OUR MEAT SUPPLY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 91, 21 April 1891, Page 5

OUR MEAT SUPPLY.

A TRADE DISPUTE,

THE FREEZING COMPANY AND THE BUTCHERS.

A dispute in the butchering trade has for the past fow weeks been growing into serious proportions. About eighteen months ago the Frozen Meat Company had several retail establishments for the salo of moat in different parts oi the city. The competition between the Company and other butchers became very keen, so keen, in fact, that both parties were making very little money oub of it. The result was that tbe Master Butchers Association entered into an agreement with the Company to take a certain quantity of meat from the latter, in consideration of the Company entirely giving up the retail trade. The retail shops of the Company wore closed, a bond was signed by ton of the Master Butchers agreeing to take so much meat at the fair market price, or to forfeit £500 iv case of breach of the agreement. Some time back certain of the butchers did break the agreement by taking less than the stipulated quantity of meat from the Company. These butchers claim thab the brade has for various reasons so fallen off bhab ib is impossible for bhem to take tho full quantity ; but when the agreement was so broken the £500 was of course forfeited, and the money has been paid over to the Company. All the bondsmen but one havo paid their share of the money. Still the agreement was being acted on as far as possible by both sides. Tho majority of tho muster butchers have been taking the stipulated quantity of meat, and the Company have till lately refrained from taking part in the retail trade. The Butchers' Association now allege that the Company havo entered into the retuil trade by supporting a butcher who has been hawking meat in a cart and selling ab greatly reduced prices. They admit that, the agreement having been broken according to the letter,the Company have a perfect legal right to do as they like. Still they say it means ruin for most of them to have to enter into a cut-throat competition with a powerful Company.