Railage on Frozen Meat.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 213, 10 November 1896, Page 3

Railage on Frozen Meat.

♦ THE GORE FARMERS' CLUB PROTESTS. Ik special meeting of the Gore Farmers' Club was held on Saturday, for the purpose of considering, in view of the coming elec- -' tions, the Government's refusal-to reduce the extortionate railway freight on live and dead mutton. Mr John McQueen (president) occupied the chair, and there were al _■ presentMessrs J. Smith, Sloan Millar, R. Dickson, N. S. Kingdon, R. Syme, J. Millar, A. Cruickshanks, D. Dun, jun., P. Monaghan, J. Falconer, E. McAllister, B. Smith, L. Coutts, R. Smith, and D. Dun (secretary). Inter alia the chairman referred to the successful attempt made by the Club to prevent the extortionate tolls proposed by the Gore Borough Council being imposed upon farming vehicles and implements at the new traffic bridge. That was a matter for congratulation. Entering upon the main subject before the meeting, Mr McQueen said they • would all be aware that for a considerable ..time pasta discussion had been proceeding on the excessive railage charged on live and dead mutton by the Government. There . could be no doubt but that the rates were excessive and out of all reason, as would be seeu by the tSJble he would quote giving the rates in for_«_n different parts of Australia and in Newf Zealand. Let them lock a little at the growth of the frozen meat industry. They would all remember the beginning of it, and how when Mr Brydone made tho statement that the colony would one day export 100,000 sheep a year, and at the same time supply local demand, the assertion was received incredulously. Within the last 11 years they had not only come to export w . . 100,000 -carcases a year, but their output had growu to about 2,000,000. To show the • utter unreasonableness of the Railway Depaitment's attitude he need only to mention that the freight charges imposed by them when the industry was in swaddling clothes were in force now, notwithstanding the enormous growth of the trade. And this in the face of the fact that all the other middlemen—for the Railway Department came under this category — including freezing companies, shipping companies, salesmen, dock companies, and all others, had reduced their . charges as the industry grew. The railway authorities were the only ones that stood 'out, and, strange as it might seem, stated as a reason for not reducing the rates that if any reduction were made it would be so small that^t would never reach the producer. He (the speaker) could say that if all the ~. other middlemen refused to reduce tbeir charges on these grounds, the industry would have been strangled long ago. What tbey should demand was that the Railway Department should get into line with the other middlemen, and make such reductions as the growth of the meat export trade warranted. So far as his experience went, there had always been a difficulty in approaching - the railway authorities asking for justice or small concessions. It always appeared that the heads of departments were the owners of the railways, aud that taxpayers had very • little to do with them ; in fact, sometimes it was necessary to be very civil to these officials, or one's request would not be listened to. Of course that was not the case with all heads of departments. For a long time past, the Southland Frozen Meat Co. considered they were laboring under a grievance, believing that the whole industry was suffering very grievously from the railway - charges. They thought so still, and contended that reductions should be made all over the colony. They had asked the Minister for redress, and had met with a refusal ; they had petitioned Parliament with a like result ; but it so happened that now (election time) the power was taken out of ' Parliament's hands aud given back to the people, and it was for them to say how matters were to be carried on in the future. They had the opportunity for settling this question, and if they neglected it they would only have themselves to blame. It remained with them to send men to Parliament who understood the position of affairs, and would carry out the people's wishes in this respect. Referring to the Stock Committee set up by Parliament last session, the chxirman said if the statements made there by some of the witnesses were correct the decision come to was wrong. The Railway Department to show that the -existing state of things was right, haS-ndsavoied to show that any attempt to change it would breed confusion. The Southland Frozen Meat Company contended that the only service for yhich the Railway Department charged them . 