FIFTY YEARS AGO

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 74, 24 September 1938, Page 17

FIFTY YEARS AGO

ITEMS FROM THE "POST"

FROZEN MEAT TRADE

"Mr. McHardy, a well-known Hawke's Bay sheep farmer, who is at present in London, has devoted considerable attention to the state of the New Zealand frozen meat trade in the metropolis," remarks "The Post" of j this date fifty years ago. "He seems on the whole to have formed' a very favourable opinion of the prospects of . the trade, and expresses an opinion that if fewer wholesale agents were employed, so that there would be less cutting in prices, a steady demand at from 4£d to 6d could be depended on. ; He shows that at present a good deal of .meat is confined to agents who deal '. in low-class beef from America and mutton from the River Plate, and . whose interest it is to keep the price .as low as possible. These firms con- ■ stantly ticket Plate mutton as 'Prime . New Zealand,' to which it is really ■ much. inferior. He suggests that it is ■ now necessary for the. people of New - Zealand to start shops, as the best classes of. butchers buy the meat, and supply what they term the carriage trade, and the meat is .ticketed in all these shops as New Zealand mutton. prejudice against it is dying but, and so it ought, for the quality is better than the average English muttom Mr. McHardy says that there is no doubt that the mutton, from Canterbury ; is: the best. Some from Hawke's Bay sells at the same price, but only a small quantity. The Wellington meat is not.so good^ and they have been sending a great deal of in- • ferior quality from there lately. This is a vey great mistake, as it helps to keep up the prejudice. The demand is riot confined to London, but extends throughout the provinces and is growing daily." ; BATTENING. "It seems almost incredible that in this colony that a man should be found stating in open Court that he believed his life: would be in danger from a ■ Trade Union if he ventured to,pursue his lawful calling, in pursuance of an agreement legally entered into. It is also even more extraordinary that it should have been stated by a legal practitioner, and apparently not disputed, that the police would not inter--fere to prevent violence being used • tinder such circumstances. Both statements, however, have been made in Auckland. It will be remembered ■ that-not so very long ago a youth was • 'rattened' in a mild way in this city and the offenders were punished. On ■ that occasion Mr. Justice Richmond laid down the law on the subject in the following terms:—'Your combination to use force was a bad one. Any combination to use force or obstruction ' to forcibly prevent any man accepting • what wages be likes, and working where he likes, is clearly contrary to law and dangerous to society. Those Who enter into combinations of that :• kinoVnever .know how far they may be carried.- The leaders themselves get influenced and are carried to lengths • they never intended to go.' . The penalty imposed in this case, however, does " not seem to have had a properly deterrent effect. The authorities should - make it widely known in Auckland and elsewhere that rattening, and ter- ; , torisni will not be tolerated in Connection with .strikes, and that any attempt, at, violence will be sternly re- , pressed, and severely punished. The ). police, should interfere, at least v by warning and. close supervision, to prevent the peace being broken or any harm coming- to men who may not choose to strike with their fellows." ./- SAN FRANCISCO SERVICE. "The action of the, United States Government in voluntarily offering an immediate sum of £10,000 a year towards the San Francisco mail subsidy is a practical reproof to those who wished to see this colony committed 'to a new contract. As long as New Zealand was foolish enough to con- . tihue to pay nearly the whole subsidy, '•' Uncle Sani was, of. course, content, but the advantages to him of the^ 'service are so manifest as to be well worth paying something for, and hence the present offer. The sum is not a very large one, and if the San Francisco line is to be continued, the American Government must be prepared to pay much more liberally. It is now very evident that it is riot necessary that this colony should bear the cost, and that there is very little1 chance of the service' being discontinued, even if we adhere to the determination not to pay anything. Rather than see a Canadian service established fprid- the ' Australasian traffic diverted ftf6m the States through Canada, there is every reason to.believe.that the American t Government would provide the whole : subsidy required to keep the San Francisco service going. We have no doubt . that the New Zealand Government will v willingly accept the proffered benevolence of the Washington Administration, so far. as the balance of the present contract is concerned, but in doing so it must be careful not to commit the colony in any way to extension or re- " newal, or to any further payment beyond the present term. What has transpired-since the session in connection with this service will undoubtedly strengthen the determination in Par- • liament to expend no more money in subsidising a line, the chief benefits of • which are reaped by countries which pay little or nothing towards the cost. Even Auckland must now, we should think, see how very foolishly New Zealand has acted in keeping the service going for so many years at ' almost its own sole cost." ; MONEY FOR CITY WORKS. "The •proposal as formulated by the « Mayor, for providing funds to supply ' Thorndon with its much-desired recreation ground, obtain a new cemetery, and complete the city drainage, is both interesting and important. The " proposal to add £25,000 to the municipal debt, which would thus be brought pretty close v* to half a million, may at first sight appear an imprudent one, but a little reflection will show that the purposes aimed at cannot possibly be attained without borrowing. The ordinary revenue only permits of drainage being carried out in a desultory, inefficient, and unsystematic manner, and it is utterly impossible to suppose that funds for procuring a new recreation ground for the living and a place of burial for the dead can ever be supplied out of current income.' Mr. Brown's suggestion is that both may be provided for, and the funds for the immediate and system- - atic completion of the drainage scheme, by means of a loan, not only without imposing any heavier rate, but so as to - actually release for general purposes nearly £3000 a year now spent - out of income pn drainage works. The scheme is worth the.serious attention of' the new council." FAST SUBURBAN TRAIN. "The speed of the Hutt train has . oftenH>een put to shame, but perhaps never so conspicuously as was the case yesterday when a dog, whose owner was aboard, raced the train from Petone to Wellington. The dog was ex- ' ceptionally small and short-legged, ■which will be better understood when it is stated that when the dog stood 1 up her chest would be scarcely four inches from the ground."