A PROUD RECORD.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 August 1921, Page 5

A PROUD RECORD.

NEW ZEALAND IN THE VAN. MUTTON AND LAMB EXPORTS. MR. MASSEY ON TRUSTS. (Official Correspondent.) London, June 30. One of the most important of the public functions which the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hou. W. F. Miaasey) ha« attended during the past fortnight was the banquet given By the British Cold ' Storage and Ice Association. The gath- [ ering took place at the Monico, and about two hundred representatives of meat trading concerns and other allied interests attended. Mr. George Goodsir, of Weddel and Co., presided, and Mr. Massey, and Mr. Hughes (Prime Minister of* Australia) were the two chief guests. Others present were Mr. Andre Lebon (ex-Minister for Agriculture, France), Sir Gordon Campbell (Weddel’s), Sir Thomae MacKenzie, Messrs. Harold Nelson, Hal Williams, Sir John Cockburn, and others. A BOND OF EMPIRE. Mr. Maasey was called upon to reply to the toast of “Refrigeration—A Bond of Empire,” which Mr. Hal Williams proposed. He said that the history of refrigeration in its relation to commerce read like a wonderful romance. He wondered, for instance, if many people realised the factor it had been in tho winning of |he war, how that islands and continents at the other side of the world had been called upon to feed the troops in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and that without that food the troops would | not have been able to carry on? He : traced the history of refrigeration, and I the early experiments from the days of the unfortunate Australian, Mort, tc Brydone’s successful shipment from Dunedin, in the vessel of the came name, in 1881-82, and said that since then New Zealand in her exports of mutton and lamb had never looked back, and had never been “topped” by any other country in the quantity she had sent out. He spoke of the early 1 enterprise of Brydone, Sir Waltei Buchanan, John Grigg, Gear, and Gilbert Anderson, and others. New Zealand’* record was one of which she might wel: be proud. Tn the years 1882 to 192 C Britain had imported 257,000,000 carcases of mutton and lamb, and of thh New Zealand had sent 124,243,000 car* (or nearly half), Australia 54,000,* i 000. and South America 78,678,000. Mr. Hughes: a typist’s error.* ' (Laughter). Mr. Massey: “No, I am giving yoi cold soli-c facts and figures.” (Laughter). He continued that if the totai imports of Britain in beef, mutton anc l.unb were taken for 1920. it would b» found that. New Zealand came second on the list. The figures were Argentine 364,808 tons. New Zealand Australia 154.743. (Applause). To* day the .Dominion had 45 freezing works with a storage capacity fully abreast of. all requirements. The daily output of the works was 4000 cattle and 132.000 sheep and lambs. Last year, i.e., to March 31, 1921, refrigeration had enabled New Zealand to export mutton, lamb, ami beef, to the vajue of £12,328,174. cheese valued nt £6,514.000, and butter worth £6,114,000 —a total worth approximately £25.000,000. (Applause).

SOME POINTED RiEMARKB. Mr. Massey, after referirng to the increasing import* from Argentina, Uruguay and elsewhere, Went on to say that Australia, Canada, New* Zealand and South Africa could produce all that wa> necessary for the whole population oft Britain to-day, and for the other portions of the Empire also for the matter, of that. All that these countries required from Britain was a little encouragement. “I am not asking you, - ’ said Mr. Massey, “to increase taxation or to pay higher for your, foodstuffs, but if you give the Overseas Dominions to understand that there is a market for the things which they cau produce, they will produce them, and they will come back with the lUt iiey which you give them for raw material and foodstuffs and spend it in manufactured goods. That is the “Bond of Empire” of which I am' speaking. We are carrying out tho principle in the overseas country to-day. We in New Zealand are buying almost exclusively from within the Empire.”

Mr. Massey said that the price of products exporter! from New Zealand had now gone down, but the cost of freight and handling had not been reduced accordingly—quite the contrary. Tn tha early days of the industry it had cost only 3 l/5d to land mutton in London, and later the charges had-been reduced to 2d per lb. To-day, with all the improvements and inventions, it cost to send beef, mutton or lamb to London about 4d per lb. A day or two ago at Smithfield New Zealand beef had been sold for 3M per lb., which had cost 4<i to land. That could not go on. When freezing came into operation the shipping companies had benefited as much as the farmer, but to-day the producer appeared to be the one who was not benefiting at all. There was something wrong somewhere. Someone was getting a higher profit than he should. He gave every credit to the shipowners for their enterprise, but freights to-day were undoubtedly higher than they should be. In saying that he realised that coal was higher in price than it had ever been before, and that other expenses had. also gone up, but this fact remained, that if the producer was not able to produce at the present prices the shipowner ought to bp satisfied to take a smaller share for the time being. (Applause). The producers in the overseas countries were not getting their fair share, and something woiild have to be done to remedy this state of affairs. QUESTION OF TRUSTS. “A number of trusts,” said Mr. Massey, “have been established. You have heard of them and you know them. I do not care whether they are British or foreign trusts, most of them are out to exploit the public. The time will come when we will have to fight them, and it will be a fight to e. finish. I know who will go down; it will not be the public. (Applause). I hope you do not object to the plain truths I have been telling you. What I have said I stand to.” (Applause). Mr. Massey thanked the gathering, for having asked him to be present and for t its kind reception of the toast. Be also spoke with appreciation of the splendid way in which New Zealanders had been treated in London. The Prime Minister’s speech had .1 popular reception, and references have already been made to it in the daly Press, more particularly in the trade JouxnaU f