A GREAT SALE

Evening Post, Volume XC, Issue XC, 7 October 1915, Page 3

A GREAT SALE

FIVE MILLIONS PAID FOR MEAT WHERE THE MONEY HAS GONE The announcement was made by the Prime Minister in the House yesterday that the Imperial Meat Branch Sf the New Zealand Public Service had paid out over five millions sterling on Imperial account for meat. . The circumstances attendant on the securing of all New Zealand supplies of' frozen beef, mutton, and lamb for the British Government are now generally known and need not be repeated, but it is a striking fact that already so large a sum as five millions has been disbursed in the Dominion, and that practically all ready money, a fact of historical importance, and one, too, reflecting much credit upon those connected with the management of the scheme, for this vast transaction has been effected without hitch of any sort. The districts ,in which the payments for meat have been distributed from 4th March and the respective sums paid are as follow :—: —

The quantities of meat purchased are 1,624,370 carcases mutton, 2,594.243 carcases lamb, 264,490 quarters beef ; 32,540 packages boneless beef; 171.983 packages legs and pieces of mutton. The branch does not deal with pork, veal, and other meat exports. It can be understood that with the wholesale clearance of congested stores that hae been effected there should be ample storage space available for next season's produce. This seemed pra-c-tically impossible a few months back, for want of ships. Now there will be ample insulated tonnage for the meat and it is believed for the dairy produce too. The approximate quantities of meat in store at the present time axe 780,000 freight carcases. To take this meat away there will be available the following steamers, now loading : — Clan M'Tavieh, Hawkes Bay, Matatua, Dorset, Hurunui, Rimutaka, and Kumara, with an insulated capacity for 606,000 carcases. Of this quantity these steamers have already aboard 398.000 carcases. To load during, this month there are the Arawa, Kaikoura, Turakina, Mimiro, and Star of Australia, with a freezing capacity for 465.000 carcases. The loading and to load steamers between them, then, could take 1.071,500 carcases, but provision will have to be made for the carriage of dairy produce. But for November and December combined there will be tonnage capacity available amounting to 1,270,000 in all. Loading and to load, the space (if re served for meat alone) would be equivalent to 2,341,500 carcases, while there are but 780,000 carcases in the freezing stores awaiting shipment The insulated space will also be required, of course, foi the carriage of dai^y produce, but to what extent, looking as far forward as the end of December, it is difficult to say. In any case the freezing chambers of the following stores are understood to be emptied of meat for export at the time of -writing : — Picton, Nelson, Nelson Bros, and Hawkes Bay, Tokomaru Bay, Smithfield, Fairfield, and Wellington Fresh Food and Ice Co. It will be seen then that a great clearance has been effected, and the money (£5,000,000) has been received for the and is in circulation Considering that practically the whole world is at war, and that the necessity for keeping a sharp look-out for submarine pirates still exists, this country is most fortunate in- being able to market so vast a quantity of produce with the loss of but two ships,, and those destroyed by the enemy before the Imperal meat purchase scheme came into operation.

Auckland ... Poverty Bay Hawkes Bay Taranaki ... Wellington *>, £ s. d. ... 316,617 211 ... 453,879 9 6 412,718 9 1 ?v-. 179,283 1 5 „-.. 1,275,046 12 6 North Island ..- Marlborough . . Nelson Canterbury Otago ... j.. Southland .^ ... 2,637,544 15 5 ... 19,905 11 3 25,296 19 11 ... 1,408,066 14 5 ... 441,347 19 9 ... 469,128 10 8 South Island . . ... 2,363,745 16 0 Total ... 5,001,290 11 5