NEW ZEALAND MUTTON AT THE HEALTHERIES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXII, Issue 7386, 31 October 1884, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND MUTTON AT THE HEALTHERIES.

♦ (From Truth.) I have received the following letter from “ A Working Man with an Appetite,” who is employed at the Health Exhibition. I hesitated to believe the truth of his statements, so monstrous did they appear to me; but, from enquiries I have made, I find that they are perfectly correct. I should be glad to hear what the Duke of Buckingham, who takes so earnest and genuine an interest in the Healtheries, has to say on the subject:— “ Dear Sir, —I am employed at the Health Exhibition, and I have been able to get myself a good dinner at a moderate price each day, thanks to the New Zealand mutton being sold retail in the Annexe where the frozen meat is exhibited, and tothe facilities offered for cooking it at Lockharts, also in the Exhibition. Hundreds of other workpeople have profited in the same way. The other week, however, an order came out that no more of this meat was to be sold retail in small quantities. Consequently, we workpeople are now compelled to go without meat dinner, as it is, of course, impossible for us to pay the prices asked in the ordinary Tray. And why has this new rule been, made ? Simply, so far as I can make out, because the shilling public so highly appreciated the advantage ' of getting what is really excellent meat at a reasonable price that they flocked to the , place where it could be bought in such large numbers as to create a crowd. The half-crown visitors who can afford to buylarge joints and have them sent to their houses by the carriers are still allowed to buy meat at reasonable price.?, but we unfortunates, who are employed on the premises, and our fellow-workers who come here to see what is to be seen, and who used to take home their pound or two of meat, are prevented from doing so henceforth because of the crowd. I believe if the truth was told that some of the gentry were offended at seeing their fellow visitors with a piece of meat under their arm ; or can it be that our enemies the butchers were afraid that a continuance of the purchases would make Now Zealand mutton so popular as to compel them in the future to keep it, or lose many of their customers? We have, I know, great people who manage this Exhibition, but then I also know that great people supply butchers, so perhaps the butcl - *s manage them. Do please trj and do a / nothing to ensure my at least having my?, -eat dinner once again, and to enable me to take homo my small joint on a Saturday. I can’t enclose a card—l haven’t such' a thing; but I stud my name on a separate slip. Only please treat it as private, or else I shall possibly lose my situation.—Your obedient servant, “ A Woskino Max with ax Aitetitk.”