WAIKATO FREEZING COMPANY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 662, 22 April 1914, Page 5

WAIKATO FREEZING COMPANY.

PROPOSAL FOR AMALGAMATION.

A largely attended meeting of the farmers and graziers of the Cambridge district was held at Cambridge on Saturday afternoon, Mr J. S. Fisher presiding, to discuss the advisability of starting a freezing company in the Waikato A prospectus had already been issued; provisional directors had been appointed, and a numbsr of shares of £5 each had been taken up.

Mr Tancred Cooper attended on behalf of the proposed company, and gave reasons why it had been started. He stated that the farmers had lost thousands of pounds through not having proper facilities for freezing their stock. The King Country had not been considered at all, although tha sheep in that part had increased from 298,187 in 197 to 627,689 last year. Unless freezing works were started in the Waikato there was every probability that the sheep would be purchased to go south; in fact, the trade had already commenced, for a line of 10,000 had already gore in that direction. The Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company did not appear to have taken that matter into consideration, and even if they had done so there was the difficulty of obtaining trucks to convey the sheep just when they were required. There was another matter that the farmers of the Waikato felt keenly about, and that was that Messrs Hellaby had two representatives upon the directorate of that company. If sheep and lambs were sent to the Auckland works they were often starved for a period, whereas if work i were established in thfl Waikato there would be plenty of feed for them right up to the lime they were slaughtered. He had met Messrs Arabury and Makgill, directors of the Auckland Company, and discussed with them the matter of a branch establishment being started in the Waikato, and if that could be done it might suit the farmers, but it was for them to decide.

Mr Makgill said he bad attended at short notice, and consequently he had not with him certain information that he should have liked to put bef ire the meeting. He explained how the Farmers' Freezing Company came to he started, and described itg methods of working. He also gave information as to the agreement made with Messrs Hellaby, which that firm had carried out to the letter. He said he wished it distinctly understood tnat those gentlemen had never opposed the other directors in carrying out anything that would be of benefit to the farmers; and further that they were willing', and even anxious, to sell their shares to the farmers at any time and sever their connection with the company. They had acted most honourably throughout, and did not deserve the antipathy that some of the farmers appeared to have towards them. Mr Makgill combated many of the reasons advanced for starting the new company, and thought that if a conference of all interested in both companies could be arranged at an early date, an amicable arrangement could be ar rived at that would save considerable expense.

Messrs Ewan McGregor, F. Pemberton, R. Reynolds, J. D. P. Morgan, and others agreed, and it waa finally resolved to call a meeting at Hamilton at an early date to discuss the question of amalgamation of the two companies which it was felt wou'd be much the best thing to do.