SHEEPFARMERS' COMPANY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 13131, 18 July 1913, Page 3

SHEEPFARMERS' COMPANY.

EXTRAORDINARY MEETING. An extraordinary general meeting of shareholders m the Gisborne Sheepfarmers' Frozen Meat Co., Ltd., was held at Whinray's hall to-day, to consider ' matters set forth m a requisition by ' certain shareholders, requesting the ' directors to convene the meeting. There ! was a large attendance of shareholders, ! and Mr C. A. deLautour, chairman oi" ' directors, presided. | Before the business was commenced, Mr T. Fraser, sen., said he was one of *' the thirty odd shareholders who signed "*• the requisition calling the meeting. He thought it only fair that such a. meeting should be held before' so important an undertaking as the Co-operative Farmers' Association, but he had no mr tention to cast any reflection on the directors. (Applause.) The "chairman then asked if there was any resolution. Mr W. D. Lysnar moved: — That, m the opinion of this meeting, it is not advisable m the interest f the shareholders of this company that the formation of the proposed Poverty Bay Farmers' . Co-operative Association, ltd., should be proceeded with on the lines suggested; and further, this meeting would respectfully suggest that the directors 'should do everything possible to see that produce m passing through the works, is treated m such a. way so as to enable the owner to obtain results at least equal to that obtained for produce put through other similar works m the North Island ol this Domiriibn. In speaking to the resolution, Mr Lysnar said he was pleased to hear the remarks of Mr Fraser, for he hoped the whole business would be carried through m that spirit. As business men, they only wanted the Association conducted m their best interests. As a. shareholder of soirie £950 m the company, it was not his desire to say one word which would be prejudicial to, the company, but to fet thihgs on a proper basis. They had een working under disadvantages, and he had been-unable to send his own stock to the company's works. He went on to say that he thought it was a matter of "not understood." Had it not been for his having been ousted from the directorate' m 1910, this meeting would have been held before. -He had asked the directors over two years ago to consider the matters he was now requesting them to consider. ' He asked tliat things should be put right, and if they were E>jnot, he would have to take steps 'tp have P|them put right. He had to go away to \ f England, and during his absence he -was ut out of the directorate. Through is health giving out, this was tlie first time he had been able to come and tell them anything. Continuing, Mr Lysnar said, the company was being run on urn satisfactory lines, so that buyers were creeping away from their produce. He would show them that tliey were losing 2s per sheep, and on last year's figures they lost £63,288 on the meat put out last year- That was talcing Common, Shelton and Company's figures and treating a sheep at 561bs and lambs at 321bs. Aii effort had been made to show that this was a co-operative concern, and the money would •go back to their own pocket, but he would show that the profits were aJso distributed amongst nonshareholders. Last year's balance-sheet showed that about £6000 was given as bonuses to non-shareholders. Very great credit was given, particularly to the Chairman, of Directors, for 'the success of the Association. He would refer to a few matters to show that the com- . pany had Only succeeded after some struggled that had been gone through with the chairman and those following him. It was proposed that only sheepfarmers should be directors, but Mr deLautour urged that it should be left open. The latter was defeated, but during his ('Mr Lysnar's) absence m England the articles were altered and the classification made open to mercantile men. It was not supposed to be a money-making concern. Then they liad a big fight m getting Mr Cederwall, who had helped the company considerably, and m whom the speaker had every faith, so long aS he was directed m the proper way. What was the position when they took over the concern? Every ship-load that was sent Home was subject to arbitration. Fortunately, the chairiiaan and 'Mr Clark were away, and the responsibility of opening the works was left to Mr F. Hall' and himself. He talked the matter over with Mr Hall and pointed out how they oould break down the unsatisfac**t tory position. The result was that buyers offered to take 60,000 or 70,000 carcases, .but a condition was asked for, that arbitration be done away with. The buyers would not agree to that. Ultimately he, Mr Hall, and the late Mr W. Cooper guaranteed an account at tlie bank and sold to weaker companies, and succeeded' m breaking down the unsatisfactory position. That was the start of the success of the company/Coming to the question of freights, Mr Lysnar said it was a serious matter. He took a stand m connection with a contract, and Mr Clark and Air Hall supported him. Had it not been for a. condition placed m the contract they could not have sent- meat to South Africa. Subsequently from information he gained he told the directors the Shaw Savill Co. were charging more than they were entitled to, and_ they should make a refumd. The ohairman did not think! so and he (Mr Lysnar) indemnified the company against costs m applying for a refund. As a result the Shawi Savill Co. refunded £1100 odd. There were other things he would like plaoed on a better basis. Recently the oontraot with the Shaw Savill Company had been renewed for five years. He had seen, three ships arrive Home at once with G ' borne meat when the docks were only eqninped for handling one. That way of., allowing business to be trans--B«tecl was not m their . interests. The proposed association posed as a shipping agency, but they made no provision for their own meat. If it was £ood enoutrh for other companies it was essentially that the association should secure the agency f of its own meat. Mr Lysnar said the company lost £700 m connection with the buivldinft of a lighter at Gisborne, because the chairman had not acted m the best business-like way. Mr Clark : I ordered that ; Mr de Lautour was away at the time. Mr, Lysnar: Oh, no you don't. Continuing, Mr Lysnar referred to the Star of Canada salvage work, and the unfortunate matter of the tug boat, all of. which, he said, was the result of bad business methods. The tug boat should .'never have been ordered, i^ad the matter of the s.s. Kqtare been properly „ handled they would have had a ferry service of their own. Continuing, Mr Lysnar said he was surprised to hear the other day from Mr. Clark that tho Gisborne works wero the- best managed m the Dominion. Mr Ckrk : And I still, stick to that. Mr Lysnar : If you look -at it with an open mind your opinion fvill change before wa are finished to-day. Continuing, he said he thought the works were not properly managed. He did not want them to take his or Mr Clark's opinion. He would give other people's opinions. He wasiacting above-board. and fair, and had never gone round decrying the Gisborne works. What he had said, had been' i&aid m open public. When m London he asked Mr Clark to go into the matter with him,' as disparaging things were being said about the Gisborne works, Mr Clark refused, saying he was not Home for tliat. Mr Clark: I did not say that, I said I would not associate myself -with you. Mr Lysnar: Very well, we will take that. Mr Clark said Mr Lysnar had asked him to go into the Producers' Association concern, and he refused. Mr Lysnar : That was a different thing, you are getting mixed. Continuing, Mr Lysnar referred to correspondence between himself and Mr t7 de Lautour regarding the Company and " its policy subsequent to a conference that "was held at Christchurch. Before his representations could be given effect to he had to go Home, and while he was away they thought it was' a good' opportunity to get rid of the matter, so they put him out of thcdirectorate. It Avas an action of aliens and not of Britishers. Referring to Mr' Joseph, of Christchurch, Mr. Lysnar said that gentleman had refused to purchase at Gisborne because of the unsat isfactory condition of tlie GislioriK works. He had written to Mr. Joseph recently, and received a reply saying h: (Mr. Joseph) would have given 2s 6d. c carta's? more if he could get the same

