OUR MEAT AT HOME.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 703, 31 December 1909, Page 8

OUR MEAT AT HOME.

■;'■ ) .'■:. '//(By Telegra-ph.jrSpceial CorrosDondcnt;),-,' ';;••■;,'• "J'.V. Christchurch,: December. VA.i Canterbury' colonist- .'at present in England sends the: following interesting 'remarks■ • under: : date London,'! November; &:j-"I : see from the piipersv which,-E-get ifrom: Christchurch. from v time,":to. ! '.time :tha't;' the 'the-/frozien} Meat market,has, ;as.was. to. ..occupied a 'good deal of attention in.'the ■ ; v C6lpny.":ln-.'this; connection ..mypersonal, experience' may ;be '.interesting.'- ;;■-'I am. continually!.'using New 'Zealand;',.'frozen. meat; .and, from, time' to. time,• purchase it vinyself,: usually,:going.-;■ to/, a • : certain shop:■■--• I always :'Cqntefb.nry lamb r or;:CanWbur^etfcbfi) , :butj*to : the': .best; of .my ■ belief,'. Ijh'ave rnefer , ' yet,"had a 'joint iof either- one ■; or ;the other! !• >It '■'is quite''a'coinmo.n: thing .'for frozen, meat tb!".be hung , 'itp'in v the,,butchers'; shops.freezingYcompany.'S;',label, still .attaclwd; to :;'the Ueg',''.and, ;in ■ shop,! i'li- have,' on , ';various ■■ occasions,: protested' ifhen Canterbury 'mutton, or: Canterburylamb has been asked for,.that; the: ordercbnld not: bje'fulfilled by, cutting, joint off■'.'.a-.'carcasa which had-..been' ■shipped^from , a a North; -Island:,factory. At .first jthdmen .tried; to.' Tjl.uffil • .iao' by 'assuring me *that -the -Gear <(jomp.any,:' although o . North Island company, had branch-establishments'; in ' Canterbury'. ■ found. th'aj:-1. .knew, a .little/ mo.re'i than ■ they: had 'suspected they took, reWgein .the excuse .that, 1 ., at .'all events; 'ithey. neyer sold Australian ■or ■• Eiver V Plate, lamb. ,as. Neiv Zealand', igoods, .but that,: when asked, for Canterf bury,' i;they . 'always ■ ,did ■'■ supply. - some brand-'of New- Zealand/meat. , ; I enclose the labels I' tobk ; off; the -leg of..the last, lamb, ; off '-.which.', r 'had ■• .cut;;■ for; me • a saddle of lamb in, this! shop. .; :• :-. ■ '• "During- the time when frozen lamb and mutton. were' so disastrously-'.' cheap there was no.'.veductibn .in the- retail ■ l n i ric&' to the' consumer,',and, therefore, .New.Zealand; meat 'did not in any way. materially benefit, as.it ought to' have done, Iby an extraordinarily.'good- 'advertisement., '"In the. case of tie Biyer:* Elate meat.j the .companies have their, .own retail shops, amounting .in .'all; I believe,, to upwards -0f..2000,' scattered all over England, and they: adjust their:retail p,rices ; to tho- wiolesale. price of the day. Consequently, while the.low prices were rul.ing, -Eiver, Plate stuff went off-at very low prices in/.enormous quantities, while, the sale of New Zealand ,meht was doubly, checked-first,' ,by• the low prices at which the -River 'Plate -frozen - meat • could bo. got;' and, ■ secondly, by the high prices 'which' were Charged for an inferior quality.: of- ; New. .: byVthe. British •butchers. .:' ; .'.•.'' ■ -, ,:'. '■■•■' "It appears to me that (the, only, remedy, for.ihis kind-of thingis' for -,the . Canted.. bury people'to havo a selling company on this'side with retail shops of their,;own; I !iad expressed this opinion , on several ocoasions, when 1 one -day not long smcpU met' Mr. John Cook,;, and, ,witout; any suKgestion ', ; me, .he ; -expTesse(l • tho saDie-opinion.i: ; Hβ-laid.considerable stress, on-the diffi'culty;of iobtaining.satisfactory management,, but. seemed' to-,think, that 'that'need -uof be .considered lneuperable, and" he- definitely;.-expressed, an.opinion that.'Unless.soine .such schemo;were arranged,, it would: be impossible!, to haye ean%ibury'fr6zen-.meat;honestly,put.be-' fore the ißritish. public.'.l: have .looked; • into scoresv of'butcKero'.: shops; and have never- seen-a Carcass;of Canterbury, mut,ton or .temb'exhibited.for, sale,'.although 'r have-.'scen large -quantities ..of .North Island meatlabePed 'prune; Canterbury.,.. '-'■■ Mr J. '£'■'■ Buckton, a member, of the Leeds Board■ of Guardians,. -took.:-up,tho case of a starving- family, :,with; the view, of bringing iit before the; Poor-law Authorities. At a .'Leeds-school,: a ■girl,, eight ■years i of'age,--fell- off .her.aeat,- asalloged,; having fainted; The - .teacher : inquired the cause when tho child -had covered, and the child explained that. she -had had no breakfast. ;■ It ;was ascertained that for two ;whole days the child, had .na food and'it was.found at the homo that, tho'ro wore : ,eight. children,, the. father ber. ing 'out of work and\ the mother .in 'bed.There was a: taby. a week old, and there had been nonfood "in the: house- for two days" Since : the occurrence, the school authorities havo fed the child with three meals a day. 'Several: sums .were .subscribed with • the.vio'V of,.providing ;im-' mediate relief for the' family!..-