Meat Importation.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume IX, Issue 917, 12 February 1881, Page 6

Meat Importation.

The European Mail, writing before the arrival of the Protoe, says : —“ At last public attention at home seems to be drawn to the profits likely to arise from bringing fresh meat from Australia, the Biver Plate, and the United States to this country, and since our last one or two schemes have been put before capitalists with this object. The Australian Fresh Meat Importation Company (Limited) is announced with a capital of £300,000, in shares of £lO each (of which £50,000 is reserved for Australia), it not being expected that it will be necessary to call up more than £5 per share. This company is formed to import by direct steamers from the Colonies of Australia and elsewhere fresh meat and provisions of the finest quality under the cold dry air system, which experience has proved to be eminently successful. After careful consideration of the various processes by which fresh meat can be preserved, it has been decided to adopt the Bell-Coleman Mechanical Befrigeration Company’s machine. Under this system, dead meat, averaging 1200 to 2400 quarters per ship, has been imported weekly from the United States of America and landed at the ports of Liverpool, Glasgow, and London during the last 12 months in the most perfect condition, and has met with a ready sale at remunerative prices. A contract has therefore been entered into with the Bell-Colemaq Mechanical Befrigertion Company for a monopoly of their system for the importation of meat from Australia. The United States and the Biver Plate trade is about to receive an impetus in another, direction, for we learn that the Great Eastern steamship has been definitely chartered for 10 years by other capitalists to carry dead meat to the United Kingdom from the American seaboard or the Biver Plate. It is calculated that from Texas or the Argentine provinces beef of prime quality can be laid down in England at 3d. per lb.” It also says :—lt should be mentioned that the Times is rather sceptical as to the success of the new Australian Company, and argues that the receipt of one cargo of meat from Australia, by the Bell-Coleman process, is not sufficient warrant for its existence. It is a wonder our contemporary has not asked what has become of the other two companies formed for a similar purpose in February and May last—the one promoted by Mr. Whitehead, the cither by Messrs. MTlwraith, M’Eacharn, and Co. It will be remembered that the capital of the first-mentioned was fixed at £150,000, and that of the second at £200,000. If these companies are still in existence, and we have not heard anything about their wind-ing-up, we shall have with the company now being formed a capital of £650,000 embarked in the Australian fresh meat trade alone—that is, supposing it is subscribed.”