MEAT CONGESTION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 65, 17 March 1915, Page 2

MEAT CONGESTION.

SOTTTHDOWH WOKKS CLOSED, c c j OUTCRY TOR MOKE SHIPS. i Such is the stagnation of the frozen. " meat trade that the big freezing works at I Southdown have been closed down for f the' whole-of this week. ' "The steamer t Rotorua is about to load 10,000 carcases c for London, but this is only equivalent i to three'"days'" r '6utput 'from Southdown, t -In arrive -1 and load 12,000 carcases (equal to four.t days' output), and the Pakeha is due oh | - ,&pril 5 to.take 15,000.carcases (the resul.t t -ef~six days' kSlingV- a result of this" I inadequate supply of 'ships the works of f the Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company 1 •will only operate-fer about thirty days in i "4wb:.months;:'.'"_".....'. 1 " "' development has. occur- i Ted in connection" with the arrangements 1 f^aji'tatiiig'',the payment of farmers. * to uTtie . i —district. —It J3 that a circular" JsUfeing" 1 '"issued-hy the Breezing Company offering; ; the' : ;j£in«,pi-Jh 7 e.aelivery of stoji to the"*wprks ; •-anrl'the-issiiing-of-cheques -by tite. British: t -tßoard cJ--Tr^e-meat supply branch. The "i "' company" has lealised the serious conse- i quences,'vvbich, would, probably result to 1 .;^smaß-h(^der§ L of_*pck if they had. to wait,say, six or eight; weeks -for payment. The - Auckland-Breezing .Company, unlike some? , •— Island, does not practice .of .buying the stock which. -paJspsrtlffPugh;itsr yvprks. Hence ■_ jtfaq need, for. special arraigernents in the present case. .--'.:' -.-.■ • \ ■ '■■ .-- -Tiepresentatwe farmers still complain. , '■fiiat ' the~ v Govermn'eiit Baa "TSeen' lax in J ship- ' ' ment of stock. One who came up from ' the Waikato thfe morning remarked J " "tha}t lobs-of-tnem had -in-their paddocks ' %tock which was just prime for killing, CTd"yet>'-they-Tx:n_ld- »not "geti - within" J cooee of. the—freezing jvorks." He said.-7 it was'a thousand pities'l:ha't''just when. ' -.there was: ah. rmpfeced_n.tedly■ gDpdrmar-' * fr£ze,n.,rp.£at our freezing works ' should be stuffed full with "carcases,- < "which could hot be got away for want ' of. sufficient ships. "Of course," he 'added,''iwe realise that'siips with'fefrigerated space cannot be called up at a ' few week 3 but "we contend that ' 'when the present state of affairs was : predicted Septem-- ; her, the Government" should ' have 'displayed more activity- to.' have more vessels fitted'lip." . . , The president of the "Farmers' Union (Major 11. D.'Lusk) told a reporter this • morning that after travelling through the province he could say that the sche-dule-of'.prices-'offered by the British • Board of Trade was considered to be very satisfactory. He added that the organisation with"whicttTlhe was :associated was taking steps to advise the - -farmers as-t-o-the—beet-jneihod of dis-•-•-pc&ing..of their-rstock,.- One of- the .difficulties was that the "British Board of Trade only'took' the carcase, -whereas '" 'thfe fa'rhieiis"h_3 Bgeti in the habit of sell- ; ing tB-*-cafcase "and'by-products together. meant that the seller would have to make srjecial .aJrra,ngemcn_i to dispose. ; of his hide3, :: 'woolV-fat, etc., separately. < wonl.d"iiioet conveniently be done by getting the Freez-•"•'ilfg-J Company -to"sell' by-products. The latter wag to.be commended for ar- -' ranging to finance the farmer, while the ' —Board—of--Ti_de—was—operating. --- -Other-exporters also agreed that New Zealand was going"to be a considerable "" loser, by -not .being' able to get the "' meat art-ay,"and 'further that-the authoTitigajn. England also lose a valu---aWe- opportunity for extensively aug-menting---the--.supply. trf...mea,t for the armies of Hue' Allies."' They said that in spite" of the. dry ."summer stock, had been, coming, abmg. in larger quantities - and -in better condition than ever. One reason,..was that so much swamp land had been released by the drought, thus providing feeding grounds that had not been available before. The exporting season-would* be over'after April." This year".the 'end""would 'crAhe"sooner' than Us" a"fargfe' proportion of ewes ..Tyerfe being handled,'and these were not _ fit to export after April. They 6up"posed that little-more -was likely to be - -done to relieve the-isituation this season, but they sincerely' hoped that the Government would "display more foresight _in preparing l i fc* : the Carriage of frozen jjafeat from New Zealand next season.