The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1913.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3721, 6 January 1913, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1913.

It appears from Home files just to hand that ono of the most important- witnesses called by the Dominions Royal. Commission was Mr George Goodsir, of the firm of Messrs Weddel and Coy., London. Dealing principally with the question of the meat supplies of the United Kingdom —in the light of the operations of the Beef Trust —lie said that the United Kingdom provided about two-thirds of its own meat supplies, and of the remaining third rather more than onehalf came from the Argent tine, and rather less than one-half from Australia and New Zealand. About 9o per cent, of the world’s frozen meat came to Great Britain. The immediate effect upon the English market of any extensive opening up of the Continent to the frozen meat trade would undoubtedly be a considerable curtailment of shipments to the United Kingdom, with consequent higher prices. The operations of the alleged

The Effect of the Beef Trust on the Home Trade.

American Beef Trust might be fittingly described as an attempt on the pat of foreign capital to obtain control of the British imported meat trade, regardless of British interests. In the United States during the past decade or two the large operators in meat had succeeded in stifling competition and restricting trade’to such an extent that- North America,- once an extensive meat exporting country, was now practically closed to export —a result which had been assisted, of course,, by the rapid increase in the population. In the Argentine Republic the members of the same group already owned or controlled almost half the output of the State; while within the past 12 months their operations had been extended to Australia, where they were organising their forces and making preparations with a view to obtaining an entrance into the trade between that country and the Motherland. So far, there was no evidence that they had reached New Zealand, but it mi'ght be only a question of months before their influence was also felt in that dominion. Experience in the United States and elsewhere had proved that tho success of a combination such as the American Beef Trust could not but have a detrimental effect upon producers and consumers alike. Although their policy at first might sometimes be to cut profits to a minimum, and even on occasions, to work at a loss, later 'on, as the monopoly of the trade was secured, they were in a position to squeeze the producer at one end and the consumer at the | other. It is also of special interest to exporters from New Zealand to mention that Mr Goodsir arerred that apart from the operations of the Beef Trust continued high prices might be expected to prevail in the English meat markets, as regarded both ’mported and home-grown meat.