The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JULY 4, 1917.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLVIII, Issue 4602, 4 July 1917, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JULY 4, 1917.

There are many points in the speeches delivered to the House yesterday by Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward with reference to their London visit which well deserve to be emphasised. On this occasion, 'however, we purpose drawing the attention of the public of this district to the comments which were

Facing the Facts.

mad© in connection with the meat problem. It may, of course, be said that this was not the most important question dealt with. That is so. But it is a subject in regard to which no time must be lost in stressing the true state of affairs. Many other matters may wait ; this one will allow of no delay. Sir Joseph Ward, in particular, has made disclosures ■which should make the producers of this Dominion think—and think very hard. He is to be congratulated on his outspokenness. According to out' special Parliamentary reporter this was what the Minister for Finance had to say on the subject:—

“During 1916 the United Kingdom imported 460,000 tons of meat and of that quantity 260,000 tons passed through the hands of the American Meat Trust —an organisation that is operating in a very big scale indeed. This Government and this Parliament are powerless to deal with the Meat Trust unless tho British Government co-oper-ates. We can pass any law we like at this end, but we will not be able to reach the organisation that did business to the amount of £250,000,000 last year. The Trust is psI tablished firmly on the other side [ of the world, and it is able to pay I higher prices than any merchant or 1 agent can pay. there, thus controlling the whole of our supplies outside the Dominion. Those who are opposed to the Trust realise that it is only a matter of time when 'they must knuckle down to it or go out of business if this state of affairs continues. The key to position is the supply of beef. The butchers of the Old Country must go to the Trust for their beef. The Americans control most of the Queensland beef as well as the Argentine supply. If the butchers do not go to the Trust for their heef they stand a good chance of getting no mutton. If we are to solve this question we must turn to the system of distribution in the United Kingdom. It is a question of whether the British Government is prepared to join with the Oversea countries in buying all the beer imported into Britain and even arranging for its distribution. There is no use indulging in any sentimentalism on the subject. The whole of the meat imported from this country last year was worth £7,000,000. The Meat- Trust did I business amounting to £250,000,- ! 000 last year. There is a farmers 7 company in. this country controlling freezing works that is selling meat to the Trust. The company is selling simply because the Trust pays the best price. Do the farmers approve of that? I don’t blame the company particularly. The Trust is a fact that we have to face. The only remedy I can suggest is that the British Government should join with us in the purchase of meat, the New Zealand Government buying here and the British Government buying in the United Kingdom and arranging for its distribution. Then we would have the matter in our own hands. Organisation in this country alone cannot deal with the Trust. But with the help of the United Kingdom the Trust can be fought successfully. It can only be done by State action on a comprehensive scale.”

Maybe Sir Joseph Ward could have gone a great deal further if it had been desirable at the moment. He •went far enough, however, to awaken, even, the most sluggish-minded producers of this Dominion to the danger that is ahead of this country. But, as he himself says, this Dominion alone is powerless in the matter. What we want to know, therefore, is: Do the Home authorities as yet realise the necessity for lending the Oversea Dominions a hand in tackling this problem ? It is proposed to despatch weekly bulletins to acquaint our kinsfolk at Home as to the quantities of unshipped meat in this Dominion. That step alone will achieve but little good and certainly will not stop the operations of the Meat Trust. The National Ministry should, we think, lose no time in sending to London delegates—capable business men as well as producers—to assist the Home Government in arranging a scheme which will squelch the Meat Trust so far as its operations within the British Empire are concerned.