie companies formed for this puniose is remarkably limited. We do not consider lhat an}' one class of settlers more than another should be expected to contribute towards the furtherance of this new industry, but we believe that if those most directly interested, and who are the stock-raisers and sheep-far-mers, took or even pretended to take, a more lively interest in the schem s by which they may be expected to benefit so much, a great deal more

would be done, ami complaints from the Directors of Companies would not be so opeuly expressed as they wpre at the meeting now under consideration. We admit that stock-growers are already supplying 1 a certain proportion of capital indirectly in the shape of their herds ot cattle and sheep, but they must not rest content with this, which is, after all, merely passive support, and is not brought into activity until vitality is infused by the mone} r which proceeds from rhe Company, that purchases their stock for trade purposes. 'J hey must become shareholder* themselves to encourage the outside people to rio so and not only that, but active workers :is well on the Directories, wh re their knowledge of the varieties in the bre< d and quality of animals suitable for the Home market would be mo t profitably exercised for the benefit of ;til concerned. As regards the failure of the VV est Coant to forward a fair shure of live stock, steps ure now heinjr taken to overcome some of tho difficulties which have sto<>v| in the way of those settlers desirous of forwarding stock to the Wellington Freezing Work*. The Railway Manager, Mr Rothekam, has offered to run eight - hour stock trains from Mdiiiitahi to Foxton, and the necebsary tracks are now prepared. Excellent yards have also boeu built at. Fatea for receiving or landini* stock for shipping. Id is also proposed to

(Uilli d Itlfjf : jdUii I') CUITj CUll.ii; UVe; i\\u Manawatu, and it is understood that the VYeihu^'uu tlonijiany will >übscribe £'00 towards irs civ-t. i ; i.s evident thfu that everything; is beinjr done to promote the reeat export busiue.-s that is possible by the few win) have foresight enough to perceive the enormous advantages that will accrue to then; ia Hie near future. A foretaste? of tin's is giveu by the larjje returns obtained by the sale of thfi cargo of the lonic, and will be a direct. encoura-Tui ut to the trade all *'Ver the Oolonv.