MR THOMAS RUSSELL ON THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1853, 22 May 1884, Page 2

MR THOMAS RUSSELL ON THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

. « Mr T. RubSELL, C. M. G., presided over the first meeting of the shareholders of the New Zealand Land Mortgage Company (Limited.) The report of the directors congratulated the shareholders upon the successful formation of the company, ami stated that the shares applied for were much in excess of the required number. The result of the allotment was that ahout half of the bhares were held by ;v large and influential colonial proprietary, and the remaining half were equally well held in this country. The directots intended to delay the call of 10s per share, completing the £1 intended to be called up, as long as possible. No time had been lost in commencing the company's business in New Zealand, the advices had been received showing that great care was being used by the colonial board in making investments of the money at the company's disposal, and that they are obtaining good rates of interest. The applications for the company's debentures were upon a satisfactory scale, the debenture money bpiit^ received as fast as the company required it for uso in the colony. The Chairman said, on the part of the directors, lie had to express tlieqreatpleisu.ro they had in meeting the shareholders for the first time, and in congratulating them upon the formation of the compmy and its successful "tart. If he Mere allowed to predict, be thought he might safely say they would have frequently meeting-, with them of a satisfactory character, and that the company woulf' be profitable. The meeting was called in accordance with the requirement* of the Companies Act. They lud noacuounts to lay before them, as a matter ot course. He moved the adoption of the report. Mr Simons said he saw that it was stated at the meeting of the Bank of Australasia that the frozen meat trade had not been a success, from which he supposed that the cost of importation was too threat, or the urice here was not sufficient. He asked for some information on the point. The Chairman said, as to the fro/en-meat trade, they uere not consignees of meat, nor should they be proprietors of sheep. They should confine their operations entirely to borrowing money anil lending it on first mortgage security, so that the frozen meat question did not concern them directly. But indirectly it did to this extent, that if that trade became a great success it would be a great factor in New Zealand. He believed that that trade was a commercial success, and ho thought that the gentlemen who made the statement that it was not made it in ignorance of the facts of the case. He could say from his own knowledge that before the frozen meat trade was commenced t>heep wore valuable in New Zealand only for the wool, ami the fat for boiling down ; and that the effect of this trade had been to increase the value of sheep in the colony very much indeed, and eveiy sheep that was sent out of the colony increased the vahn of the sheep left in, tor the colonists not only got a better price for the sheep that were exported, but for those that remiincd. No doubt tlieie had been failures, but the shipments that were now coming in from New Zealand in good condition were paying, and more than paying ; and, it the price did not come down, the trade would l)c a great benefit to the colony as affording an outlet for their surplus stock; and he ventured to hope that not only fie mutton, but the prime beef of New Zealand would soon be highly appreeiited here. Mr Lark worthy seconded the motion for the adoption of the report, and in doing so said if the frozen meat trade had not been a commercial success that might be accounted for by the fact that the eire un&tances during the last few months in which New Zealand m^at had been soil in this country had been adverse, noi to the sellers of New Zealand alone, bit to the sellers ot all kinds of meat. Thf\y were at one time getting 7d and 7Ad per Ib, in this market, and during the last few months they had not been realising more thin Pd to SW. A reduction had take place in other meat, and this had created a certain amount of disappointment and led to a certain amount of loss to those who bought meat in New Zealand in expectation of its going to a higher price. But that condition of things was not going to continue They had at the present moment better prices for New Zealand mutton, prices which he was certain would answer the purpose of exporters. The difficulties with which the trade had to contend with here were nothing like the difficulties with which other trades had had to contend. They had had one or two little troubles from depression in prices, but these had been got over, and he had no doubt that this would be got over, and that the trade woull be continued on a firm basis. With regard to the total amount of the export of sheep, he thought that for a time it would be very small indeed, for this reason — that it was only one particular kind of sheep that was fit for this market, and New Zealand was the only colony which reared that kind of sheep, a cross between the Hampshire downs and the merino or the cross-bred Lincoln. That was the kind oi sheep that New Zealand was capable of exporting in very large quantities, but not at this moment. He did not think that at the present time they were capable of exporting more than 400,000 or 500,000 sheep a-year ; but in a short time they would be able to export a a million a-year, The motion was then put and carried, and the proceedings closed with a vote of thanks to the chairman and directors.— European Mail.