FINANCIAL FACTS AND FIGURES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 115, 14 May 1908, Page 7

FINANCIAL FACTS AND FIGURES.

(By Cambist.)

EEOZEN MEAT TRADE.

We axe apt to consider the frozen meat trade as a peculiarly Xew Zealand, one. Persap s Auckland considers itself a pioneer" in. the business, and, truth to tell, there arc very good grotmdis for ciaimins tie ionour. Bid not the sailing vessel jlataura. fitted with refrigerating machjrierr and insulated chambers, sail from Xnckland a generation ago. loaded with a cargo of primest mutton? Alas for ifcat plucky venture, it turned out badly: ■the carcases had the kidneys left in, and gome other very necessary details were cverlooked, for want of the necessary experience, so when the good old Mataura reached London, the cargo was found! jo_ ie. damaged, and it had to -be condemned. Much money was dropped over the experiment, but others benefited by iie knowledge gained. To-day the trade is on a firm basis , and its results have jremendonsly benefited the Dominion. looking- over English trade statistics, we ™d that this business is called— 1(3,000 miles away—"Oar Frozen Meat Trade-" Evidently from the Home standpoint the producer out here, and in other sotmtries does not count. The dear old. 3fotiierland has a tendency to claim for herself, and as her great population eat most of the frozen meat, we need not fret about tie amiable vanity provided a payable price reaches our people, mind: New Zealand tops iae list of vessels in their carrying capacity for frozen meat. It Is to" be" hoped 'Before long that tne Dominion will do mare than that, viz., corner for their own goad tie very respectable business for jrMeh she is the primary producer. Let as. without more ado, refer to the statistics of I2CS. There are 182 steamers fitted jsiia refrigerating machinery, and their total carrying capacity is 12,015,300 caresses. Taking the carcases at 561b., this grres a tonnage of frozen meat making 21M0,352 tons. These are the details:— Carrying Direct Route No. Capacity. Carcases Eew Zealand to London.. 42 .. 3.603 400 Jrrer Plate to United Kingdom. 40 .. 3.038.000 AuKralasia, etc. or River Plats to" Cape. United Mmfffma, etc. 36 .. 3.3Ai,400 Instraiia to Liiited Kingdom 45 .. t, 677.200 Supplementary List 10 .. 42L300 IS2 .. 12.015,300 There are some very significant points asout this trade. Pirst of ail bein? the icon it aas pro red to a large section of the British public. Especially those -who lue to buy cheaply or else go without neat To those it has indeed proved a great blessing. Owing to carerjl grading aM" inspection nothing but the best of the flecks is exported, and this is furrier benefited by refrigeration. No frozen eat has been condemned by the Beard of Health for some years past, so that conSEners have been better served by Colonial seat than the richer classes who Sate, by reason of their wealth and preference iox nome-grown produce, exeiuEcLf used the higher priced comestible. Cm of nearly 500,000 tons which passed tirongh tne Smithfield Market, 16S tons w?re found to he diseased and! unfit for "annan consumption. _ The frozen meat isaaled in that market put tip a record. tj theautaarities- on any grounds. >Co doubt care-faf-grading and the preserving effects of rsnjeration have been the causes leading tn this aigniy satisfactory condition of *S|S The- independent testimony of g£ Vernrnl OfHeer of Eealth for the fort c London is that Xew Zealanl supplies 523k2 foremost for quaUzy and freedom. mas disease, as compared with meat £%e&-from the United States or. the EfflH *npgt of Europe, or drawn from SritES. Hacks and herds.

For IGGS imports wc-re 5.113,061 caress of frozen mutton, 3.630.531 carOKS of lambs, and L442_6"73 quarters ffifceef. There is still room for conEfaalle expansion in this trade, as B| British agricultural statistics give Siiaccarion of increasing flocks or herds Ek tendency leans to increasing depen"aiK on supplies from abroad. - Anck=i§ will soon be increasing supplies jf mutton and beef, the outlook being favourable to our people in view Etne foregoing. London has refrigerating stores capiat of holding in combination 2.750,000 spaas at one time, or about one-sisth « tie total carrying capacity of the Earners engaged in tits trade! Other isatres are also well supplied with cold K-Jage, and, as tie demand for frozen (aaat is now established and growing, fear of over-running the demand ■aonla deter our shippers or dock and 8S owners in the "confident prosecnm of their industry. One feature IS can be regarded as unfavourable. m msA-eixag of the produce is not in The home middleman and a&SE:tssities are supreme. Doubtless «B> change for the better will evolve H *ie con=Trmption of frozen meat esIKE MON-ETAKY POSTTION. *Bh pneathe banks which have a monopoly .raeatae banks whici nave a monopoly I fcLj l^ll ? in tfle Dominion, feel' tie ! *"a 4 of deposits, they put up the rate [ j*interest in order to attract money. : ££?? lowever. feel very much anron- ** "*ien other institutions, suci as : r~ -"ist-Omee, or even Government, ffjp get quite as good terms to inves1J - This is a smaE country after jmd* it b wonderful how well its | capital is spread round, and how ft ffljae time past we have had the es- ; speetaele of nearly °* our molle 7 invested in iT*- This is now being brought "ft to tie Dominion, and already of it is advanced to uiyrrowW& Shown in the list of bank reIr _ The demand for aecommodahealthy, and will soon £*~ »eaita, winch in time will further g?-«5 deposits in ail the banks. We fe ]* SD lan^a time fieen accustomed .aeap money that .the underlying -iras overlooked. viz_, tiat "real •ga production was practically stagg Advances must be made dearer as the demands for pro- - increase. "ConcurtMs ' fie P ositors receive *5 fl lateSr .doubtless muci money X ~t o the banks. No young coun--6,?* Ml vigour of development *" * lldllg ' aid 0Q tile iow rates «S£ Jf 76 -! 01 " so lolIg: P reTa 'i leQ - Simir^Tj 05^015 in such a country must Jfijjj* •, reason of a low advance rate. •iferwi • ? are P ena li=ed in tie rates Bjfe' T7°- r de P osits r it is but natural I few, 0 - ™ ot h £r directions for an out--1 -aiafttlr 4 toomin S or other means of I te^fiE-^ from true wealth J i ,! j • - 1 1 , . hardening ci rates xor I £i iw«-r *' r depiisits will in tie j ■ -_j.. -:*" !Jl ; e . hut tend to vigor in. ■*..i yr ,rf«alti-earnins—marnx-

factoring, pastoral, ' and agricultural. The middleman or merchant is now making his voice heard from one end of the Dominion to the other, for he foresees a tightness of the money chest, and he alone was, and is, the one who fattens on cheap money. Hot till the Dominion is crowded with population, and engorged with enormous hoarded wealth win "cheap money" be the proper monetary condition of this country. This is- indeed far off. Further, the more we depend on our own resources and confine our borrowing', whether for Government or private enterprise, to the limits of the Dominion, the better will the results prove. Rushing to London on every pretext is no panacea, even though the ends of opposition politicians make it appear plausible. That policy, anyhow,' is not the last word in our finance. We are but on the threshold of our economic experience, and before long the whole subject must be dealt with piece by piece. Our banking and fiscal laws require adjustment to suit the conditions arising. We cannot for ever depend on borrowed money. We must turn more attention to the making of money, which is the best way 'of progressing. The monetary position is sound enough to give some breathing time, to allow it to be carefully analysed, with a view to meeting the requirements of our undoubted future .greatness. The middleman's voice should not be heeded, for the true worker in wealth production, though silent, if aided judiciously, can be depended on to fulfil his mission. CAMBIST.