3

H.—3B

space is available in steamers now trading with that Dominion, and this concession has been taken advantage of by several freezing companies interested in the Canadian trade. The total quantities of meat purchased from the 3rd March, 1915, to the 31st March, 1918, were :— Beef (quarters) ... ... ... ... 1,900,267 Mutton (carcases) ... ... ... ... 7,294,204 Lamb (carcases) ... ... ... ... 8,970,976 Other meat (in 60 lb. carcases) ... ... 243,969 The total payments for meat to the 31st March, 1918, amounted to £22,851,823 Bs. lid., distributed as under :— Auckland ... ... ... 2,030,013 4 8 Poverty Bay ... ... 2,291,098 8 1 Hawke'sßay ... ... 2,302,148 3 7 Taranaki ... ... ... 926,927 511 Wellington ... ... ... 6,662,524 2 4 North Island ... ... 14,212,711 4 7 Marlborough 176,037 16 9 Nelson ... ... ... 112,030 10 8 Canterbury ... ... ... 5,059,783 6 10 Otago ... ... ... 1,654,301 14 4 Southland ... ... ... 1,636,958 15 9 South Island ... ... 8,639,112 4 4 Total ... ... ... £22,851,823 811 The quantities of meat which had either arrived at destination or were en route as at the 31st March, 1918, were as follows : — Beef (quarters) ... ... ... ... 1,875,950 Mutton (carcases) ... ... ... . ... 7,154,122 Lamb (carcases) ... ... ... ... 8,825,068 The balance is accounted for by quantities of meat then on board steamers loading in New Zealand and by losses in the steamers " Clan McTavish," " Eotorua," and " Westmoreland." The work of inspection, grading, and checking weights, together with the certified statements furnished by freezing companies relating to quantities of meat on hand, killings, &c, is carried out by the Live-stock Division of the Department of Agriculture. The respective quantities of meat shipped from each port from the 3rd March, 1915, to the 31st March, 1918, are set out in the following table : —