22s per ton was the haulage of the frozen meat from Mataura to Bluff, the Company doing all' the loading and unloading. Mr Hudson, assistant-general manager of the v*^' railways said in his evidence before the Stock " Commission : "In the first place, au _. order is given for the trucks, and they have ***" to be fetched, no matter where they are. They may be at Oamaru sometimes, or they may be at Dunedin. They have to be hauled to Mataura. They bave to be shunted to the works for the purpose of loading, to be shunted out when loaded and placed in the siding according to the position they have to be in the train. They are then taken down to the Bluff ; they have to beplaced alongside ■ '" the ship, and there also be tallied by a man who is paid by the Railway Department. So that there are services rendered apart from mere haulage." In the first place it was not true that the Railway Department had to rshunt . the waggons into the works at all. ,}They merely delivered them at the Mataura {{railway station, and the Company had to ? Tiaul them down the siding to tbe works with • their own teams, aud after loading them, had I to haul them out again, and take care that they were at the railway station twenty '/minutes before train time, or they would not go. Further than that, the Company paid ft the man who did the tallying at the Bluff. H With Mr Hudson it was either a case of \ gross ignorance or wilful misrepresentation — ' both were equally culpable. There was nothing in his statement about the Bailway Department having to haul trucks from Oamaru, or Dunedin, as it only showed that they had not got enough to meet demands. It was upon that sort of evidence that the Stock Committee brought up their report, and even then the Committee, while not believing that the rates were excessive, recommeuded that concessions be granted to Companies at a distance from the ports. They would remember that when the Ocean |. Beach works were erected by the Hon. J. G. : Ward, certain concessions were granted to •': him in freights. In mentioning this he did ' not coutend that that Company was payiug k - . too low a rate — on the contrary, even they were paying too much, and even if the charges imposed upon the Southland Com- .: pany were Drought down to the Ocean Beach • limit their complaint would be as strong as _ver., Begarding these reduced charges made j,;to the Ocean Beach Company the Riilway '; Department said they had to make the concessions on account of the possibility of com- { '-petition in carrying by water or by road. : 'They charged 2s Gd per ton for tallow and • pelts from Ocean Beach to Bluff, and sup- ': posing the Company attempted to send them ; by road, tbey would have to be loaded into '. trucks at the Bluff wharf all the same, and I the Railway Department would get 2s per ; ton. It was Utter nonsense to say that the •- concessions were given for those reasons — it i was done for another reason. The minimum ;■ charge on wool for any distance was ls per bale on the railways, but in the case of the ; favored Ocean Beach Company it was ; reduced to Od — even that was too :, much. The railway authorities conT' tended that the Southland Frozen Meat , Co. were ' charged an_S clas-ified rates, '. which could not be altered, but that was "■ J absurd, as they had altered their rates in the • ; instance he had mentioned and others be- ; : sides. In the case of Oamaru to Dnnedin ; the rates had been reduced enormously, for - the reason given by the railway authorities, p that they had to compete against water i ;. carnage. He (the speaker) knew of only one ■*- ! > steamer that had loaded meat from Oamaru : 1 , the style of ocean-goiDg steamers, nowadays, *•'• j were frightened to go in. If they could get n ' '■ in- n0 concessions on the railways would l Wprevent their competing successfully for the I j carriage of meat. As in the case of the ', j Ocean Beach Company, they had to look for i { reasons other than those advanced for that 1f; action of the railway authorities. If the M ; Southland Frozen Meat Co. got the same ■ concessions as the Ocean Beach Co. they ,i would be able to declare good dividends and \ reduce the cost of freezing. From Wood i ville to Spit, 95 miles, where there was no icompetition for carriage whatever, a reduc-tion-of 25 per cent, had been made in haulage charges, and another Company on the Wellington section was now charged 25 per - cent, under ordinary rates also. Mr Hudson + j wos afraid to refer to these in his evidence. r^ At the Stock Committee's enquiry, the Railway Department seemed to setup a side issue so far as the prosperity of the frozen meat industry as a whole was concerned. and made it, so far as they could, a dispute on the disparity of the rates between the

