MEAT FOR BRITAIN.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VI, Issue 1785, 3 November 1919, Page 6

MEAT FOR BRITAIN.

RENEWAL OF PURCHASE.

NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE. [From Our Own Parliamentary Reporter.]

WELLINGTON, November 1. A London cablegram received last wek stated that Mr C. A. McCurdy (Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food), speaking at Loughborough, dealt with the question of meat supplies. He described the situation as full of menace. It was made more menacing by the fact tftat the great meat trusts were ready to exploit the position. Mr McCurdy foreshadowed Government control to secure stability. They did not want to perpetuate the war-time controls, but more elastic and less restrictive methods were necessary. He anticipated a definite and continuous policy of supervision, rather than interference, covering a reasonable period of years ahead. He r«ive statistics showing that Great BriJain required to import 1,000,000 tons of meat during 1920, and the rest of Europe 3,000,000 tons; while the total exportable surpluses of Australia, New Zealand, South America, and South Africa together amounted to only 1,210,000 tons.

In the House of Representatives, to-night, Mr W. H. Field (Otaki) asked if the "embargo" on New Zealand meat was to be lifted, or if the present Imperial purchase was to be renewed.

The Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey) replied that all he could say was that he knew that the Imperial Government intended taking steps to check the operations of the Meat Trust, but he did not know what was being done. He had communicated with the High Commissioner, asking him to ascertain, as soon as possible, whether the Imperial authorities were willing to renew the meat purchase.