THE AUSTRALIAN MEAT QUESTION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 87, 15 April 1869, Page 2

THE AUSTRALIAN MEAT QUESTION.

On Tuesday evening, January 19th, a representative meeting of artisans from various large London firms and their wives, was held at the stores of the Aus tralian Meat Importing Agency, at Norton Folgate, for the purpose of testing, on beiialf of their fellow-working men, the viands imported from the Australian colonies. Dr. B. W. Richardson, F.R.S. presided, and among the stewards were Mr. G-. F. Verdon, C.8., the agent-general of Victoria; Mr. T. S. Dutton, the agentgeneral for South Australia; Mr. W. C. Mayne, and Mr. J. Morrison, the agentsgeneral of New South Wales and New Zealaud; Dr. J. H. Stallard, and Dr. H. B. Paul. The object of the meeting was to bring to the notice of the working-men that Australian meats are now being imported into this country, and that by the use of these meats as a supplementary supply to fresh meat, a profitable reduction may be made in the household expenses of the artisan and middle classes, who depend much upon beef and mutton. The imported meats were served in mutton pies, beefsteak pies, stewed beef with vegetables, beefsteak pudding, dumplings, mince collops, stuffed roll of mutton brawn, sausages, and potted meats. The chairman, in addressing the assemblage, said he had tasted the meats aud assured them that all the qualities which the best beef and mutton ought to possess were preserved in these meats, and were not lost in the curing. Dr Stallard confirmed this statement, and said the meats might be used by all classes with profit. A clergyman declared thafc, with the exception of one or two dishes, which were somewhat salt, he could not, if

dining at a general dinner, have noticed that the meats differed from those killed in this country. A few of tbe workingmen spoke, and they agreed that the meat was very good, but they noticed some | dishes to be slightly salt. The manager MrD. Tallerman, in reply, said that the dishes had all been made from the meats which were the first imported into this couDtry, and he proceeded to give an interesting accouut of the steps which had been taken to bring the overabundant supply of meat from Australia to this country. He stated that there was a good deal of ignorance, both in England and Australia, as to the wants of both countries, for wbile the colonists believed that the meat had only to be sent here to find a ready market, the fact was there was no place in which there was so bad a market as England for anything that was new, especially (.as regarded food. Even the poorest people — the people who were without animal food from week's end to week's end — would not regard anything new ; and he proceeded to show that as fresh importations came in they would come so prepared as to require less trouble in their preparation ; but, even in the present, he said the meats could be sold at such a price as to give substantial meals at far less cost than fresh meats, the meat beiug sold without bone, and in a condition to afford more strength-forming qua lities than a much larger quantity of ordinary meat. He poiuted out that the salt could be reduced to a very slight extent by cooking the meat with vegetables, and he stated that the meat-growers of Australian colonies were now about to preserve the meat with sugar and salt, and thus to send the meat over nearly fresh, the colonists being determined to push the impor tation to the uttermost, being assured that the use of the meat would be of the greatest possible advantage to both growers and consumers. The proceedings terminated with a vote of thauks to the manager and chairman.

Ma. N. Chevaliee, before leaving tiie colony, to accompany the Duke of Edinburgh in the Galatea as artist, was presented with an address from a number of gentlemen, admirers of the numerous excellent works of landscape painting which his pencil has produced. In replying to the compliment, Mr. Chevalier expressed his hopes that the testimonial picture he was about being commissioned to execute for presentation j to the Melbourne Gallery of Arts would be equal to the anticipations entertained by the committee and subscribers. — Melbourne Paper. A Conference of Delegates from the various Mining Boards in the colony has been sitting in Melbourne, and has adopted a series of resolutions to form the basis of a bill to legalise mining on private property. — Melbourne Paper.