THE MEAT BOUNTY IN THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.

Otago Witness, Issue 956, 16 May 1889, Page 17

THE MEAT BOUNTY IN THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.

PARTICULARS OF THE SCHEME.

• Laat year 1 the Congress of ,. the Argentine Republic gave its sanction' to a law establishing 1 a bounty upon^meat &xpQi:,ted from Buenos 'AyjrcfflJ and in February of the current year a decree of the Government brought the law into ' pper'atjon. 1 No excuse. 10 required for .publishing the more important details, of, the ficheme, which ".will infcrest'aU who are anxious 'to see. a, successful exportation 6f frozen meat from these colboies. There isa'ffieling that if Australia has,ahy,<tompetition tu'fear, it'WuTcome from South America, . and especially from that enterprising state which ' pledges itself to bounties, and- makes the most desperate efforts to secure at any cost a' good position' in the London market. The meat bounty, ,however, can only ,be described as an experiment, limited necessarily in* "its range to a few companies. ■ The 'following is a summary of .the' law, the more important' articles being quoted .W'batihi from, the text published in the 'BueubsiAyres, Standard ;— V'jhe executive is i authorised to grant ant annual guarantee of 5 per cent, for 10' years on the capital of companies formed for the purpose of exporting bee'f,'efth'eif fa a'fresfi'stafe or' 1 ' preserved by processes not injurious to health. The.total capital on which such bounty, may. be paid' is hereby limited, to eight millions of national dollars currency ,"and no .larger'a'mouub ' than one million dollars, nor less than .fiv'e.huu- ■■ dred thousand, dollars, can be guaranteed for a sirigle.oonipftny.'' •:.'■" After fixingrthe limit, the- law. goes on to ' specify tbat the subsidy shall be divided between four disfrib'ts— Buenos , AyresY |3anta F# Entire Rios, an'4l $drr;ientes. . Companies. Jwliich, desire to &T&U themselves of tbe subsidy apply to the Government, the money being distributed on the principle of "first' come first 'served/* ,lf a number 'of applications happen tp bear'the saode dateViFis , provided jtiiat ,tne preference is. to be,, decided, by lot. ' Article.4 of the law reads :— '"•-* No guarantee -will be granted until the executive shall first have approved the estimates forj the, installation and materials, of the cbn> pany, and the amount of capital, with, which it, proposes , to work ; . and all this must be Bet forth \n the deed of agreement between the state and the, company." '' \ , ",''/, *\ Article s.— Guaraptjeed companies must^reserve at least j20j 20 per \ cent. o£ their capital for subscription in the Republic." ' «1 Article 6.— -They shall be likewise bound (1) to have in the Republic, a' board of directors, the mejtnbers" of. f which reside in the.country, and hold a recognised,,, socia), commercial, or, indus- j trial position ; (2) to keep their books and j accounts in Spanish;' (3)' to furnish the executive with all the data and information it may ask for, and in c.onfjOrmity.with whatever rules may be, established lor the better enforcement 'of this law."' t • Next we find that in terms of the guarantee a minimum*' 'weight of beef must be yearly exported — . . ■ j ■ •j Article 7.— The A executive shall determine, when drawing up said .rules, and according to circumstances and the general state of the industry on which the guarantee is given, the minimum/weigh'); of beef that' must be exported, yearly in, relation ho, the guaranteed capital of each.pompany." ■ The succeeding article is principally of interest as showing the importance, which" is attached in the Argentine Republic to the profitable disposal of the hides, horns, tallow, bones,- &o. For this, the bounty law gives direct encouragement : ■ "Article B.^-The-' calculation ,of the t profits for! the P ur P°, s *3 ?f ' guaijan.t'eejshall include,' the working qt, allj branches' of ihe" business', such. as hides, bones, horns, ash, tallow, extract, and all 6ther-iiße8 J whatsoever to which the animal "can be turned. The companies must lay beforef'ttie' executive a. detailed account oi thejr^wbrk'ing 1 ' during ea.ch.past year, to enable'the; guarantee to be calculated." '-' ' • -■ i^fter provision is made for the appointment I of inspector's and for thftehforceraeiltj of .sanitary j byej-la^sj' ,,w'e, pTmeJ'iiO.^au, 1 jwporta^, ..article,') according to which the dividends of the companies are \ virtually limited, and the surplus, if there should be 'any, goes to reimburse the Govern* ment for the guarantee ; ' ' - . ,1 '"Article'l3.7rWhen the s net profits exceed 5 per cent., the overplus she\U be devqted to the re- • payment, with interest, of the advances made by the^overrimentrinthe shape of guarantee; but •those companies that may be established during the first,' year in which , this present law is in fozce shall be exempted from this provision for a period of three years." Among the special privileges granted to the guaranteed companies theehief is exemption front taxation, while.at the same time they are allowed to cancel their contract for the exporjbbf beef upon repaying the money which they may have received from the Government. It is; to -.be particularly noticed that the cost of introducing the bounty law 1 is to be met by alienating the "public/ lands'pftho, stated. Article ,18 runs that V.the cost of putting this law m force shall be defrayed by the sale of public lands;." . >'■ 'Puch is oB a fate sfcmitfjiry; of,, the ;law as I '- it .Was 'passed .'.by/ the legislature. , It,.wri,|/ be seen thjit periain.C3ompaßi4s. are /asked, to entes •, iuto; k7i>optraofe;ioi? fthe.export .of !.befjf,oandii that the.Goveriimehtj'Sfl'the.ofjhCT hand; gnaN ' attteM^«e>ffifc^ l^n^k^M' 6

