THE ARMY HEAT CONTRACTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1851, 29 January 1902, Page 6

THE ARMY HEAT CONT RA CTS.

Tt is hardly probable that the protest which tho Proi.-ii.T ha-, torwarded to the Imperial CJovt-rnmpiit rc-pecting tho action ot tlio War OtTu-p in .iiAiciMng to a<-cept a proportion of Argentine meat in the .strpplios for the army hi South Africa will avail nutrli at the present time. The uiNc-hiei" ha- boeu done, and we can only hope that in any future contracts of the kind the authorities in England will manifest a higher appreciation of the resourc-i's of the British colonips than to pass thorn over even partially in :i matter in regard to which they hive special chums upon the Mother Country. Tlie ca-e would bo different wer3 it tlip fact, as the War Office has been led to believe, that Australasia is unable to supply the whole of the meat that is required for the army. Even although, as has been suggested, there should be a larger demand for chilled beef than for frozen mutton in South Africa, it to us idle to a-<-ert that Ausiiulni and New Zealand cannot between them supply all the requirements of the army. Queensland alone exported cbillpd beef last year to the value of nearly a million sterling, and New Zealand exported frozen mutton to the value of over a million and a-half. It is certainly discouraging to find that colonies that have made heavy sacrificeto assi>t the Empire in the war are to see a foreign country, ■which is a dangerous rival of theirs in the meat trade, granted a proportion of the contract for the provisioning of the arniv when they can themselves supply all that is required. We suspect that the explanation of. this occurrence is to

some extent to be discovered in the '

fact that British investors — seme of !

them, perhaps, represented in the syndicate that lias secured the army

contract — are very considerably interested in the meat trade of the Argentine. Whether this be s-o or not, it is unfortunate that the Australasian colonies should have to submit to the participation of a foreign country in a ' contract which the Imperial Government might very fittingly have confined to their meat-grewers ; and in the case of New Zealand it is specially unfortunate when she i«, ru-> the Premier has pointed out in his despatch to the Colonial Office, pnde.'Vourme; to establish a direct -^team service io .South Africa. Tt may , be that no c tipulation has been made by the contractor-; for supplying any . fixed quantity of meat from tlie Argen- J tine, and in that case it is to be hoped that the AVar Office m.iy insist upon a very liberal proportion of tlie beef and i muf ton that i-, required being provided 6y Australia and Xew Zealand.