THE DEAD MEAT TRADE

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2233, 30 October 1886, Page 2

THE DEAD MEAT TRADE

IT;S Worship the M ivm „t Hamilton interviewed the < 7etaor.il Al.in.uf.T of Ruluays, Mr Maxwell, at (iwymu' > Hotel on Tliuin day night, relative to tins subject. Mi Grtxham oxplajned the position t ikeu up by thd Hamilton iJ3orou«_'l) Council and the action already taken by the settleis of the district. So far as ho knew there existed nowrieus obstacles m the way of establish ing a a«ad meat market in Auckland, save, and except the railway t.u iff. As a m ittei of fact the butchers in Auckland viewed th« project in a favourable light, and the enterpriKe would Jiave been stated mhuk time ago by private persona had it not ben that the freight wn owes-ive. Tiu;v found that the co,t per ton of tianspoitiug dead meat was at leist one third moio than that of live mo.it. Tin-. difffMence amounted, in the opinion of the gentleman who attended the meeting at Hamilton, to prohibition. What they wanted was a truck rate for doad m^at the same as for live stock, and if this woic conceded there would then rem tin nothing to block tin trade. Mr Maxwell said th« question wa-> ono that merited caicf ul consideration and he was quite sure the (iou'inment would do their best to meut the wishes and wants of the farmers. At the same time he Raid it was an error to suppose that the differenc between the two rates was so great as it was claimed to be. As a imtter of fact, it was Very small, and when the concession offered bv Mr Richardson was granted, the margin would scarcely lie appteciable. It was an error to suppose that a truck would CAUy as mu.ch meat dead as alive. Thef difference would bo nearly a tn, and when this fact whs taken into consideration it would be seen that the d'iference in the truck rate was not so much after all. He ventured to say that if a rate equal to the eighth of a penny |K>r pound between Hamilton and Auckland \^as not. low enough the indu-tty could hardly be a success under any circumstances. Mr Graham asked if the railways carried dead me it at present. Mr .Muwell Haid they carried huge quantities between Timaru and Lyttelton, 110 miles at present rates (,\d per lb) and -<o far as he wa> aw.ue there were no complaint-!. He really failed to see how the proposed rate«could be re garded as a barrier to the trade. He quite admitted the force of Mr Graham's argu ment that such industries deserved to bp fostered, as the deportment were conip'Mi Hated for any reductions in other ways. The question was purely a financial one, tint was the light in which it was regarded by the Government. He promised that he, for his part, would look into the matter \ erv carefully, and if it were possible to make any fuither concession, His Worship might tely upon it that such be mide. MiGraham thanked Mr Maxwell for the courteous attention he had given to the matter and the interview ended.