Mr Lysnar Sharply Indicts Meat Trusts

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 708, 6 July 1929, Page 1

Mr Lysnar Sharply Indicts Meat Trusts

STARVING THE FARMER OPERATIONS IN ENGLAND An indictment of the operations of meat trusts in England was made this morning by Mr. W. D. Lysnar, M.P. for Gisborne, who returned by the lonic. He said that in England the farmers were being starved because of the small prices they were being paid for their marketable stock. People at Home were realising the seriousness of the position, and an organisation had been formed with the object of combating the activities of the trusts. In his opinion special legislation would have to be passed, and that the New Zealand and Imperial Governments would have to co-operate in this. Mr. Lysnar said that since he last visited England in 1910 great changes have been made in the methods of handling New Zealand produce on its arrival at the Port of London and Smithfield markets. At that time he made strong protests against the conditions which prevailed. In company with the High Commissioner, Sir James Parr, and other New Zealanders, he inspected the London docks and Smithfield, and found that everything had improved greatly. IMPROVED FACILITIES

This was particularly noticeable regarding the handling of the dairy produce at Hayes Wharf, where all the butter was sorted in specially prepared rooms. In 1910 Mr. Lysnar complained that there were no facilities for protecting the freezing rooms when the doors were opened. Now inter-locking doors had been installed and these maintained the stability of the freezing chambers. This was a very marked improvement. Other cargo, including frozen meat, is now handled under cover. Formerly it was done in the open. The barges which carried the produce are now perfect, whereas in 1910 they were in a disgusting state. All of them have been insulated and are perfectly dry. Insulated vans now carry the produce from the docks to the stores, and at Smithfield, on this visit, Mr. Lysnar did not see one van which was not insulated. “Since 1910 the Port of London authorities have spent £14,000,000 on improvements,” he said. “There has been no improvement in the operations of the meat trusts,” Mr. Lysnar continued. “In my opinion the position is more aggravating than it was in 1910.” He said Vesty Brothers were involved. “I believe that the meat trust is now dominated and controlled by Vesteys and their subordinate organisations. A close runner-up is the firm of Borthwick and Sons. DANGER OF TRUSTS “The position is becoming very serious in England, and judging by some articles which appeared in the London ‘Times,’ written by Sir William Haldane, the English people are now realising the danger which we were fully conversant with in 1910, and about which I lectured throughout New Zealand in 1913.

“There is a serious shortage of meat in England today, and this shortage will become more acute in the future. The situaton is a serious matter both from the Dominion and imperial points of view. I followed up Haldane’s articles in ‘The Times,’ with some of my own. “The English farmers are being starved by being given so little for their produce, just as we are in New Zealand. It does not pay the farmers in England to produce fat meat, and consequently the quantity available is decreasing.” As an illustration of this Mr. Lysnar told of the pork market. The prices given to the farmer had become so low that they had stopped breeding pigs, and today England was very short of pork. The market could not be supplied even from the Continent of Europe. Supplies of beef from the Argentine were falling off, he said, and there were ample figures available to show that exports to England were growing LEGISLATION NECESSARY

i “There is only one thing to do,” continued Mr. Lysnar. “The New Zealand Government must co-operate with the Imperial Government to curb the activities of the trusts in the Empire. This has been done in America.”

There was a big demand for New Zealand meat in England, he went on. The best cuts of beef sold at Is Sd a lb., and legs of mutton at Is 4d. Yet last year the producer received only 3d a lb for his meat. “I had the opportunity of discussing the question 'with Sir Benjamin Morgan, who is chairman of an association formed to try to remedy these matters,” Mr. Lysnar continued. “His organisation is on right and sound lines, and has drawn up recommendations necessary to remedy the position.” “Who is getting the extra money?” Mr. Lysnar was asked. He replied that Sir William Haldane had stated that the by-products obtained from an animal should cover the cost of preparing that animal for the market. The animal should oe sold at the cost price, plus the ordinary trade profit. In England Mr. Lysnar said he found that English-bred beef cost 2s 6d a lb. In 1910 farmers were getting £6O each for their beef animals, and yet today they were getting only £3O.