MEAT FOE BRITAIN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18711, 17 May 1924, Page 11

MEAT FOE BRITAIN.

DOMINION'S RESOURCES. HAPHAZARD DEVELOPMENT. ] COMMITTEE'S REPORT ( SCHEME FOR EMPIRE CONTROL. *• BY TELEGRAPH.OWN CORRESPONDENT.] j WELLINGTON, Friday. £ Recommendations involving the estab- 1 ishment of an Imperial Meat Corporation i *>. work in close touch with the Do- i ninions for the control of the importa- . lion and marketing in Britain of overseas neat supplies from Imperial sources, have < seen presented to the British Government. : Cablegrams received during the week re- 1 ferred to a scheme submitted to the i Secretary of State for the Colonies by the < representative in London of the Austra- j lian Meat Council, which wa3 briefly that . * statistical computation be made avail- i able of the quantity of meat required for ; :onsumptioji in Britain, and that what j requirements the Dominions could not ■ supply should be met by meat of foreign arigin imported under license. The scheme contains no new features ' for it was in effect embodied in the text of the interim report published about this 1 time last year of the commission, of whiclj Lord Linlithgow was chairman, and which was set U P by the late Government to inquire into the methods and costs of sale and distribution of agricultural, horticultural, and dairy produce in Great Britain, and to consider whether, and if so, by what means the disparity between the price received by the producers and the price paid by the consumer could bo diminished. The final report of the commission has just been presented to the British Government, and copies are to hand by the latest English mails. Computation of Stocks. " It is important," says that part of the commission's report dealing with this phase of the meat question, " that the stocks of meat of various kinds held in cool storage in Great Britain should bo reliably ascertained and published. A large proportion of the cold storage in London and the provinces is owned by the one organisation, itself a large wholesale and retail meat trader, thus exposing the market to the risk of manipulation. Though we have no evidence which suggests that undue advantage is in fact taken of the opportunity which the present arrangements afford in the interests of both producers and consumers, it is desirable, however, th-at information as to the total stocks of meat in cold store should be available at any time to the general public, and we recommend that legislation should be introduced making it compulsory for cold storage proprietors in this country to furnish periodical statistics showing the total quantities of meat of various kinds on hand and that these statistics should be regularly published by the Government department concerned. Imperial Control. " The suggestion has been made to us that in order to stabilise prices over a long period and to prevent exaggerated fluctuations an Imperial meat corporation should be established in co-opera-tion with the Dominion Governments to control' the importation and marketing of frozen meat snplies from Imperial sources. Such a corporation would g"«r antee prices over a number of years to overseas producers. It would control the cold storage in this country and the refrigerating works in the Dominions, and it would buy from non-Empire countries at world prices from time to time | only such supplies as were needed to make up deficiencies in British requirements. , " The Home producer, it is claimed, would benefit by a steady market as the result of the elimination of price fluctuations, which in the long run, are always detrimental to his interests. " This, and similar developments, involve questions of policy which it would be beyond our function to discuss in detail. There are, however, certain factors in the present situation which must have an increasing effect upon the meat industry, and which may be helpful to bring together in the present report for consideration. Policy, of Dominions. " The policy now adopted in unison by the British and Dominion parliaments and supported largely by State funds aims at gradually increasing British settlement overseas, and therefore a gradual increase in output of foodj&iffs to be marketed in the United Kingdom. At the same time it is regarded as essential to maintain ' and even expand the proportion of British food needs which are met from the British homelands, always subject to the necessity of cheap and ample supplies for the people of these islands. This dual policy is in part an outcome of the demand which arose during and after the war for more reliability in the supplies of the necessaries of life. ... " New conditions and organisations to meet these conditions are now beginning to appear. As matters now stand such methods are likely to develop in a haphazard fashion. On the other hand, if means can be found to co-ordinate the production within the Empire as a whole and encourage it in a spirit of give-and-take, as affecting foodstuffs generally, it might be possible to regularise supplies and stabilise prices both hero and, overseas with benefit to all. The question arises whether means which are now being loft to drift into divergence, perhaps into economic antagonism. could be . harmonised in a way that would make the interests of this country and the Dominions complementary to one another, British peoples here and overseas should bo able to discuss such matters with friendly frankness, and with a greater prospect of results than would be possible between nations that have no immediate family relationship and no similar means of intercourse. Tlio difficulties are obvious and could only be solvod with patient and careful discussion between all concerned, but the issue is of the highest national and Imperial importance, and is being forced by events upon the public attention." New. Zealand, through our representatives in London of the Meat Producers' Board, has been urgjng upon the new British Government the desirability of arranging for the publication of details of meat in cold storage in Great Britain, as is done in the United States. There is no indication yet what action is contemplated by the British Government in regard to the recommendations of the commission. ——