The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. MONDAY, JANUARY 3, 1910. FROZEN MEAT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIV, Issue 1, 3 January 1910, Page 4

The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. MONDAY, JANUARY 3, 1910. FROZEN MEAT.

An interesting address was, delivered by Mr H. Acton-Adams at a meeting of the Scargill branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, last week. The meeting was called for the purpose of discussing the frozen meat industry. Mr Acton-Adams said that New Zealand farmers had no organisation, or practically none. If it could be known, or if it were known what quantities of lamb or: mutton were available or on the market a sharp rise could not take place. A rise denoted that the quantities available were not known. The recent sharp rise seemed very much like the work of manipulators. It might be said that a or a number of "jobbers" worked en the supposition of a glut and forced the market—bought large-quantities and held for the rise that must follow. There was . nothing binding about the present system of prices. There was room to suppose that agents met one another and bought and sold to one another at prices a shade below the ruling price, to turn it over again at the legitimate price. There were too many firms operating now, and they had all to get a profit. What was wanted, in Mr ActonAdams's opinion, was more organisation and fewer channels. The farmers, he considered, should see that they had at least one firm upon whom they could rely, and put sufficient through that channel to be able to influence the other firms or to keeD them in their place. The American Meat Trust had organisation with, far-reaching effect. They had bought up at least three out of five of the individual companies, and so compelled the remaining two to meet them. Handling live cattle, in the British market did not suit the Trust, so they issued a tale that there was a disease in the Argentine, with the purpose of getting the export of live cattle stopped. The Trust had their own ships, and owned 143 stalls in Smithfield. They had control of the beef market to a great extent, and that gave them a lever over the mutton, because, holdin 2 the beef they could dictate where the butchers should buy their mutton. The meat problem was one outside the Government's power; it rested with the farmer to see that he got his meat on every available market iv the British Isles. It was not in the interests of "jobbers" to let the trade get too widespread for them; if jtdid, they would lose control of it. The speaker went on to assert that there was a room in Christchurch where a certain number of individuals met/perhaps weekly, and decided what the price of lamb and mutton was to be for that week or for the intervening term; and their operations were regulated by their decision. A general discussion among the members of the branch followed Mr Acton-Adams' address and it Avas decided to send the following recommendation to the conference at Wellington: " "That this meeting suggests that frozen meat should be consigned through an organisation of producers or a farmers' co-operative distributing association m order, to bring the producer . into closer touch with the consumer, and that the company should be formed tor that purpose if necessary;" The •Southern freezing companies have declined to participate in the conferencf/ £ ir George Clifford, chairman ot the Canterbury Frozen . Meat ComPany. hi his annual address to the shareholders, gave expression to views which may be considered as representative of the opinions of the companies. His main point was that regulation of supplies at this end was impracticable and useless. As Sir George Clifford's views as to its rot being possible to do anything to improve the position on the part of the freezing companies are antagonistic to those commonly entertained by tamers, the Lyttelton Times interviewed a number of representative farmers on the position. One farmer thus replies to the chairman of the Canterbury Meat Company — So far as the law of supply and demand is concerned, we want nothing better than to submit to it, but what we do .not want, and what v c ought to do our utmost to prevent, is the interference of a gano- of monopolists in the London trade? who prevent the natural operation of that law, and take advantage of the unbusinesslike methods of the producer to corner, his produce, and, by keeping the price of meat down, make large profits. Does that businesslike individual submit to the law of supply and demand?. Most surely not, and what we are now asked to submit to is really the 'bear' operations in the meat trade, which are entirely artificial and of a business nature, and as to which there is no sufficient reason for submission at all. And then the chairman, most appropriately and with great tact; referred to some movement apparently initiated for conferring protection on th. c. Producer, as 'pretty tinkering with the channels of communication between producer and consumer,' as being useless and not able to touch deep-seated causes, which, if remediable at all, will supply their own corIrection. Will they? I am sure the , meat operator in London will smile when he reads that, and well he may. And, later, we farmers aTe. told that we must learn to accept the varying markets as they come. Now, that is a strong, self-reliant sentiment, and simply amounts to this: that no^ matter what corners *or monopolies are engineered in the meat trade, the producers have got to submit to them, have got to devote their energy, combined with a not inconsiderable expenditure of time and money, to raise the meat and send it away, or sell it here at a price fixed by the American Beef Trust or some other monopolists, who grow fat on our apathy and ignorance. This class of submission is, from a business point of view, undesirable and unnecessary, and from any other' point of view it is intolerable." The movement to institute a conference? was initiated by the Canterbury A. and P. Association, and was a, Very desirable step; and it is to he regretted that the freezing companies refuse to take part in it. However, this refusal wiirnot kill the confer-

ence, and a workable scheme to secure producers' interests is expected to be formulated.