I.—loa.

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Iw. NELSON.

6. Will you state whether it was New Zealand meat that was supplied to these shops or other meat, such as Argentine or Australian meat ?—When I was coming away from Hastings I was asked whether I would bring this book or one of the C. C. and D. Company's old maps. If 1 had brought the old map it would have shown that 450 towns were supplied eight years ago ; but I did not bring that for the very reason that you have anticipated: that that, no doubt, included a certain amount of Australian meat. But to-day it is absolutely certain there is no Australian meat to supply, as there is none to be had; and, as the company has not so far dealt with Eiver Plate meat, it follows that it must have been New Zealand meat that was supplied to those towns. 7. Have you any knowledge as to the class of shops that meat would be sent to, and whether it would be sold as bond fide New Zealand meat and under good and enticing conditions?— Personally I do not know the people who get the meat, but by the prices we get for it I judge that they must be respectable. There are some figures in this book that should have completely upset Mr. Cameron's statement, for in Manchester alone there are four men who took over five hundred carcases in one day. 8. And you are, of course, only one of the companies dealing with the meat ?—Yes. 9. The proposal is that the Government should open shops in territories largely controlled by the Argentine. Now, would the Argentine people not regard that action as competition on the part of this Government against Argentine interests ?—I do not think to-day that that is a matter of very much importance, but there was a time, and Mr. Cameron brought up that point strongly in Hastings. He said there were people—and of course he glanced at me—who considered that the producers of Eiver Plate meat ought not to be interfered with by the New Zealand meat people, and he asked, " Are we to sit down and allow them to take the trade ? " I have always been exceedingly strong in my desire not to invade the district, which was run by the Liverpool company, and my people have always agreed that it would be much wiser to let them run their district so long as they left our district alone. This worked admirably for about eleven years, and then came the time when certain colonial wise men insisted upon sending meat into their district (Liverpool, I mean); then the Plate companies came to London. There was a time when Nelson Bros, were an absolute power, but by-and-by their power began to wane. Mr. Cameron has referred to keeping out of a district that belongs to the Eiver Plate people, but his remarks should have been made ten years ago. Manchester is in the Liverpool district, and, as I say, there are four men there taking over five hundred carcases a day. For the last seven years there has been no such thing as a Eiver Plate district and no such thing as a New Zealand, district. Cardiff has become, I believe, a Eiver Plate district, but it is a place where they will only eat cheap mutton, and they might just as well have the cheap Argentine meat as ours, because they will not pay a good price for it. 10. Is it not a fact that Cardiff has been in receipt of New Zealand meat for the last ten or twelve years? —We used to have a store there, but we gave it up, simply because we could not get the value for our meat. 11. The Christchurch Meat Company opened a shop there, did they not?— Yes, and abandoned it because they could not make it pay. What really covers an immense amount of ground in connection with distribution is that different parts of England require different classes of meat, and this creates an objection to shipping direct to any other port than London. London and fifty miles round is the best district for selling meat in at the top figure, and if considerable shipments were sent to Liverpool half of it would have to go to London to command its value. If the North of England will take our inferior meat, Ido not see why we should send them our best. The best meat can be sold in and around London, and they will give us the same price for another class of meat in the North. 12. Eeferring for a moment to Cardiff, have you seen the results of recent shipments direct from this country ?—I have seen the newspaper report. 13. Did you notice whether it was an advantage to send the meat there or to London ?—lf it were possible to send shipments of meat to Cardiff, all of the lowest class, the public would not object to it, but in the natural order of things it is impossible to make up large shipments of meat all of one class. Some of it would be good and some inferior. 14. You do not think the opening of shops by the Government would make any appreciable difference to the trade?— No. 15. Have prices ever been better than they are now for our New Zealand meat ?—The average value of mutton has been gradually going up for the past four years, and this year's average will be higher than ever before. 16. Are we likely to have so copious a supply of meat to send Home in the future as we have had during the last year ?—I do not know. 17. Do you think we should work in harmony or in antagonism with the Argentine people?— I think we may just as well work in harmony as not. They are running their trade remarkably well, and there is nothing for us to be at loggerheads with them about. 18. Both countries are doing well? —I think so. With regard to the question of distribution, I would like to say that there are from seven to eight million frozen animals going into Great Britain. That means to-day over £8,000,000 sterling. Is not that a complete answer as to whether the distribution is going on largely, and probably as well as it can be, when in twenty years a trade can be built up to produce very nearly £8,000,000 ? Out of that number of carcases there is a large quantity of lamb, which everybody admits is excellent. Mr. Cameron's contention in the matter of distribution is that the trade in London should be concentrated. His next proposal in the same connection is that each company in New Zealand—and there are seventeen of them —should have its own representative. To me this seems contradictory : that there should be concentration, and that each company should be represented. That is adding seventeen more complications to the scheme of concentration advanced, and which it is supposed will set things right. He said, in answer to a question, that these seventeen men could have their committee, and