- , .Southland Frozen Meat Co. and Ocean Beach Co. This was only a sido issue yet, a good deal was made of it. A reduction iv the charges between Mataura and Bluff would not affect the advancement of the industry very much— they wauted the rates all over the colony brought down before any good would be done. New Zealand had a severe struggle before it to capture the London markets now, as it had arrayed against it the Australian colonies and South America, all bent upoi getting a large share of British favors. Australia had a series of good years and a series of bad years where mutton producing was concerned. They had the advantage of an extremely rich natural pasture, and though there wero probably too many freezing companies there, their influence could not fail to be felt in a good year, and they would send mutton Home in shoals. Not only this, but the freezing industry in Australia was assisted in every possible way hy the Government, and the railway rates there were mere fieabites compared with those in force in New Zealand. It was in the hands of the people now to say whether this handicapping was to continue, aud if they failed to return men to do their behests and have this anomalous state of things altered, they could not blame the railway authorities if they took no steps to mako a change. Strange as it would seem, frozen meat was carried under the same class as, for instance, was a bala of silk, hut with the important difference that with the bale of &ilk the Railway Department did the loading and unloading for nothing, and refused to do the samo with frozen meat. Mr Hudson, in his evidence, gave tbe following table for the Committee's information : — Dead meat and products, Mataura to Bluff— Frozen sheep . . . . . . G'23d Slipe wool Gib . . .. .. 0-737-Pelt 41b .. .. .. 0-SGSd Tallow 51b . . . . . . OGO_ Total per sheep . . . . 7 !)37d fompared with tho following charges for Ocean Beach — Live sheep . . . . . . 5 - 8 d Products, Ocean Beach to Bluff — Frozen sheep 521 b.. .. j.ll-Jrl Wool 01b .. .. .. OOid Pelt 41b . . . . . . 0 053.1 Tallow 51b .. .. .. 0007 d Manuro, Ocean Beach to Mataurft, 51b .. .. .. 0-10Sd Total per sheep .. .. T3__ Making a difference in cost per sheei) of . . . . . . G"G25d For the past six months the average ascertained weight of the sheep treated by the Sonthlaud Frozen Meat Company was 571~k, and, worked out on Mr Hudson's system, told a very different story. The table was as follows : — SOUTHLAND Fnozr.N* HEAT CO.

