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Mr. A. Chamberlain (Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association). —I beg to move, That the committee elected yesterday act as a committee for the ensuing year. Mr. C. H. Ensor. —l understand this Conference is to receive a report from the freezing companies, and The Chairman. —Do you second this motion, Mr. Ensor ? Mr. Ensor % . —No, sir. Mr. R. H. Rhodes, —I second the motion. Sir George Clifford. —I think probably it would be better to hold a fresh election for this committee, so that perhaps more producers might be better represented, and perhaps the freezing companies not quite so strongly represented. I therefore propose a fresh committee. The Chairman. —l second that. I think that would be advisable considering that the committee has to confer with the freezing companies. Carried. The following gentlemen were then nominated for election on the committee: North Island— J. G. Wilson, N. Kettle, J. A. Macfarlane, E. Reynolds, A. H. Russell, Isaac Gray; South Island —J. Talbot, C. H. Ensor, W. D. Stewart, E. W. Relph, R. Evans, J. D. Hall, H. D. Vavasour, A. H. Turnbull, J. P. Newman, F. Waymouth, D. D. Macfarlane. Mr. Hall. —l have to suggest that the election should be by ballot, and that ballot-papers should be sent out to the persons invited to this Conference. It is the most important part of the business that we have transacted during the whole of the Conference, and I think it is worthy of a little more attention than it will get between now and 5 o'clock. Mr.Makgill. —Do you not think, Mr. Chairman, that it would be a good suggestion to make this committee elected by the agricultural and pastoral associations in both Islands? The Chairman. —That would take so long. After some further discussion it was resolved that no director of a freezing company be eligible for the committee. The Chairman. —As only six names have been nominated for the North Island —viz., Messrs. Wilson, Kettle, Macfarlane, Reynolds, Russell, and Gray, I have to declare these gentlemen elected. Sir George Clifford. —I am glad to be able to report that, without a single dissentient, and without a single dissentient argument, the representatives of the freezing companies decided to hold a meeting for the purpose of considering the request of the Conference; that they further appointed the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company to convene the meeting, and as soon as the boards ' have time to consider the problems put before them they will convene that meeting. Naturally it will require some little time before it can be done, but I can assure the Conference that no unnecessary time will be lost in bringing the matter forward. The Chairman. —We now come back to the original Order Paper, down to remit No. 8, to be moved by Mr. Vavasour. Mr. McQueen. —I should like to know if remit No. li could be discussed first, inasmuch as the various gentlemen who wero interested in this have to retire in a few minutes. Mr. Lysnar. —It is quite impossible to rush matters through in this way. Remit No. 14 requires a great deal of discussion. The Chairman. —l think we had better take Mr. Vavasour's motion first. Mr. H. D. Vavasour (Marlborough Farmers' Union). —I shall not detain you more than a few minutes. Remit No. 8 refers to the fact that not sufficient attention has been paid to the matter of shipment to ports other than London. I think there should be more consideration given to this matter. Take, for instance, Manchester, where they have almost unlimited storage—a store half a mile long and three or four stories high; and it is quite a different trad© in Manchester from London. In the manufacturing counties, the bulk of the stuff is thin stuff, and it will very easily take our second-class trade. Then, again, there is the Continental trade; that ought to be worked for all it is worth. There was a Conference held when I was in England in 1908, but since then we have heard nothing about it. I simply move that the committee set up by this Conference take into consideration the advisability of making shipments to other ports than London. Mr. F. de C. Malet. —l second that. The Chairman. —l now put the motion, gentlemen. Carried. Mr. W. G. Lysnar (Gisborne Farmers' Union). —I have to move remit No. 10, " That steps should be taken to regulate shipments as far as possible from New Zealand, to suit requirements and stocks held in London and afloat." I would suggest this: that we should utilize our storagespace at the end of the season. We should not do anything to check the flow of frozen meat as it matures, and we cannot expect the freezing companies to keep their rooms overloaded all the time; they must keep a certain amount of room. We could fairly ask the freezing companies to assist the producer in this matter. It is to the interest of the freezing companies to get clear of the stuff as quickly as possible. Where there is a glut the freezing companies for a consideration could give extra storage, so long as they had the room. That would be an advantage, particularly at the last of the season —to hold the freezing-works full as long as possible, and simply eke out the shipments. If we at the end of the season can hold in our storage-rooms in this Dominion onethird of our output, we can help to ease down the rush at the other end. If this had been followed during the last depression, it would have helped matters considerably. I think too much altogether is being made at this Conference, and by the mercantile section of the Conference, of the depression. The grievances we want to get right extend over years back, not simply during the last period of depression. We should not attempt to check the flow, but I say that for a consideration the freezing companies might hold over the stuff at so-much per month, and in that way at the end of the season one-third of the total export could be held for two or three months. I think, too, this Conference should impress upon the farmers the necessity of the farmers themselves trying to

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