AUSTRALIA 47 



gestions for Fostering Production within the Empire." This- 

 communication fixes very pointedly upon the extent and dangers 

 of foreign penetration. It goes so far as to state that the 

 powerful group of American operators in the British import 

 trade have secured a stronger position, while their British com- 

 petitors have become relatively less strong, largely owing to the 

 action of the British Government. The following have been the 

 main factors in producing that result, viz. : — 



(a) Placing a large proportion of the orders for army re- 

 quirements in tlie hands of these American operators; 

 (&) Commandeering and controlling Australian and New 

 Zealand supplies, which formed the backbone of the 

 British traders' business; 



(c) Permitting South American houses, chiefly American, ta 

 import considerable quantities of frozen meat for civil 

 use, while preventing New Zealand and Australian 

 houses from doing the same thing; and 



(d) (thereby) destroying the productive and distributing 

 organisations of British firais, while building up those 

 of their American competitors. 



In 1913 the world's output of frozen and refrigerated meat 

 was 40 per cent. British and 60 per cent, foreign. Tn 1916 it 

 was 31 per cent. British and 69 per cent, foreign. 



Constructive policy is, of course, necessary for the future, 

 and the memorandum devotes some space to recommendations 

 for avoiding the dangers of foreign penetration in this trade, 

 and making the Empire self-supporting. It asks a question : — 

 "Can Australasia, Canada, and South Africa make up the 

 deficiency from their large but not fully developed stocks?'^ 

 That is the crucial question. The reply must be: "Not at 

 present, but we believe that in a few years' time, with proper 

 encouragement from the Home and Overseas Governments con- 

 cerned, they could." 



As to remedies, we read: — "First of all, it is necessary to 

 interest the Home Government sufficiently to elicit from them 

 some definite guarantee against the most favoured treatment, 

 active or passive, being accorded to foreign producers, also a 

 definite declaration in favour of encouraging Empire production. 



"Meat required for feeding our troops, both now and in time 

 of peace, should be drawn, firstly, from Empire sources so far 

 as these will permit ; secondly, from British suppliers of foreign- 

 grown meat ; and only lastly from foreign suppliers. Even 

 if relatively full prices were paid for such Empire supplies as: 