OCEAN BEACH CO. — LIVE SIIKKI'. Mataura to Ocean Beach— 47 miles, 2Ss Gd per truck — gave, per sheep, s"7i)d. Under that rate a dead sheep of 57lbs weight would equal 4s lld per ton, Oceau Beach -to Bluff, and worked out at per sheep, gave the following : —

which, subtracted from the 9's_d charged per sheep ngainst the S.P.M. Co., gave a difference in favor of the Ocean Boacii Co. of 2'lOd per . sheep. Instead of that disparaty in charges being a trifle which would not reach the producers, it would give the S-F.M. Co. a dividend and ,enable them to reduce their charges, which would directly benefit the producers. In point of fact, the Company were themseh es the producers, and, not only that, they were 'the voters and part owners of tho railways, and if they did not exovt their rights of ownership now, they deserved slating. The common sense of fanners and pastoralists should tell them what to do on election day, and ho hoped they would do their duty this time and manage the railways better iv the future than they had done in the past. He was sorry that the railways had reverted back to Parliamentary control. Tho system of Commissioners was far preferable, and, although the late Commifsioners should have been removed from office, he thought the Government should have adhered to their original plan aad got a proper railway expert from Home to manage things. In answer to Mr Falconer, the Chairman said that rabbits were carded on the railways •at half rates. This was a wise move of the department's — probably a good stf-p taken by accident. Ho thought, however, Unit the system might be improved, and the industry assisted move largely, if the department ran a van with every train aud allowed rabbits to bo put in and carried to the freezing centres for nothing. One reason given by the railway department for the low rate on rabbits was that they were of little value, but he could tell them that there was very little in such an assertion. Rabbits weighed about 21b dressed, and were bringing lOd each at Home : that should indicate that they were of considerably more value than mutton. Mr D. Dun, to show the inconsistency of the Railway Department's attitude on the question, quoted the reductions made from time to time by the other middlemen to moot the depreciation iv value of frozen meat. This was the experience of companies sending meat from Canterbury by rail to Lyttelton, and from thence Home : — ' I-'OJOIEU CJI.UtOEK. London Wharf Freight. Freezing. •Insurance, charges, gage. Kail. 2d per lb. Jd 10 %, H lb. 2s ton 8s Od TIIESENT CHARGES. Id „ \d BJ% id lb. 4d 8s Gd Showing a reduction iv every instance except that of New Zealand railways. The report of the Stock Committee showed that it was a large question, and that there bad been a large inquiry. No less than seven subjects had been dealt with, aud there were eight or ten recommendations thereon — a mass of irrelevant matter all put in to show that the Railway Department must be protected whoever was to be hanged. The evidence, according to the report, showed that the department had given reasonable facilities: ; that the trucks in use were satisfactory, and that the charges on meat carriage were not excessive. After quoting extensively from tho evidence of Mr Hudson, Mr Dun asked whether they considered ho was put up to give evidence in the interests of the colony, or as a tool under our system of political control of railways. Three years ago the Gore Farmers' Club had protested against the political control of the railways, and the ill effects of that system were being felt now more acutely than ever. Replying to Mr R. Dickson, the chairman said that the advantages enjoyed by the Ocean Beach Co. over the Southland F.M. Co. formed only a side issue. Of course it affected the latter Company, and enabled the former to give higher prices for sheep, so, therefore, he questioned whether producers generally lost much by the Southland Co. being handicapped. It was the question of excessive railage in New Zealand as against Australian that hampered the industry and affected the producers. They wanted a reduction in charges all over the colony, and a different classification of frozen meat on tho railway schedule of charges. It was a produce of the farm, and should not be put under the merchandise section. They must remember the magnitude of the industry — it was second only in importance to wool, and grain was a long way behind it. In answer to Mr B. Smith, the chairman said they were fighting on general grounds, but if they took a local view of the question they would see that the Southland Company was handicapped by the Railway Department to the extent of over 2d per carcase as compared with the Ocean Beach Co. Replying to Mr L. Coutts, the chairman said that a double bogie meat van Matauia '■ to Bluff brought in £10 3s Cd, whereas a double bogie live sheep truck for the same • distance would only produce £3 17s. ; Mr Dickson asked whether it was likely ■ that the Minister for Railways, upon finding ! that the evidence given at the Stock Enquiry ! was misleading, would grant the concessions ' asked for. - The Chairman said that from what he '■ knew of the Minister, he was always ready to 5 deal fairly with any questions brought under ' his notice, but the worst of it was that he had I to depend almost exclusively upon the heads of the department, who practically ran the whole ' thing. However they were were not going - to give up the struggle aud meant to show - the Minister that he had been misled. 3 Electors should let it be known through the r men they sent to Parliament, that they were J determined on getting these concessions. • Competition was so severe now that it was ' of the highest importance that they got s every advantage extended by the freezing 1 companies, by the railway authorities, insur- , nnce and shipping companies and all other c middlemen. He had spoken to a traction c engine owner the other day, and, after going ."-e - _?'W.^ ... - ___?:

into figures, the engine owner said that if the Southland Frozen Meat Co. would enter into a contract with him for five years he would haul the frozen meat fiom Mutaura to Bluff for 15s per ton. Reading Mr Hudson's evidence itappcar-d to him that the Government bad lowered the rates where they were compelled by outf.ido pressure to do so and made up the lo=s by fleecing those companies who were powcrle ■_ to prevent it. Were the people of New Zealand going to staud by and see one of tbe principal industries crushed out of existence ? Ho thought not. After further discussion, it was resolved that, "In the opinion of the Gore Farmers' Club a liberal reduction in tbe rates of carriage of mutton — live and dead — is necessary so as to bring the railway charges into line with the reduced charges of other middlemen ; and that all kindred societies, be asked, in view of the coming elections, to bring the matter under the notice of Parliamentary candidates." The Chairman, secretary, and Mr Dickson were appointed to draw up a circular letter embodying the provisions of the resolution. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the chair.

Sheep (Ocean Boach to Bluff) .. l-iß2rt Wool, Gibs .. .. .. o-flsoa Pelt, 41bs .. .. .. OOKJiI , l'nllow, Slb-i .. .. .. O.MSd Tongues and runners (to port) 51bs 0 Us2d Manure (bo!les— Oeean Bench to Invereargill) 21b . . . . 00"od Giving a total of . . 7-JSOd

Frozen sheep, 571bs .. .. 7'IOOd Slipe wool, Gibs .. .. 0.7;V7cl Pelt, 41bs .. .. .. o'3oßd ' Tallow, 51bs . . . . . . O'fiO&l Oflal (to Wnllacctown), Slbs .. 0-SI.M Tongues and runners {to ]>orfc), olbs 0'335d Manure ( Wallacctown to Inyeroargill)2lbs .. .. .. 0-035 d Making a total par sheep 0 5G2d