Belfast Freezing Works, Canterbury.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 445, 12 February 1890, Page 3

Belfast Freezing Works, Canterbury.

The completion of the alterations and repairs to the Canterbury Frozen Meat and Diary Produce Export Company s Works, which were rendered necessary by. the recent fire and the increase of business, was celebrated on December 17th by a luncheon in one of the new freezing chambers, at which about 150 gentlemen were present. Before the fire the works were capable of freezing 1050 sheep a day, and had storage capacity for 21,000 carcases. Now 1500 a day can be frozen, and 26,000 stored without encroaching on the freezing space ; or, including the freezing space, there is room for 31,000 sheep in the buildings. In place of the rambling and to some extent inconvenient building that existed before the fire, there is now a compact structure, in which labour is economised to the utmost extent. The valuable plant of the Company now consists of four large and powerful refrigerating machines of the Haslam Bell-Coleman patent, worked by steam supplied by four boilers at a presure of 1151 b. The two 'smaller of these boilers were supplied by Messrs Haslam and Co., of Derby, and the twolarger were manufactured by Messrs Sparrow and Co., of Dunedin, and give every satisfaction, comparing favourably with the imported boilers. A special feature of the luncheon was the frozen mutton cooked in every variety of form. Mr John Grigg, Chairman of the Directors, presided, and there were also present—Sir John Hall, the Hon. J. T. Peacock, the Mayor of Christehurch, Messrs W. Montgomery, J. Fergusson (President of the Agricultural and Pastoral Association), Booth (President of the Industrial Association), F. Banks, W. B. Perceval, H. P. Murry-Aynsley, G. G. Stead, J. Gould, W. P. Cowlishaw, E. Blake, and many other well-known residents of Canterbury. An apolgy was made for the absence of Mr P. Cunningham, as representative of the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company. In proposing “ Success to the Belfast Freezing Works ” Sir John Hall said the return of prosperity to the Colonies had been caused not by a land boom or the profuse expenditure of public money, but honestly by increased productiveness and increased exportation. There was nothing which showed this better than the statistics of frozen meat export. In 18S3 New Zealand had exported 120,000 carcases of frozen mutton, and since then we had gone on increasing the exportation till in 1888 close upon a million carcases were sent out of the Colony. This was the more satisfactory because the export of moat did not exhaust the soil. (Applause.) The more stock fed upon the land the richer the soil would become. Nor was it afact that large squatters chiefly benefited ; indeed the largest part of the Company’s customers were occupiers of farms of varied extent. The Colony was largely indebted for the success of this industry to the various Frozen Meat Companies throughout New Zealand, Jand especially to the Belfast Company. (Applause.) If not the first in order of time it was the foremost in work done. The. Belfast works began on Feb. 16, 1883, with a capacity for freezing 300 sheep a day, and storage" room for 7000. It had increased so rapidly that now 1500 sheep a day could be frozen, and there was storage for an additional 26,000. In 1883 58,000 sheep were put through the works, while in 188 S 261,000 sheep were frozen there. The Company was foremost in the extent of its operations, and in the quality of the article turned out. (Applause.) To the Directors’ judgment we were indebted for the fact that Canterbury mutton was esteemed second to none in the London market. (Applause.) Foremest in the reasonableness of its charges, the Company had obtained very considerable reductions in the freights for shippers. He only wished some of the management and energy of the company could be brought to bear in London, when the prices would be properly adjusted, and a good deal taken out of the capacious pocket of the middleman. A shadow was sometimes cast over the prospects of the industry by the assertion that we were exporting too much. There was nothing in this, properly considered, for in the North Island there were still large tracts ungrazed, and by cultivation the sheep carrying capacity of the South Island could be largely increased. As a sheep farmer he was prepared to go on exporting as fast as the Company wished. He thought it would be out of place for him to ccmdole with the Company as to the fire, seeing that nothing but improvement had resulted from it. The only fault he could find with the Company was that its name was too long. He asked them to drink continued and increasing success to the Belfast Freezing Works, and he would couple with the toast the name of a gentleman who had rocked the cradle of the Company and to whom its success was largely due—Mr John Grigg. Mr Grigg, in responding, said that those present had been asked to come and rejoice with the Company upon the completion of their new buildings. The Directors had had great difficulties to contend with, but had been helped by the generous action of the stockowners who had backed up the Company in their fight for lower freights with the Shipping Companies. It had been arranged that the price should be reduced to ljd per lb on undertaking to supply a certain number of sheep for shipment. For the coming year, from January next, 345,000 sheep would be exported, or an average of 1100 sheep a day for all working days. (Hear, hear.) The question had been raised whether it would he better to have several freezing works j in different parts of Canterbury ; but economy could only be obtained by the concentration of business. If all stood shoulder to shoulder as shareholders of the Company, their position would be an almost impregnable one. They could judge the future hopefully by looking at the past. Smce the beginning of the industry, the exportation had increased till, from July 1888 to June ISB9, it numbered 1,104,000 sheep. The Australasian had recently called attention to the great success of the New Zealand frozen meatindustry. This was very satisfactory and complimentary,coming from Victoria. The number of sheep in the colony had increased from 12,000,000 in 1882 to 15,000,000 in 1888, notwithstanding the exportation, and when sheep farms were really made productive, the percentage of increase would be much larger. Farmers should not be afraid to spend money to increase their sheep production. Our hope should be to produce for the markets of the world ; that was a safe market. For the prosperity of the works, a large and continuous supply of mutton was required, and he hoped stockowners would have confidence in them in the future as they had in the past. They need not be afraid of over - production. Once get the stock on the English market and trust to the law of supply and demand which was beyond our control. The freight and storage charges had been reduced and insurances effected in London at 70s, with a probability of further reduction, (Hear, hear.) He was confident frozen meat had seen its lowest price. The real reason for the low prices was general depression, and not the quantity of meat on the market. It had been said that too

much had been spent on the new buildings, but there would be a large saving in the working as compared with that in the old. He relied on the continued confidence of the shareholders simply because theirs was not a trading Company, and the Directors were determined to work in such a manner as bo retain that confidence.