THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1800, 9 October 1888, Page 4

THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

Mr John Douglas, of (Vaihao Downs contributes the following letter on the abovu subject to- the Otago Da;l) TimM:-? ."

I have read with much interest the Utters which have appeared in your journal by Mr Royse adverting to the nbusea connected with the sale of this article, and am more than surprised the subject has not been taken up with more Tigor by producers and shippers, as well at by yourself (p-irdon my snyirg so) »ru•tber leaders of pubic opinion in an <ittempt to unearth the philosopher's stone, hitherto smothered in this business

The importance of the results of this gigantic industry, not only to those immedia'ely interested but to the whohcountry indirectly, impels mo now to break the ice and a*k yourself and al : interested in the well-being of the colony to study the ramifications of the business, with a viewto simplification of its tiet iiU and p'acing it practically on a sound fooling. Ido so being: thus impressed with the importance of the question relating tr an hontßt mode of distribution of thic article, aud one best suited to conserve the interests of producm and shippnrs; and also suited to brine: tlu article within di-ect touch of consumer> thus avoiding present multifanou handlings, and thereby s»ving not onl. the expense of these worse than unnecs■ary manipulations : but in great removing that'opportunity of falsifying the quality by substituting South American or other inferior qualities for Now Zealand multon, and vice versa.

So much spurious mn'eriul sold as No* Zealand rouUon Ims furnished » bad n*rt> and lt'.w quota:iona for the latter, which tli9 specu ator ib Dot slow to ti.ko advantage of, and accounts fur the dinpnaging Miaaiks that have hitherto b'-en made respecting if. The greatest enemy of New Zealand could sot hone-tly cr faHy casi rcflectioufl upon the quu'ity of the N*w Zealand mutton phippad Home, because, as a rule, it is the yeiy bsst of the bett that is shipped.

That the New Zealand mutton busineshas beer ruinously affected from thes> cause?, the returns of the bulk of the shipments for the past fcW years unfortunately demonstrate wi'h a vengeance. 80 well have tha middlemen succeeded in their manipulations *u« misrepresentations of this article to theii own advantage and shippers' los3, m>ker the quest'on of now placing the business upon a sound footing more difficult to attain thuo if this deception had not been ■0 successfully inaugurated ; and in making this attempt, 1 would ask growernot to lose sight ot the f-<ct of how tin reputation of this product Is advers'-ly handicapped by these past jjrncLices. Yo I hold that although the difficulty is great, growers and shippers wi.l, if united in their action, succeed in extricating themselves from the trammels which at present involve the business in mystery and ruinous loss.

One would be almost justified in assuming that the directors of our New Zealand Frozen Meat Company are somewhat oblivious to the actual results of >h> business to producers—that is assuming the result to producers to be the crucial test of success. And if the directors aim shareholders at last general meeting han studied that subject even a little, thc> would not then have seen much re cause for congratulation u|iOn their handsome dividend, because a moment'* reflection exhibits the fact that the. freezing charges in many instance amount to as much as the actual net rtturns ot (he mutton itself, In slating this, I fancy I have said enough lo justify my adverting to thy more important question viz., tht righting of this state of thiDgs.

That the company's present mode of disposing of the mutton is anomalous, ] will try to illustrate : Would shippers of wool be content to send their severa clips to any large manufacturer, am leave him to pay them what he chose to give, besides charging the.n a commission for S 9 doing 1

I answer, to do so would be looked upon bb an act of insanity, and would bo courting the ruin which would deservedly "D<i inevitably follow. Well, this is just what our Company has been and is doing. Ti lie, the loss through Messrs Bell and Sons inot so heavy bs was that through Messrs Nelson Bros., and may be compared ic getting out of the fire by escaping \nt< the frying-pan.

