THE MEAT TRADE.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume II, Issue 377, 26 April 1915, Page 3

THE MEAT TRADE.

SHORTAGE OF SPACE.

CANTERBURY UNFAIRLY TREATED.

SOUTHLAND BENEFITS.

The following interesting communication has been handed to us for publication: — - The Committee of Producers and Exporters state that they have so far been unable to obtain any satisfaction from the Overseas Committee in Wellington in regard to the inequitable allocation of freight to Marlborough, Canterbury, and Otago, and the following is a copy of a telegram received by Mr Boyle on the 22ud inst., from which it will be seen that Mr Findlay, the chairman of the Wellington Freight Committee, still declines to reveal the basis which has guided the committee in allocating the space to the various districts in New Zealand: — The committee has fully considered your telegram of yesterday, but are still of opinion that no useful purpose could be served by giving publicity to the basis of allotment of meat space per Zealandic, Mamari, Euapehu, Turakina, and Indrabarah. On account of this attitude the local committee is somewhat in the dark as to how the freight available has actually been allotted. From statements which have been made, however,, and which the Freight Committee in Wellngton have not seen fit to contradict, it seems fairly evident that the allocation to the South Island for the month of May is 200,000. Of this, as has already been stated, 1152,000 represents the total allotted by the Wellington Committee to Marlborough, Canterbury, and Otago, and this has got to serve the following factories: Marlborough— Picton. Canterbury — Belfast, Islington, Smithfield (Timaru), Pareora. Otago — Pukeuri (Oamaru), Buriiside (Dunedin). The local committee feels strongly that this allocation has no logical or reasonable basis to support it, and the following table appears to establish the reasonableness of their contention beyond all possible doubt. Total Slaughterings of Sheep and Lambs for export, in the South Island, for the year 1914.' Christchurch Meat Co.'s flvo works —lslington, Smithfield, Pukeuri, Burnside, and Picton .. . . 1,517,060 Canterbury Frozen Meat Co.'a three works —Belfast, Fairfield, and Pureora 1,064,604 Other South Island works .. 410,119 Total .. .. . . .. .. 3,000,783 Total freight allotted to south Island 200,000 "Of which the Christ-church Meat Co. and the Canterbury Frozen Meat Co. 'receive 182,000 68,000 On the ted to other Sdiifcir Island woipfcs> witty ari output carcases; the OhristchunSit jy*etu Ci\ should have been allotted . . 246,150 Canterbury Fjroaen Mea.t Co. . , 172,730 A total of .. 418,880 Whereas the actual allotment is .. 132,000 It will be noted from the above that the allotment to other South Island works is out of all proportion to that which the Wellington committee, in their wisdom, have seen fit to grant to the eight factories which deal with by far the largest proportion of the South Island's output. The situation created is so unjust that it is felt that some definite action should be taken whereby the constitution of the Freight Committee should be altered so as to ensure a satisfactory and equitable division of the available space. The position is further aggravated by the fact that the districts served by the other Soutty Island works are not suffering from the shortage pf feed which is so acute in Canterbury/ There is definite evidence that many thousands of fat stock have been purchased by southern operators in the Canterbury districts at low prices and railed right past the local works —whose operations at the present time are being strangled —to one or other of the southern factories. At Addington on Wednesday 19 trucks of fat stock were purchased by a firm of operators and railed past all the Canterbury and Otago works to Southland, these being the only works in the South Island at the present time that could deal with them. These facts speak for themselves, and show that there is undoubtedly something so radically wrong that the Government should take whatever steps are necessary to effect a reform m the constitution of the committee, which is now using its powers in such an arbitrary manner.