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A.—2

Enclosures. The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs presents his compliments to the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, and, by direction of the Secretary of State, transmits herewith copy of the undermentioned paper. Foreign Office, 3rd November, 1910.

Sir, — British Consulate-General, New York, 24th October, 1910. With reference to the Under-Secretary of State's presents compliments of Bth September (No. 13, Commercial), regarding the high price and importation of foodstuffs into the United States, with particular reference to the importation of Canadian sheep and mutton, I have the honour to report that before making the report contained in my No. 34 (Commercial) of the 18th April last I was very careful to obtain corroborative evidence so far as I could for the statements therein made. Since receiving your despatch now under reply I have made further inquiries upon the subject, and have the honour to enclose a copy of a letter on the subject which I have received from an Englishman who is very largely interested indeed in the question of the importation of meats into the United States, and to whose judgment very great importance is attached by everybody connected with the meat trade. The gentleman in question, however, does not wish his name to be divulged, and I have therefore suppressed it. I have, &c, C. M. Bennett, Consul-General. The Right Hon. Sir Edward Grey, Bart., His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Deak Me. Bennett,— New York City, 24th October, 1910. Pray excuse my long delay in answering your letter of the 10th, in reference to the importation of Canadian and Australian mutton into the United States. I now return you the file of papers, all of which I have read with interest. It is impossible for me to answer the statistics prepared by the Canadian Government, which, of course, we assume are correct. I may say, however, that it was very clearly stated by several parties here whom I saw that Canadian mutton sold in Canada much below the price that the United States mutton sold on this side of the border. This statement, as a, matter of fact, was confirmed at the time by a number of articles which were printed in the newspapers of this and other cities dealing with the question of importation of Australian beef into the United States, the position of affairs in connection with Canadian mutton being used as an argument in relation thereto. In the New York Press of 16th April, which is considered to be a well-informed commercial sheet, this is brought out clearly, and I quote from the leading article as follows : " They will cite the different prices for meats in this country and just across the line in Canada, for example. According to the degree of enthusiasm, these differences amount to anything from 8 to 12 or even 15 cents a pound. But the tariff rates on beef, mutton, and other fresh meats are only 1| cents a pound." The great trouble that Canadian mutton has in pushing its way in the American market is the fact that the refrigerator cars are controlled by the big American packers, and if they do not want Canadian mutton sold they can easily prevent it. As a matter of fact, I think the quality of Canadian mutton is rapidly deteriorating, and to-day I would prefer to eat United States mutton to Canadian mutton. This apparently is the view also held in Great Britain, as the total number of sheep shipped from Canada to Great Britain in 1909 was only 1,616, as against 10,000 in 1908 and 76,000 in 1897. I have, &c.

No. 93. New Zealand, No. 265. My Lord, — Downing Street, 11th November, 1910. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 128, of the 29th September last, enclosing copy of a memorandum from your Prime Minister, forwarding a memorial from the inhabitants of the Chatham Islands expressing sympathy.with the Queen Mother on the death of His late Majesty King Edward VII, and a memorial expressing sympathy with and loyalty to His Majesty the King. I have to request that the thanks of His Majesty the King and of Her Majesty the Queen Mother may be conveyed to the senders in suitable terms. I have, &c, L. HARCOURT. Governor the Right Hon. Lord Islington, D.5.0., &c.