THE MEAT QUESTION.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3364, 17 December 1919, Page 6

THE MEAT QUESTION.

VERY SERIOUS POSITION. p - MR W. J. POLSON’S VIEWS. TIME FOR IMMEDIAJTE WCTION. Recent advices from Home concerning the -objectionable corndikion of New Zealand frozen meat in store have caused producers to be much perturbed, and queries alje.noW being :made as towhat is going to happen. With a view to‘g_etting some idea of the positioni of affairs, a reporter of lthe Herald interviewed Mr W‘. J. Polson_ _“What is the position now that the Imperial Government has practically decided-not to continue the commander of the frozen meat?” was la. question asked by [the pressman. “And when is the commission recently -appointed to_ go to‘ England.likely to sail?” ' ,

In reply, Mr Poison said: “It is not quite clear from Mr Massey’s statement whether :the Imperial Government has absolutely decided Ito discontinue the commandeer «on the 30th June next, and judging by the statement of the Imperial Under-Secretary in‘the House of,Commons, the policy of the Imperial Gov_ernme.nt will be to absolutely discontinue commandeering after that date, so that I do not think there is much likelihood of exceptional terms being made with New Zealand, even if we can'show a. case of very greét hardship, as undoubtedly we can.

“,I have always favoured the termination of the'comm'andeeri.ng, providing -the steps were taken which I proposed some months ago, and which were en- . dorsed by the_ Farmers’ Union at a Dominion. Conference in Wellington; but" a commandeer terminating with the stores glutted at Hom‘e—-and I presume that even Mr Massey is now satisfied that they are glutted, and that the figures which he quoted from «the icablegrams sent by the High Commissioner were absolutely misleading—wi‘tli our markets. either lost or disorganised, with our meat greatly 7depreciated in value through telescoping, ~bad'packing, bad bagging, and general; neglect, to quote a recent cablegram‘ which appeared in the press, is\quite ‘another story. “While Mr Massey was confident that-' the commandeering would be continued for another twelve months, it was not vitally necessary that the‘ commission appoi-nlted to proceed‘ to: England s.h_Quld leave immediately, but i Show it looks as if there was something] like a campaign at Home to discreditl l,New Zealandpmeat. It seems to 1119] lessential that some steps should be ilaken -immediately.» - 1 ‘ “Australia with more foresight than we have shown, sent Mr G. A. M. Eld- i er to England some time ago to report to the Commonwealth Government, and ‘ I understand that he is on his way back. lift is time we got moving. _lt is interesting to consider what the position really is at the present time at Home. There were no less than 263,000 tollg of NZ. and Australian meat alone in store in Great Brialtin last August (these are oliicial -figures), or, in other words,, ten ‘million car‘cases, on the top of that there is the enormous stores of the American Melait Packing houses, and South American refrigerating concerns, and, in addition, on the 30th August last there were exactly five million care:-mes--to calculate everything in terms of (50lb carc‘:<.ses—in store in !the United States awaiting shipment to Great Britain‘ (also ofiicial figures); all these without counting the quantities of meat in 1 store in Australia. and New Zealand, and the season’s killing, which was just about to begin in both these countries, and which cannot be shippod until the whole of the Imperial meat is disposed of. It is quite evident that when we come -on lthe market with our free meat, we will find ourselves placed in the worst possible position, because the American Meat Trust, and no doubt the South A.merican independent refrigerating concerns will have seen ‘([o it that their stores are being emp*i.icd and that‘ they will be in a position to import with their own shipping their season’s killings, amounting to’ over sixty million carcases——measuring beef in terms of mutton carcascs———ot' fresh killed ‘meat, which will be disltributed through their own stores to their o-wn shops in Great Britain. When we consider that the Vconsumption in Great Britain is 33 per cent less meat (in again quote otficial -figures) than before the war, and with this fresh, well got up, attractive-look ing Argentine meat selling at the some time as our stale, Ifclescoped, and un--sightly~loCkin"g long-stored meat, probably in many cases -suffering from ‘bleaching and other trouble, it will be seen, that‘ unless we take steps ‘CO -make’ the Imperial Liuthvoritiest appre-t ciaite‘ the position,=an«d realise how we ‘are being sacrificed, it will be disastrous. I am informed that Mr Mas‘say has been waiting fo’r’inforlnLa,tion jfrom the Higli Commissioner in order ‘to formulate an order of rc‘r‘.~r;-ncc for igtlze commission which is to proceed to Tinglazid, '.'nd‘ that has lacmfrcsponsible Afm-”t.]ie delay. But under the circumgjtsfanyces. which have now, arisen, I am’ ;,inclined:to-gthink that there would be

no ffirtherdelay, and that the com—mission should leave at the earliest possible date.” 1