THE SYDNEY ROYAL SHOW

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21461, 1 May 1935, Page 18

THE SYDNEY ROYAL SHOW

There rosy be some unpleasantness with the Dominions -in the adjustment of the details of the new meat policy, says the "North British Agriculturist" of March 14. New Zealand, for example, has already indicated her opposition to the proposed levy system. Her expressed position is that she has made strenuous efforts to observe the Ottawa agreement, and according to the Prime Minister, the proposed levy would not only terminate the Ottawa agreement, but "would also inflict severe and undue hardship on the sheep industry of New Zealand." And the Prime Minister proceeds—"ln fact, our mutton and lamb producers would be heavily penalised to assist in the solution of what is essentially a beef problem." Obviouly New Zealand is assuming that the levy would apply to mutton as well as beef, continues the article, but that, of course, has not yet been decided. And no doubt it may be argued in some quarters that in view of the fact that our home sheep trade is at present in quite a good way, mutton might, for the preaunt at least, be left out of the levy consideration. Third prize in the dog trial at the recent Malvern show was won by D. L. Wilson's Mack, not R. Wilson's Mack, #s stated in the report^

try, as of British agriculture in general, are not of its own creation. During the last quarter of a century the net output of meat in the United Kingdom has remained practically unchanged, but during the same period the population has increased by 10 per cent., while the decline of 14 per cent, in the agricultural population is not altogether unrelated to the increase over the period of about 33 1-3 per cent, in imports of meat from all sources. Neither the general fall in meat prices in recent years nor the special fall which is threatening the livestock industry, the White Paper points out, is due to the development of production in the United Kingdom. It is relevant, too, to point out that in attempting to safeguard the interests of its livestock producers Britain is merely following the example already set by other beef importing countries. According to figures quoted by Mr Elliot in the House, the principal importing Continental countries reduced their imports of beef from 475,000 tons in 1925 to 103,000 tons in 1933, the latter amount being little more than one-sixth of the beef imports into the United Kingdom in the same year. As & matter of fact there is not now a single meat importing country of any consequence, as a recent report of the Imperial Economic Committee has pointed out, which has not taken steps to car- !

district was in a good condition, and that the work was proceeding satisfactorily with the exception of two areas that would be attended to during May.

Tea arid tobacco are necessaries of life, according to a Japanese who has just celebrated his one hundred and seventh birthday; he is still working as a guard at a railway crossing. Members of the Berlin British colony have subscribed nearly £SOO in the last year to the "British Relief Fund," which helps British subjects in distress in Germany. tail its beef imports. A marked expansion in the international beef trade took place in the early post-war years, partly as a result of the decline in the prejudice against refrigerated beef during the period of wartime scarcity of fresh beef supplies and partly as the result of the depletion of herds in beligerent countries, but in the recent past the trade has undergone a shrinkage, largely because of the growth of the movement towards self-sufficiency in the leading consuming countries — Germany. France, the Netherlands, Italy, and the United States."