" Dol

pflnded in different prdvinces.'f Jsy ,\^ay of* for* ,ther HlustrationvWis ouly-necessary-to' extract . iwo articles from " the "decree7brjngtug the law mto 'qpefation. With" thVe'^-.; . caption o^thoXe" pbmtp^latinif 'to thejgua'ranfeei -. itse other' pftri^'of „thfe do'c^di^.aro .concerned ( with the detailed working of *be act, such as'thd r • appointment and powers of she inspector. '■ • 9.— The guarantee ' tfxtjfu'dri ,bver,th€f ,capitarinves^ed in" v the i establisbjaQent, the^cosfcoiE . ■.wpr^ing^he^alari^s Q^the.'sthif./aud thejfeady, capital employed by the corn pauy, and is limited j< t;o' a : maximum of 5 per cent.' per aunum, the t to|tal sum of which must not existed the aulount " ■assigned tb^'aoh company." 't ' ' ;,!,■,. .- •• Artipiel^.'-rSh'ouid; the, 'losses sußtiiu.ed.Dy. a couipaay.alfeet itis capiifti,,Guvernnieut shall • be at' liberty to- demand all data and details, with a view to- ascertain ttfe'eause, and in^the calsdi' of said cause being bad management, a comniittee be appointed tQ inake,. all. reqiii- , $iie reforms^ .In "the evtfnt'of»continued.ba4 • 'management the Government shall be at Hbetty : to, suspend the guarantee.' ; I't' js'^l^gritoqtt that^all reductions' in^thej : cjapitjal;shalj^'eutail a/ corresponding reduction jn the gu'arantee t v "whichi.-. must 'never'excee.d.S.per cent." ,'.■>. ■< < „..«..-, It' will be seen that in thi? interpretation of the law the "Government undertakes to reform -bad managemtritloh^the^ P»rt,of "t)i^isOmpaiiie«i : .^ ij .' . /' It, can easily be^nde'rstppd ,ih'afc-,this.L!ikw ; mus.t> be rapidly taken advantage . of, ;. .Thug we<--. ; ie^rn from tbe Buenos^Ayfes Standard that one firjtri applied immediately for a. guarantee 'upon 1 ' the full' capital of ( 1,000,000^1 :— . \ V ' ' ,",'' . 1 The" ink was not yet dry on, the Ministerial decree, when Messra William Mfciggs.acd Go. sept in anapplication to Dr'Pacheco'beg^ing tq be incorporated under the law'wjth a capii^l'jbf l^pOrj'.OOOdoK ' ,The'ai/p|icants!'iutend;.6tar,ii6g a ' freeziug .and, preserving, meat factory .akjtha Saladero, Colon, in the province of Eutre Rios. Messrs Meiggs and Co. purpose extending the Saladero business to ( all branches 'of meat preserving, and have made the following ebtimates' of .capital:—, , , . 1 . < t ,. ■; • J ', „-,.. k . - " T DoU Gold. ■ SaUdero, with its three leagues of land... 400,000 Friße^i^g aud machinery necessary to en- t , „ \ >< large preserving factory ... ... 150,00 P. Working capital' ... ..... ' ... ,450,000 , • i „-,.,, ' \ ■ . '",./.' , , : i,000,000.- „; Q^her companies will, of course, follow, it seems v to pe, expected "M 'Buenos .Ayrea that the. G4vernment will.'sopn' be .compelled tp- give . guarantees farbeyqnd waa^is anticipated. .. Opposition, however, \6 manifesting- itself, • and the opponents of the 'bounty systetn'take . two grounds. -The first is.the argument that" a ' bounty is in itself "bad; the. second 'ss ihafc, ; Argentine, beef an 4 mutton : are.: unsuitable fpr the London .macket, and that nothing will make them suitable except agenuine improvement in the quality: Two extracts,, from 'the Standard on this point are'highly interesting. {* The,. promulgation pf the, meat bounty law is now the maiu topic pf conversation in bucolio circles, and the estancicros wear quite a "rumpsteak, sirloin. , or ox^tail soup appearance, 1 aa they expecY great things from th.o" new, law. . Bounties on beef, shipping, orianything else have never yet worked .jWelhany where, -nor ever will.' 1 Asides, there is very, little beef fit' for- export °' here. One^ enterprising cocdpau'y is already"iv the field under the hew law, and has sent 50 live steers ,apd IQO frozen to the. .markets of > Europe — to JB!rance,,we believe— as the Gauls are no judges' of meat,- and Argentine beef has a chance of going, down there." Again we read: — , * „ A letter ,f rpm, Pau, in ph&, Prenaa ,of Sunday last, .won't' put the Rural Society in wild spirits, or impcove their appetites for roast beef; ; THe' writer says that the; live River. Plate cattle/ „ sent' to France and Spain .^etohed^rctotied, t prices, ,and tha^ the, gxpQrioiept is adead failure. 111 1 We have, always maintained * that there is no fat ' ■ beef in.thU country fit for export, dead oi; alive^, „ ■Syhen't^ey won't eat it in^pranye, yf^af .ekk^oo ■ .is theffl for ii in England %■.s&% bWP,ty laip' can't change European palates, and will only put, - public ; money into the .pockets of a few ex« ' porters, without doing phti estanctero class one fbta of good."' , ,:„■"■;': , \ t ,' " ;■,:. ■' Inhere, is [evidently no, cause for Australia ami, i New, Zealand to despajr.,, The quality. of the ; meat sent from the> colonies is undeniable, land is sold at a higher price than anything from the Argentine Republic. , And as .long ,as } thie( is the r case, our growers need^npt be,idisheartened:bysj' the imposition, of a bounty, which must~:be kept within, moderate limits, or it will strain the finances' of the Government at Buenos Ayres. The Argentine Republic is enterprising, but it js market results that will telL— Argus.