Some have argued that selling Ihroiißh Messrs Bell and Sons, who ban 260 ehOj-S of their own, gave great facilities; but these facilities cut two ways, apparently. It was only the other d*y that Messrs Bell an.l Sons sold ihe goodwill of their shops or business to a limited conlpuny for £300,000 sterling, while at the same time growers have bet-n finding their returns the reveise of profitable. The loss of weights alone, miiunil y assisted in (fleeting these bid results. But, to call a spade a spade, I unhes - tatiugly Bay it would be placing tht toropaDy, as well as the Messrs B ll or any other house, in a false position to ;.si< them as agents to sell for us our mutton to themselves. Tie piinciple is wrong and rotten to the core, and that the resume hitherto have been mosi disastrous is dm to be wondered at; the woni'.r woniri have been had it been otherwise. No: being 3Q the spot pieven's one tracing individual traunactioiiß, but tnke as »ii illustration :—A few weeks ago snEng psi medicaleipert pronounced New Zea'aii frozen inn l ton more wholesome than English, ihe New Zealand being fed on natural products, and n>t on oilei.ke and other artificial food, as is the c»se will the Ho'me mutton. Thif, coupled wi I. the falling off of supp ies from Sum' Ameiica and the backward season fo fattening-in Great Britain, had the eff«e> of •mptying the fruzen miltoo chamber in London. If we then had rind an agem in London engaged in our interests exclusively handling our mutton, would this advent not have afforded the opportunity of riDging tlie changes, and raising the price to something like its real aorm.ii value, which has not been lha case fur many a long day 1 But, no, our agents anticipate the advance and secure by cablegram the bulk of the Fifeshire's shipment at less than the theu maiket price. I protested against Ihi* on principle, aod pointed ou* at, the time that ihe otherwise inevitable further .rise would be checked, and the resu t, to "nge a s -ck exibange term, would b« to „ bear the maiket, " and my prediction has unfortunately proved to bu too true.

Ii is not centime biiMness for a uian n? iapnt, to bo buyer of the nrticlo and seller f it to himself at one and the same tint'. vVheo I was in Dimness at Homo sncl (induct *'ould hav« De«n tabooed as most eprflheiisible. Now fiom what I have just etatod, upon ths authority of an Jiluglish medical exp»rt, it is evident that tho reputation oi N*w Ze bind motion is already nil bu favourably sstabiifhed, and would be, were sufficient p'ins now takon lo demooßtrntf this to Homo conßttmern.

Would our telling agentc, I s»k, whe •iro in many instances also tho buynf> liems»lves of our mutton, be likely it break their own heads hy raiHng the price agiinst themaelTes? The folution of tliiiproblem does not need abstruse mt>t<nhysxal reaeiirch. But a 3 a permanen' sohiiion of the distribution difficulty, I propose tVat we appoint at Tome, <xc usively iu our own interests, a respousibh lUipabie man to take charge of tho whoti ■if <>ur shipments, and who, while ready t' ell to butchers and middlemen, would .*• 'he same time wffer faci iti h to suitab e. "titerprisiug men, for the opening of Now Zealand fioztn mutton stores in densely populated districts, taking security for ■heir intromissions, he guaranteeing t< <>i;.ply them «t a fixed price. In writing his I have a case in my mind's eye of a

.• ntlem>n who left New Zealand mic a New Zealand frozen mutto* iiore in the South of England with such success that he shortly thereafter s'art-i' i second, and has now a third, all rnnnini: successfully. There is nothing in tin circumstances to present any capable ag'.nt of ours from supplying 500 such stores, and oven these would not exhaust a tithe of the field.

Before erne-tiding, I would refer to the •'mportant ques'.ion of indelibly fiie branding as New Zaa'and each ehsnkbono ol tde mu'ton sent Home, and selling it as such. I hare already made several it.ffocHial attempts to secure this boing done. One of the chief arguments uti! by tlio directors ngninst this wis th >< doing so would preclude dealers from palming it off as Home mutton, To thi;. I r-piied trwt no good to New Zaalan.-i growers could possibly be gained by such fniud, but the reverse—y z,. that the good name of Now Zealand mutton would be sacrificed through inferior mutton lx-i»g substituted for that of New ZdHlaod.* lint to make a bad nam? Lit New Zealand mutton, ami thereby secure for it a ioti quotation as a bum's for Home pur pes-, appears to h-.ve been a leading ohject with the Home dealers. And who will que.s'ion they have not in this im-at successful 1

1 hive Hfiked one or two persuns interested 'n this matter to join with a view to initialing measures for the appointment cf an agent in London, exclusively in om ovu inn-reels, to look lifter our frozen mutton bucii ?S8 theie ; and from what I nave written r.ny ingenious person, gif o i with ordinary common sensa, must admii that this is abso utely cal U-d for, alike i : our own interest ond in that of the country at l«rge.