THE FOOD SUPPLY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3444, 16 March 1920, Page 21

THE FOOD SUPPLY.

(By Cable.) CONGESTION "AT LONDON. LONDON, March 3. Giving evidence at an inquiry into the dockers' claim for 16s per day, Lord Devonport declared that the Government was responsible for the congestion at the Port of London. He stated that there were 150,000 tons of meat in cold storage and also 100,000 awaiting discharge. He declared that by proper organisation the cost of the meat could be considerably lowered. There were 2,000,000 tons of wool, and while there, was for many months a supply of tea in England, the Government had sent a flotilla of ships eastward to bring more. The diversion of tea ships from other ports had made the situation worse, because tea had to be brought back to London by rail. The Government was also bringing 50,000 tons oE sugar in April, although the Port of London was full of sugar. Lord Devonport suggested that the Government should market the stocks of meat in order to relieve the congestion. FOOD CONTROL. LONDON, March 4. The Daily Mail says that Cabinet lias decided to retain the food control for five years, increasing the Food Ministry's powers to fix and control distribution. HOUSEWIVES' POST-GAET3S. LONDON, March 4. The Daily Mail has started a post-card economy campaign by which thousands of housewives' post-cards demanding a reduction in the cost of living are daily delivered to members of the House of Commons. The paper claims that the first result is apparent in the debate in the House of Commons on the cost of British representation at the Peace Council at Prais. Colonel J. C. Wedgwood estimated that at £2,00,000. Sir Alfred Mond admitted that the hotel bills amounted to £200,000 for accommodation only. Heckled about typists, dances, bands* and champagne, Sir Alfred Mond disclaimed responsibility, and said that the Food Ministry supplied the champagne.

MEAT GLUT. LONDON, March 6. It is estimated that the present glut o p meat in cold storage exceeds the glut in 1909. when wholesale prices .reached 2d per lb. March 11. The Food Controller has informed Sir Thomas Mackenzie, High Commissioner for New Zealand, that permission -will be g'iven to supply the trade with any quantity of mutton and lamb instead of requiring a butcher to take' two carcases of mutton for each carcase of lamb. Sir Thomas considers that this will greatly help the disposal of the present accumulations, as the public all along haa. been willing to pay higher prices for lamb. March 12. The Food Ministry announces that from March 15 the wholesale price of imported mutton will be reduced per lb. Lamb will be increased The retail prices will be correspondingly altered. The price of jam will be increased 1£ per lb.

BREAD SUBSIDY. LONDON, March 8. In the House of Commons, at question time, Mr" Lloyd George stated that the Government had decided that the abolition of the bread subsidy was inadvisable present, but a substantial reduction in the estimate for the current financial year was imperative, consequently the wholesale price of flour would be .raised by 19s 3d per sack of 281 b on March 15; also the average rate of extraction which must be obtained from wheat would be raised from 77 to 80 per cent, in order to ensure that the benefit on the increased value of trailers' stocks would pass to the consumer or the taxpayer. No advance in the retail price of flour or bread would be permitted until April 12. Arrangements had been made to check traders' stocks. Th» estimated reduction in the subsidy would amount to about £45,000,000 for the current financial year. The Australian press learns on' good authority that the Wheat Commission will raise the price of all varieties of wheat shortly. DOMINION MEAT SUPPLIES, LONDON, In the House of Commons Mr W % C. Bridgeman stated that the inter-depart-mental committee on meat supplies reported against the suggestion that the dominion meat companies should be subsidised. The .Government has given na financial assistance to any Argentine meat company, but since August, 1915, the Board of Trade had leased works which belonged to a British company in the Argentine, thereby reaping profits which otherwise would have gone into private hands.