214 NEW SOUTH WALES. 



Sooner or later the Home autliorities will stipulate that all exported 

 meat shall be thoroughly inspected, and certified as sound, at the port 

 of departure, and the sooner we forestall this development the better 

 for the trade. 



The following are the means by which, it is thought, assistance to the 

 meat export trade can be rendered by the Government : — Special reduc- 

 tion of railway freights on live and dead stock for export might be 

 conceded, with increased facilities for rapid transit ; special legislation 

 should be introduced anaulling the power of the Sydney Municipal 

 Council to claim dues on stock intended for slaughter for export, and the 

 supervision under the direction of the Board of Health of all meat for 

 export at place of slaughtering, including a certificate testifying to its 

 fit condition for human consumption, should be provided, and the 

 export of any meat without such certificate should be absolutely pro- 

 hibited. There are several difficulties in the way of this development, 

 however : first, to obtain men suitable for the work ; secondly, to 

 determine a standai'd of quality ; and, third, where the inspection is 

 to be made. It would be ruinous to graziers to have to freeze meat 

 and pay rail freight to Sydney on meat afterwards rejected. It could 

 then only be boiled down or canned at a heavy loss. The alternative is 

 to place a Government inspector at each works. 



Competition. 



Powerful as the chilled beef of the United States is as a competitor 

 with Australia, controlling as it really does the Home market (for 

 whenever chilled beef is in heavy supply frozen beef has no chance at 

 all, while frozen mutton also declines from sympathy), yet our most 

 formidable competitor, in the future, is Argentina. Her resources 

 appear to be almost inexhaustible, and her live stock export trade 

 both in sheep and cattle is assuming enormous dimensions. While we 

 have the Argentine competition we may once for all dismiss all idea of 

 any higher average for merino mutton than od. a lb. Rather should 

 the aim be to put it on the Home market at 2^d. A full and continuous 

 supply, ensuring low freights and insurance, will enable growers in 

 time to put down meat at a consolidated rate of 1 jd. a lb. from the sea- 

 board ; and even at the low rate of 2|d. a lb. this would leave the 

 grower Id. a lb. net for his merino mutton. This, in addition to the 

 skin and fat, would give sheep-growers what they have been aiming* 

 at, in establishing their own works, namely, a satisfactory minimum 

 price for their surplus sheep, for Id. a lb. net, in addition to the value 

 of the skin and fat, means a net 7s. for a 52-lb. sheep with a six 

 months' fleece, 



Mr. Gibson's interesting book on the Argentine Republic conveys 

 some valuable information, for we find at the date at which that book 

 was written that, in spite of the wonderful resources of that great 

 country, their stock of sheep had decreased from a former maximum 

 of 96,000,000 to about 80,000,000. As the country is capable, accord- 

 ing to Mr. Gibson, of carrying 150,000,000 sheep, we must look for 

 the cause of this decrease to adverse seasons and disease, and it is, 

 therefore, just possible that the competition from Argentina may be 

 thus considerably weakened. Nevertheless, Argentine owners have 