terms at the Gisborne works as obtained at other works. He said the Company I had _ turned • out the greatest, money- ] making conoern m the Dominion, and. this was never intended. Figures pre- ! pared during the last few days showed that the charges for their produce were i , the dearest m the Dominion. He was , i quoting nothi ig that he could not prove. I i He had had to go to all the merchants j iin Gisborne to get his facts. Mr. Ceder- . j wall had twitted some of those who had , , signed the requisition and it was not right that they should be twitted with j wanting to know about their own concern. The Gisborne works charged ss. 7£d. for sheep, and 3s. l£d. for lambs. Tlie nearest to this was Auckland 5s 7£d! and 3s l^d, but that included railage. Nelson Bros, was also 5s 7£d. .and 3s. l^d., but that was only natural. He quoted winter rates, but said tho summer rates were the main rates. These were : For mutton (601 bs average), Patea 5s 6d, lambs (301bs average) 3s ; Masterton, 5s 6d and 3s ; Auckland, 5s 7id (including railage) and ds l^d ; Wanganui, 5s 6d and os ; Islington, 5s 6d and 3s ; Canterbury, 5s 6d and 3s ; Gisborne, 5s 7^d and 3s l^d ; Nelson Bros., 5s 7^d and 3s lid. In .addition, the Gisborne -works' retained all black wool, locks and pieces, and do not allow pelts to be treated on owners' j account, as was done m the other works. The Company liad purchased 40,000 potters m four years and had only exported 861 bales of wool. There was a. nice little Christmas box the farmers were, lofting. Yet they were told it w-is the best managed works. He was glad they had heard Mr. Clark say so. •Mr. Clark : A.nd they will be con- ' vinced of it before we are finished. Mr. Lysnar then referred to the export'of tallow from the works, also ths prices given for stock. - He quoted a tabulated statement worked out on the" basis of sheep at 601bs and lambs at 36!bs that showed that with a few odd periods Gisborne was receiving the lowest price from freezing buyers for qur mutton and' lamb as compared with Masterton, ■ Auckland, Wanganui, 'and, HawUe's Bay. He had not included ''the # Canterbury 'prices, for the reason that it Might be considered unfair, as there wfere' special prices attachable to their breed^of sheep, but nobody could fairly say that the Gisborne sheep were not equal to Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa, or Wanganui, but they might fairly take Gisborne as being better. In December, 1910, Gisborne was getting 13s 9d for wethers, while > Auckland, Wanganui, and Hawke's Bay were getting 15s. In 1912 Gisborne was again the lowest with 13s 9d, while Masterton was getting 19s tyd. For June of that year Gisborne only got 12s 6d, Masterton got 19s 4£d, Wanganui 16s 10£ d, ; Hawke's . Bay 18s l£d. So the Gisborne farmers were content to lose a modest 4s 6d. That was not good enough for business. 1 Talcing ewes, m Dec., 1910, Gisborne was ' the lowest with 10s> Wanganui 13s l?d, 1 Masterton 13s 9d, and Hawke's. Bay 13s ■ 9d. This was because the directors had put conditions on the business that had • driven out competition. His figures were worked oat on a 601 b sheep. Taking - beef, for a 7001 b beast m December, 1912, Gisborhe got £7 14s, Masterton £8 15s, Auckland £9 2s, Hawke's Bay £3 7s 5d ; lambs m December, 1910, Gisborne and Auckland 13s 6d, Wanffanui • 14s 7^d Hawke's Bay 15s 4d." Other years worked out something the same. He thought he had given sufficient data to show that the management had not been satisfactory. He was prepared to allow -. the meeting to appoint its own committee to check his figures. He had shown that they were losing from 2s up 1 to 6s a sheep, and the company returned them Id or l£d a sheep bonus. He would 1 leave them to judge as to whether that was good business or not. ' For wool ijhey were given Id bonus. While they were getting the lowest price for stock, • their meat was reaching London m the worst condition. Unless the head of the concern was removed it would never be better. If he told them all he heard •about the conditions of their meat at Home it would astonish them. 