H.—3o,

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Enclosure G7. From New Zealand Meat Producers' Board, Wellington. To Poverty Bay Farmers' Meat Company (Limited), Gisborne. Ist February, 1924. Your telegram 29th January to hand the position is clearly and correctly stated in the Board's telegrams to your company. The National Bank of New Zealand informed Board that it has a lien over any proceeds from sale of " Admiral Codrington " after debts in Scotland have been discharged The exchange of telegrams between your company and the Board is leading nowhere. As the Chairman of the Board will be in Wellington next Wednesday and if further discussion is desired by your company he would meet your directors that day. Enclosure GB. From Poverty Bay Farmers' Meat Company (Limited), Gisborne. To New Zealand Meat Producers' Board, Wellington. 2nd February, 1924. If position is as stated in your telegram of yesterday and your Board does not propose to make any effort to procure load for " Codrington " it is only waste time our directors seeing your Chairman besides it may lead to misconstruction of position as shown by a previous interview. We ask how do you come to discuss matter with National Bank. We have told you bank's receivers have nothing to do with " Admiral Codrington " and this is the position. The bank having a lien is no concern of your Board and does not affect position. Enclosure G9. Poverty Bay Farmers' Meat Company (Limited), Gisborne, 15th February, 1924. The Chairman, New Zealand Meat Producers' Board, Wellington. Dear Sir, — Following up our telegram to you of the 2nd instant, to which we have had no reply, we desire to notify your Boa.rd that in view of the unsatisfactory position in which you have placed us, and being unable to get any definite promise of assistance from you, we have been in communication with our agents in England-to see if we could get a charter for the " Admiral Codrington "in some other trade, and this we have been able to secure for a second voyage to the Argentine. For your Board's information we may state that we got this boat to compete in the NewZealand trade and not to assist in the trade of other countries, and had you not placed us in the unfortunate position your Board has done by practically excluding our boat from the New Zealand trade we could have made about £20,000 on a homeward voyage of the " Admiral Codrington," not allowing for any outward freight whatever ; whereas with the Argentine freight we cannot expect to make more than about £5,000 to £10,000. Consequently we wish to notify you that your action (apart from excluding our boat from the New Zealand trade) has in one trip deprived us of from £10,000 to £15,000. It is to be deplored that a Board established by special legislation by the Government and the farmers of this Dominion should have acted in such an unreasonable manner and placed us in this unfortunate position, to the detriment of not only the shareholders of this company but the producers generally of this Dominion, by your having eliminated competition, and we take this opportunity of notifying your Board that at the earliest moment possible we want the rights of our boat to trade in New Zealand waters re-established, and desire that you should include our boat in any future contract. As to what steps the company will take in consequence of this serious loss and the position we have been placed in, this is a matter for further consideration by the directors, as it is quite impossible to allow matters to remain in the present unfortunate position. Yours, &ci. For and on behalf of the Poverty Bay Farmers' Meat Company (Limited), Frank M. Orr, Secretary. Enclosure GlO. The Chairman, New Zealand Meat-producers' Board, Wellington. Dear Sir, —• Poverty Bay Farmers' Meat Company (Limited), Gisborne, 25th February, 1924. We regret to say that since our last communication with you we have received cable advice that the mortgagees who hold a mortgage for £60,000 over the " Admiral Codrington " are under the impression that we are abandoning the steamer, and consequently they propose to take steps to sell her. We sent the following cable to our agents in reply : " Assure Bank Scotland we have no intention abandoning ' Codrington ' reason unable arrange load from here owing action Meat Board Unjustifiable excluding ! Codrington ' from current contract. We have asked to be included next contract meantime going into matter with N.Z. Government." The directors of this company desire me to let your Board know the position, and to point out that your Board's attitude in excluding the ship from the New Zealand trade is largely responsible, for the impression created, which will, if they carry out their threat, mean a still further very serious