THE EUROPA'S FROZEN MEAT.

Waikato Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1515, 21 March 1882, Page 3

THE EUROPA'S FROZEN MEAT.

The Ago correspondent writes :—": — " The Australian meat which came home in the Europa has proved a great success — chiefly, I fancy, by reason of the scheme for selling it which was adopted by the consignees in London. Instead of leting the shipment be taken on to the wholesale market, where the previous consignments got into the hands of the wholesale butchers, and the Australian mutton was — to use an epithet of Mrs Malaprop's — transmogrified into prime Southdown, and retailed at the same price, this meat was sold in local depots retail as what it was, and the profit of the wholesale meat salesman shared between the importer and the consumer. Sixpence to 7d per lb was the all round price realised, and this, price must of course have yielded a large profit to the importer. I have already said so much on the subject of your meat trade that I am jealous! of using up your space by repeating myself, but I may be allowed the satisfaction whichall who are mutually interested in the colonies and the old country feel at the new departure the trade has now taken. I am told that there was no difficulty in getting the retail butchers to sell it, but, on the contrary hundreds of applications which CBme in from the retailers from all parts of the country had to be refused, by reason of there not being enough meat to satisfy them all." The Argus correspondent, writing on the same subject, says :—"Notwithstanding the report that this shipment had been very specially selected by the Australian Frozen Meat Export Company and that it would on arrival give more satisfaction than any previous shipments, it cannot fairly be said to have fulfilled these expectations. The machine has worked well throughout, and has never once caused the engineer a moment's uneasiness ; but the carcases are found to drip very much while thawing, a fact which, notwithstanding all the salesmen can do, is very apparent to the butchers, and causes them to hesitate before buying, ov at least to endeavour to purchase at a reduced price. The machine by which the present cargo of meat has been brought home is one made by Messrs Robison Bros., of Melbourne, on what is known as the Giffard principle, and, as said before, it has done its work ably; but the salesmen, who have had experience in the various consignments of meat, are of opinion that the Haslam machine, as carried by the Orient and some other of the Orient Company's steamers, has proved itself the most efficient of the various processes for meat freezing which have been brought forward. The consignment per Orient some months ago certainly ' thawed out ' far better than any previous or subsequent shipment. There was then little or no waste from moisture dropping, whilst to-day the floor of the salemairs shop was quite wet from the continual drip of water from the thawing carcases. Still, before absolutely arriving at the conclusion that the Haslam principle is the more preferable, it will be well to remember that many surrounding circumstances should be taken into account. Thus I am informed that many of the carcases by the Europa were brought to the ship's side in themjdst of pouring rain, and the engineer in charge found many of them partially thawed and quite soft. These, no doubt, absorbed plenty of moisture before they were re-frozen on board the ship, and they are certain to thaw out a bad colour, and to drip very considerably. The salesmen say they believe they have yet the best of the shipment to offer, and this, too, is the engineer's opinion ; but so far it must be said that the present shipment both as regards the style and quality of the sheep themselves as well as the mode in which they have been frozen and sent home, does not quite come up to expectations, and certainly from both points of view compares unfavourably with the Orient shipment."

At his last audit at Great Thurlow, Suffolk, Mr W. H. Smith, M.P., returned 25 per cent, to his tenants. This is the fourth occasion on which he has made a similar abatement. A mixture of Indian blood with that of the despised Negro would not seem to be a very promising compound for the production of talent, but Dame Nature delights in surprises. Miss Edmonia Lewis, the distinguished sculptor, is the daughter of an American Indian by a Negress. la the United States her lineage subjected her to constant insults, and she fled to other lands. She was very kindly received in Rome by the late Pope Pius the Ninth, and Lord Bute, one of England's richest noblemen, purchased a Madonna carved by her, for £600. She can now command abundance of orders at very high prices. Genius will force its way upwards even though weighted down with the heavy disgrace arising from the most ignoble parentage. * They were bidding each other good night, the rich man's daughter and the poor man's son, when she took occasion to remark, " You say you have no expectations from your father?" "No," he answered frankly. "And all 'your relatives are dead ?" ' ' All dead, darling ; but don't feel gloomy on my account ; Fll come round to-morrow evening and all, will be bright and cheerful." , " Perhaps you hadn't better come,*' she replied, gravely, closing the door, on him; "I feel as if I had a headache coming on, and it will be pretty bficUby. .to-morrow' night." , And the next,, evening she enfaged herself to the sbn'of a Nicaragua ackman, whose «f expectations ". weKe. of - Jwge proportions, • '^-.. f.• /,