'He was told that meat from the Gisborne works, was the worst on the market. Mr Clark: They were making fun of you. Mr Lysnar; No they . were . .not, ■ Mr. Clark: They did not .take you. seriously at Smithfield.' (Laughter.) Mr Lysnar referred to what he saw oi Mr Black's sheep. Mr Black said he admitted his cattle were damaged, as stated by Mr Lysnar, but the value of the damage to the sheep carcases worked out at .08 per cent. Mr Lysnar then proceeded to refer to the condition of the frozen meat when it arrived Home, and said ther defects were caused inside the works, arid not after it left the factory. The grading at the works had never been satisfactory, andi never would be until they got a .. Government grader. At present the purchaser fixed the grade. The management inquired whether' a producer was going to sell his sheep or send, them Home himself, for the grade * depended on what he intended to do. Mr llysnar 'read froni a letter received from the British New Zealand Moat and Produce Ck)., Ltd., stating that they would only purchase the Sheepfarmers' Company's meat after careful inspection, but they purchased Nelson Bros.' meat without inspection. The Gisborne works brand pf meat ? he said, was dragged down to, the size of the label. He quoted another letter, which stated that the Gisborne works' meat was girlie worst on the market. Mr Cederwall : Will you give the name of the firm? - Mr Lysnar : No, I cannot/ ; •The Chairman : I know ; it is Sims Cooper. - It was given to me privately, and if Mr Kells likes to divulge it, well, it should be known. ,i Mr Lysnar charged Mr deLautour with bottling the information up! The Chairman : It was given to me privately. I did not bottle if up. 'Mr Lysnar: Surely you told your co-directors of it. The Chairman : Get on with your, speech, please. Mi' Lysnar : You have mentioned it, and I now ask you, did you tell your co-directors of it? The Chairman : Go on, please. ■ Mr Lysnar: Will you answer the question? The Chairman : I am not. . going 'to do anything of the kind. You go on' with your speech. You have been, quite long enough now. We will be;:here till 6 o'clock. ; r;X-. . „,. Mo* "Lysnar : The chairman says I have bijen.too long. ",, ' . „.„Tho. -.Chairman : Will you. get on with .your .speech or not? Mir, Lysnar then proceeded to quote from further letters, regarding, dissatisfaction with the management. !He 'said that brought him to the question of the Co-operative Association. The Chairman - Perhaps that ' will be a convenient time for you to make a break m your speech. An adjournment -was, then made till , 2.15 p.m. On resuming, Mr Lysnar said the requisition for the meeting was delivered on the 23rd; of last month, and I the articles provided for the meeting being held within 21 days. • Consequently this, meeting was four days late i and it was not a legal meeting. Anyi thing they did was illegal. But for his ; purpose this meeting would suffice. The chairman said he would rule • otherwise. The position was clear. Tlie directors had 21 days m which. to con- | aider whether they will call a meeting or not. If the directors failed to do so \ m tliat time then the petitioners could take step's. As it was the directors met I earlier than they need have, done, and i facilitated the meeting m every way. Mr Lysnar said the applications for , .shares m the new co-operative concern closed on .tho 15th, and the meeting, which was m connection , with the cpn- ■ cern was called for three days later. • The Chairman : You are wrong again. • The shares are not closed, and will not be for some time. ' . Mr Lysnar referred to tho memoranda, which stated the 15th. The Chairman : The word "provisionally" appears, so the shares are still open. If you apply for 1000 shares tomorrow it would be considered. Mr Lysnar, proceeding, dwelt further upon the loss he said farmers were suffering through the high charges imposed by the Gisborne works. The company was created some nine years ago, because m one night, from Saturday to Monday, the price of sheep fell from 12s to Bs, and they decided to run a works of their own, If the present man-

