The Waimate Advertiser. Established 1898). Published every evening since 1914. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 29, 1926 SUGGESTED FREEZING CO. MERGER.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume XXIV, 29 December 1926, Page 4

The Waimate Advertiser. Established 1898). Published every evening since 1914. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 29, 1926 SUGGESTED FREEZING CO. MERGER.

The Wellington Meat Coy., which Borthwicks were not allowed by the Meat Board to purchase, received an offer from associated Wairarapa farmers which the Board looked upon with favour and which would have resulted in a merger with the Waingawa Company. The offer was turned down. The subject of mergers came up for discussion when Mr Jones, M.P., the president of the Board, addressed a meeting in Oamaru. As a result of some pointed questions by Mr Milligan. the law was laid down emphat icallv by Mr Jones on the attitude of the Board toward a general merger of freezing companies. The. Board had been investigating the freezing problem for three years and Had not yet found a solution. The Board somewhat resented ths request of the Farmers’ Union Con ference that a commission should be set up. The Board, said Mr Jones, was a commission and would not shoulder its responsibility on to any other body. The Board had accumulated information that could not be submitted to a commission, tut which bore on a difficulty for which even the freezing companies had not been able to find a solution. The proposal made in regard to a merger was to have legislation passed to enforce the merging of all the freezing works of New Zealand, proprietary and farmers,’ into one organisation. The cost had been estimated by Mr Cobb at £6, 500,006 without counting goodwill, etc. The scheme said that no works should buy meat: they would be freezing factories only. This would put the whole of the freezing works out of the market and would put the overseas companies out of the market far as buying to keep open their works was concerned. Such a merger would affect the whole Dominion system of buying and selling If this merger came about it would help freezing works which were in difficulties and would put the whole burden of the inter-

est on six and a half on to the backs of th”? Meat Board’s ' freezing company Ml ’’* Zealand was not i a ests of the country U merger came about >h (l of opinion that next yL, would have to take (J meat, works. The f an ? district should not be U expense of all the otk? New Zealand. There it said the president, thJ o' farmers’ freezingsJ bound to go under. » could not go into any pJ trict and carry works S erected, probably by J policy of the local mergers and the J the Board had been very close consideration between the lines we m there is that below which may not he nnco lie in coneetion with the. freezing companies and j ours to. escape from heavy to carry. Those j the situation as it trict will do well to J words of Mr D. president of the Meat j