THE FROZEN MEAT EXPORT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1259, 20 December 1882, Page 2

THE FROZEN MEAT EXPORT.

'■'••- From tho New Zealand-Times.)! Bnt;—rreasuro of other business' has hitherto prevented;'my referring to the successive articles which, lately appeared in your oolumria. The first one. was to my surprisedevoted to an uncalled-for condemnation, of the arrangements made/by the directors of the Wellington Meat Export Company in the matter of the proposed shipment of frozen meat per Lady' Jocelyn, It was alleged that, as the terms of the Company's oiroular compelled shippers to pay freight in advance,- stockowners would consequently decline to send their Btock, the comforting prediction was madethat .whole affair would end in a huge "fiasco. The article was so' exhaustively replied to at the timeby Mr Booth and Mr shall not trouble jour readers* further than by remarking that, this feature,of ..the JocelynYterms was the 'same'.'asJtHat! fai acted in the.only shipment of a similar character hitherto made from the Colony, namely, that of the Mataura. The writer of the article will also .he agreeably diVap-' i pointed by the knowledge that instead of shippers declining'to supply the ! requisite quantity, the direotors'have to regret' being compelled to refuse a large- number; "of stock. ;■ ', ' ; : ; -' ;: ; : ''- ■•'•'.i , ;-. ; i ..(':,-. ! ;f

... The second of these articles ;was idevotedto the recently formed Gear company,; and* after dilating in'glowing' terms 1 upon: the" certainty of large profits to the wound up by strongly recommending'thO amalgamation ef tho two Companies.;' -The Wellington, Moat Export well-known, .was floated mainly by thVproii duoers of the provihpial district for the'purpose of .opening up the English market" to their moat and dairy producoby means'.of the refrigerating or other suitable prbbesß. That there was urgent necessity for a' fooltf ing in the world's markets was proved by the undoubted fact that the producers of the distriot had tor.years been compelled to accept:.lower prices than in any jStfeer" part of the colony, and the confident hope was expressed that the newly-disooverod freezing process would afford them the much needed relief. Let us, however, see whether amalgamation would - ; assist th<m in tho objects they have in view.li is admitted in, the case of wheat; for inatauce, that as long as'we produce more than wo consume, its price in New .-Zealand must be regulated;bj the London .markets, and as it no speoial preparation for'shipment nothing" seems simpler for a farmerthan to protect 'himself by shipping on biß] own account, if denied what he considers a fair price in the colony, Let us inquire, what the experience of our Southern farmer friends has been in this m'attor; -It wems to be thisl-That the apparent competition I of numerous banks, .companies,; and.merlchants,thefarmers have found themselvM so mercilessly fleeced that they .have formed largo..'co-operative, associations'.in .Christchurch'andTimaru, who hold themselves'ready to do all descriptions of farmers' business at the lowest paying rates,, .Happening to know the 1 chairmen of both'thoSe' associations personally, I recently. inquired what the results had been, I ,The reply-in, both cases was that very material re'ductibri? in charges.of all descriptions had been made, and that in every way they .had largely benefited the producing classes. It Beems almost superfluous to point out that the Meat Export Company holds the sameposition with regard to producers;here p : thoso Associations to those of Canterbury, but with this very important difference, Wheat and other ordinary merchandise requires no special preparation 'or expensive m'aobinery,'like moat and dairy prbdifce/'an'tt' the, number of firms necessary to do all the farmera' business is sn large that a considerable amount of competition is the inevitable .result,. .With meat. See., on the other hand, .the'producer lf'utterly at the mercy of the owner of and thuß. in.thd,event of amalgamation, they : wquld be eorcpßlledto p'ay';the Sear Company any charges they thought fit to impose, unless .they again reorganise a company auoh as a certain section of the! business men of Wellington now so kindly propose to extinguish, .But they; tell us if we amalgamate that our work will be,,done-muoh cheaper, and that being shareholders we could insist upon a,voice in the management. lam given to understand that the, shares of the Gear ttrnpany have been; subscribed to the amount of between forty and fifty thousand pounds, principally by .business men, and doubtless with a strong idea of securing the 12$ per cent, (or more) ; promised in the prospectus,'.while. the'producers' company has. received','siloh a rheagro support from those interested, that barely £12,000 has been reached. '7 '-.•-■,

Can there be any doubt lliat amalgamation wonldpractioally mean producers'raoney being made use of, while they thom'selVes'wouto ;be utterly powerless as far as in .any way . controlling the business was 'bone'erned I I i«hpttld|be/gOOT t'6/6bhyey by what I had written that Thave'any antagonism to the Gear Cqmpany. ; On the contrary,. I believe that ithei 1 enterprise Wd ; bMinesB s fopMity : hitheftojshbp* .by Mr Gear-haflf been of immense* benefit to the whole provincial diV •/" trict, and tbit the indreased .capita]' 'ss? placed nndrt his control caruqtVf&Ui to^'till 1 further assist us in developing our 'resources;.; At the same time,jprbducers wonldbeiiidM' blind to their own important;,interests they tdhandoveifioithisi or'ahyother'cbMi panythejracticaljmonbply bfXttade upon, which the future of tfeMoid'of tiie' : tfortb? Island aolarjjely dependsiri'trust, therefore, that producers who agree'witri'what 'I. have, written [will recognise the.duty of immediately assistingto inorease : our "capital to the full; limitiindicftt«4;by the prospectus, and so enable the dirootors W,oope with the large andiprofltable ftade-whioh direct steam promis«a^iipi|^^'o F conneotion,;lam^glady ; shareholdere b«en received at-2d-per. lb, • Kni f itfie"fktca of V iDßUrancejwill, tb to about fdnrgmn'eas,' ; 'theratoWOw H paid on the; Orient steamers; jjivhonrto .add the Bowß,whick received per Ban Franoi.Bco.mail, that the Erie* • ofv raeatj in.Englandih'iif reaobed a . : bur 'proipeots ( mMt ; bright: . ±> ; r '■■':■■;; >-.*;;',:..;,': VvVO. BwHiiuH. ; ; % Tttputupuru,Dtc.26.;.-,;':,;/;H._.; -p\' : -;\;^