The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 1899. MR T. MACKENZIE AND FROZEN MEAT.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 197, 21 August 1899, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 1899. MR T. MACKENZIE AND FROZEN MEAT.

For the causa that lacks assistance, For the -wrong that needs resistanca, For the futuro in the distanoo, And the good that wo oan do.

The return of Mr Thomas Mackenzie to the colony by the Papanui to-day, after an absence of three years in London, which lie has devoted to promoting the interests of New Zealand producers and exporters, affords a fitting occasion for saying' something about a' source of -wealth to this : colony which many dwellers in towns | give little heed to. Occasionally our J j attention is arrested by such an item j las the one published the other day ; that a steamship is being built for the j trade which will be capable of carry- | ing a hundred thousand carcases of frozen sheep from the pastures of j this country to feed the congested j populations oi the great cities of j ! Europe. It requires a mental effort j j to get an adequate conception of what I j IUO,OOO really means, and we might | enter into all sorts of calculations for! I the purpose of illustrating the pro- j digious extent of the Hock which will I pass through"the shambles and freez- | ing chambers of the colony into the vast bowels of this -sea leviathan. When we extend the figures from the : cargo of one ship to the aggregate •■ amount of frozen mutton exported Ito Great Britain, and picture in our ! mind's eye the vast woolly backed multitude collected from mountainand plain to make up the ..three millions of carcases which are annually shipped from this colony, we begin to realise better what the trade means . to New Zealand, .why its continuance : on a profitable basis is of the utmost importance to the prosperity of the ! complex interests that are directly and ! indirectly dependent upon New Zealand's export trade.

Public men may serve their country in many ways. Many of us are apt to think when considering- the ceaseless and for the most part useless wrangle that has gone on for two months '' at Wellington that some national representatives have singularly perverted ideas of what may reasonably be expected of them in their legislative capacity, and not a few of the public will agree that it would be well if the example of Mr Thomas Mackenzie were more generally followed by other lights in the political world. When px'ices for frozen mutton three years ago reached a level so low that our graziers experienced feelings of despondency and alarm for the future.of the industry, Mr Mackenzie, as the representative of a pastoral district, conceived that he could do better service for his constituents and the colony by making himself thoroughly acquainted with the conditions tipou which the colonial produce trade in Great Britain depended than by participating in the proceedings of the great talking slioi) at the Empire City. lie took his constituents into his confidence and they cordially seconded his. proposal to visit England as the representative of an influential combination of colonial producers. It was under these circumstances that Mr Mackenzie withdrew for a while from active political life in New Zealand as the representative of the Clutha district. What he accomplished in England we have heard from time to time through the medium of our London correspondence. When MiMackenzie went Home there was great difficulty in selling mutton at threepence a pound; when he left there was a steady markqt for more than we can supply at from fourpence to fourpence halfpenny. Of course, many circumstances and agencies have contributed to this! improvement, but Mr Mackenzie has (lone his full share towards putting the trade on a footing favourable to tlie producer, and breaking down the monopoly exercised by the meat salesmen in England, who considered the) trade only from the English vendor's standpoint.

One of the biggest hits made by Air Mackenzie was his organisation of the great reception dinner to the Premier during his visrj to England. Although a personal friend and admirer of Mr Seddon and animated by hospitable feelings towards the four hundred big city, magnates who received invitations for this spread, Mr Mackenzie in this matter was, we suspect, more influenced by a desire to glorify and advertise frozen meat than to magnify New Zealand's Premier, or feast London's merchant princes. At any rate, he very artfully combined the three objects. The various items on the menu were all of colonial origin, although disguised under mysterious French titles, and it was not until the company had waxed eloquent upon the excellence of the repast that Mr

Mackenzie arose and stated that they had been regaled entirely upon New Zealand fare. The announcement went far and wide through the press, and being followed up by the canvassers of prominent firms in the trade I this novel spread resulted in popularising New Zealand meat in many | influential quarters. Another practij cal idea set on foot by Mr Mackenzie was the establishing of a New Zealand dinner at the Australasian Club, where New Zealand meat can now be procured in the form of the juicy chop or toothsome joint. In the markets of Smithfield Mr Mackenzie has done yeoman's service, .and.•"his efforts have been specially successful in checking the scandalous robbery of producers carried out on the pretext that the meat.was landed in a damaged condition. Mr Mackenzie satisfied himself tliat not more than one carcase in 'five so condemned had really suffered any.injury. .He is still burning with indignation and enthusiasm for the reform of the system of insurance upon frozen meat cargoes, and we fully expect to hear some trenchant remarks on this subject when he takes the platform, as he intends to do at no distant date. ■Mr Mackenzie's efforts and his personal geniality Were so widely appreciated in London that he won for himself a wide circle of friends, who testified their esteem not only by entertaining him at a big farewell dinner, but by presenting him with a quantity of very valuable plate. He has formed certain practical ideas for the improvement of the trade in meat and other colonial produce, and these he will shortly submit for public consideration,