agement could not run things properly then they should give, place to others. If what he had urged two years ago had been carried out tliey would now be getting Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa prices. The company was formed to help the producer, instead of extracting all they could from the farmers, ln consequence of the inaction of the chairman and his , followers the shareholders had been deprived of a lower iVeight contract. He approached another line of shipping company, and they agreed to a reduction m terms which no other company could give, and i it woidd be a quicker line of steamers, and it only remained for the directors to invite the manager to come to Gisborne and discuss the matter. He had a-sked for 50 per cent, reduction, and the manager informed him that they would give a reduction within a fraction of what was asked. "He referred J .io the Shire line. The chairman would not invite the manager to come to Gisborne when the latter was prepared to do so and enter into a contract. Tho shareholders need not accept his cr the chairman's version of the matter, but decide on outside data. There was one thing, however, that stood to their credit, and m this a large amount of credit was due. to Mr Clark. That was ithe matter of bone taint. They had dealt? with that and haa it put right. 'However, they had ah insurance, biisi•riess m connection with the bone taint j which should not exist. There was 'something wrong, and the shareholders should bestir themselves and put it right. Having nearly £1000 m the company, it was not to his interest to discredit the company, but he was compelled to do something, because the directors' would not put matters right. He had asked Mr Gray m England to; go into ; the matter, but he had refused. The ! Barkers also went Home, and did nothing- ( Messrs H. and R. Barker : How do 'you. know?

"•'.Mr Lysnar: I refer to your brother o;j the directorate.

Mr H. Barker: You said "the Bar kers."

Mr Lysnar: Well, I retract that. I mean Mr F. B. Barker, who is a director.

Mr H. Barker : Perhaps we put as much time m at Smithfield as you did.

, Mr Lysnar was continuing, when the chairman said he did not wish to interrupt Mr Lysnar, but when the adjournment was made he was coming on to another subject. He had already spoken three hours, and he was only repeating what they had already heard. Continuing. Mr Lysnar said if the Freezing Company had not been properly managed, why should another branch, a co-operative concern, be started and run by the same directorate? (Left Sitting.)