WON FROM THE SOIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 September 1919, Page 8

WON FROM THE SOIL.

PROSPERITY AND PRICES. In less than twelve months' time producers of wool, meat, butter, cheese and some other primary commodities will lie in the market as? before the war, unless some other arrangements are made to continue the requisitions of the same. The Imperial (iovernment as purchaser and the Dominion producers as vendors terminate their contracts iievt year. The business has assumed the dimension;- of nearly £1110,000,000 (to August .list), since the setting up of the Imperial Supplies Department early in 1015. It began with moat, followed by cheese and wool and butter, and pother produce. The payments by this to August .list were as follow, the dates in parentheses being the dates at which the various requisitions began:—

To, 31st. March Inst the Department had purchased 00,060 cases of New Zealand condensed milk, for which it paid also 183,923 ting "GUixo," ' valued at' £660,768. The rabbit "pest" • has been turned to good account, for the Department has purchased and shipped 34,63!) cases of canned rabbits, representing £67,332 in money; also, 91,480 crates of frozen rabbits of a value of £85,702. BUTTER, WHEAT, AND WOOL. For the New Zealand Government the Department had the collection and distribution of the butter-fat levy. This was a matter affecting 20,319,549 lbsOf bultoT, and the compensation amounted to £'252,448. The expense of the audit, £1837, was considerably exceeded by recoveries obtained as a result of the inspection. While on the subject of butter it should be explained that the Department supplied to retailers, out of Imperial stocks, 15,473 boxes, of a total value of £(Ei,h!iS. Supplies of butter and cheese to the Defence Department reached (to March 31st. last), 10,109 boxes of butter and 10.450 crates of cheese, representing a value of £38,620 and £04,983 "respectively. Another little work undertaken by the Department for the Dominion Government was in connection with the purchase of wheat from Australia, some 1,150,000 bushels, involving a payment of £356.139.. But wool is the ''show" item in the Department's accounts. From duly Ist, 1918, to June 30, 1919 (as the appendix shows), £12.006,32 d lis 5d was paid out for 548.558 bales, or 198,950.247 pounds. The average price paid was 14.09 d per lb., say. 15d. This on account of tV" !wncri:>l Gnvernment. Local mills took in addition 18.821 bales, or ti:-!-21,():;9 pounds, coming to a total of £438,433 13s 3d. representing a purchase all round at 16.35 d per pound. Slipe wool does not come into these figures, LOST AT SEA. Of the wool sent away, 9608 bales were lost in transit, so, too, were 62,840 crates of cheese, 19.817 boxes of butter. 18,829 quarters of hoof. KHi.269 carcases of mutton, and 81,080 carcases of lamb. German submarining was responsible for this waste. The work of the Department has been most diversified, as the items above given demonstrates. It all began under the Prime Minister as Minister in Charge—and Hons. W. D. S. MacDonahl and D. If. Guthrie as Act-ing-Ministers' in charge, and carried on in his absence. Mr. P,. Triggs, controller, inaugurated the Department. It began with the officer in charge (Mr. F. H. Taylor) and four (fh'cers, including two typistes and a messenger, and all in one room at the G.P.O. It now has sixty-one officers, including forty-nine clerk?, nine typistes. a|id two Pun-rough's adding machines. A word about shipping: The vessels lost in the trade which passed through the Department number nineteen, nearly all due to enemy act ion. They represented a loss of insulated capacity of 1,830.000 carcases. Thc-e boat's would do three trips a year, so the loss of fror.en cargo-earning capacity for a twelve-month would be equivalent to 5,508,000 carcases, or ona million less than was the meat, in store in the Dominion on August 31st. SHIPPING SPACE PROBLEM. For 1918, in 52 steamers, 500,000,000 carcases were despatched, so it will be i seen how the meat has come to lie piled up in store at the present time through shortage of ships. Reverting to the losses of Imperial Goveriiin<snt cargo through rfiiemy action, it may be slated that the following were the values of produce lost: By Rotorua. £415.575; by Clan McTavish, £17,555; by' Huruniii, £598,557. Every morning, excepted), a committee meets in Wellington to consider the allocation of such space as the Imperial Government places at its disposal. This is the New Zealand Shipowners' Coniiuitl.ee. It often has the difficult task of endeavouring to make a pint-pot contain a quart. If lias many producing interests to consider, also localities and) contents (or congestion) of .stores tn ■ take into account. It is sometimes stated that the work the commit !o» doe; is influenced by what a similar committee in Alls',:< ; ilia diclrtes. 'J'h:,■ is not so. The New Zealand committee receives its allocutions direct from London, ami endeavours to do Ihe best it. can to get as much New Zealand frozen cargo into the limited amount; of space at its disposal. The : Imperial Supplies Department is in close touch with and represented on this committee. Mr. Triggs being the New Zealand Government representative. As will be gathered from this sketch l of the Department's activities, it is a I , business affair of great magnitude: its I interests are widespread, its cxpcmli- ' Iture enormous, and it yet was inaugurated within nine months of the j Outbreak of war J

40.235,732 Cheese, 1015-16 season (4/11/15) 917.74S Cheese, 1910-17 season 5,(108, 639 Clu-cse, 1918-19 season 5,427 7SI) Butter, 1917-18 season (20/11/11) 2,»:w",23ll Butter, 1918-19 season 3,01)9,375 Butter Equalisation Funds .... 395,907 38,523,003 Scheellto (20/9/15) 153,157 Freezing Companies' ollpe wool 5,310,08G Sheepakins (5/2/17) 1,947,002 735,603 1,735,305 109,034,934 The report_ of the Department presented to Parliament to ,31st March includes an appendix showing he quantities of produce handled tc August 23rd. These were as follows 2,020,141 9,592,115 11,101,398 2,200,100 1,390,874 774 1,582,302 Slipe wool, freezing companies .. 185,903 4,944,442 370.509