THE MEAT POOL.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 December 1921, Page 4

THE MEAT POOL.

OPPOSITION FROM GISBORNE., *■'EXPERIMENT NOT JUSTIFIED* By Telegraph—-Press Association. ) / Gisborne, Last Night. The directors of the Gisborne Sheepfarmers’ Frozen Meat Company considered the proposed national meat pool scheme and decided that the experiment was not justified and would not succeed, while failure must react upon the producers. It 'was suggested that the present difficulty could be overcome if the shipping companies would interchange freight space at outlying ports and individual companies pool minor lots. PETITION IN CIRCULATION. DANGER OF SIGNING. Wanganui, Last Night. Mr. W. J. Polson, president of the*. Farmers’ Union, writes as follows in reference to the meat pool: “Until they have an opportunity of examining the Government’s -proposals in connection with the establishment of a meat pool I would urge members of the Farmers* Union to refrain from signing the petition which is being circulated throughout the Dominion with a lavish disregard for expense that is in itself significant. This petition demands that the Government shall not interfere with the right of the farmer to sell his stock in any way that he may think fit. Canvassers are suggesting j to the farmers that it is the Govern- | ment’s intention to prevent the sale o£ fat stock in the local saleyards or to butchers. lam familiar with the Government’s proposals and I say emphatically that such iridiculous were Jjever dreamt of. The Government is anxious to assist the producers at the other end and is proposing to set up a board with strong finance behind it to prevent the producers being exploited. “The whole question will be submitted to a conference of all the producing interests shortly and fully threshed out. In the meantime those who signed the petition referred to are merely playing into the hands of the opponents of the Government’s proposals, and by their action condemning what they have had no opportunity of studying.” PROTEST FROM LONDON COMPANIES AGAINST SCHEME By Telegraph.—Press Assn.-—Copyright. Received Dec. 29, 11.5 p.m. London, Dec. 29. A deputation -representing the principal meat companies doing business in Britain for New Zealand requested Sil James Allen to cable to Mr., Masse j their protest against the proposed compulsory meat pool. A representativi of a leading firm declares that the Gov* eminent pool, by destroying private enterprise, which has taken a large share in developing New Zealand’s export trade, will create a precedent in expropriation which may reach much further than New Zealand, and following Queensland’s action in regard pastoral leases, is of paramount portance to English financiers anc business men interested in colonial in* vestments. —Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. DETAILS BEING PREPARED. POINTS FOR THE PRODUCERS’ CONFERENCE. QUESTION OF GRADING. The details of the proposed meat poo are still being worked out by member; of the Parliamentary Committee am the Producers’ Committee, and whei the big conference of representatives oi the producers meets in Wellington oi January 10 the authors of the schem' will be ready to give fuller informatioi than was placed before the House oi Representatives before Parliament adjourned. The scheme is distinctly not a Government scheme, and it will no! be presented to the conference in any official form. The Prime Minister has indicated that the Government is willing to assist the producers if flhey adopt the scheme, but the decision will rest with the organisations that will be represented at the conference. One of the points made by opponents of the scheme is that the grading oi meat on a Dominion basis would, not be practicable owing to lack of competent graders and to technical difficulties arising from climatic conditions, variatioi of breeds, and so forth. This poinl has been considered fully, and the promoters of the scheme do not believe that the difficulties mentioned are by any means insuperable. In the first place a Dominion grading scheme is not ; an essential part of the scheme. The pool, it is stated, could be worked effectively with district grading, which would be a different thing from the company grading at present in operation. The Board of Control would find experienced graders already at work in all the meat works, and experts stats that these men could be brought into line for the purposes of either Dominion ( or district grading, with the assistance \ that the Agricultural Department would be able to give. The interchange of graders, in order to maintain uniform standards as nearly as possible, is a principle already accepted by the big companies having several works. Members of the Parliamentary Committee have made some attempt to estimate the savings that could be effected by the operation of the pooling scheme. Exact figures cannot be secured but enough information has been gathered to show that the savings within thi reach of the Board of Control would be substantial. The quick loading and discharge of steamers would 'be one of the big advantages of the scheme. One . shipping company showed last year an average of 222 days for the round voyages of ten refrigerated steamers en<ra.o'ed in the New Zealand trade. ures that have been placed before the Imperial Shipping Committee show that the steamers, under present conditions, spend from 40 to 90 days in New Zealand waters, picking up assorted con* signments at a dozen different jwrta preparing complicated bills of lading that inevitably' make for delays at th« other end. One steamer, for exampfa left New Zealand last year aftel spending weeks on the 70,000 carcasses, 107 bills of lading, an« 331 marks and grades of meat. in* maximum number of grades on one of lading was 81. H the pool couM complete the loading of such a ship a > one or two ports, reduce the numb« « bills of lading and grades to n mmnn™ and avoid the delays that occur under the present system, it would effect a ravine of over £lO,OOO in «ueh a voyag« as has been quoted, or roughly 3. per y