With this message from the land to the south of us, what shall be our attitude 

 toward this question in Canada? It is, in the opinion of many, so suggestive that we 

 cannot afford to ignore it. We are still a young nation. Our problems as compared 

 with the United States are not yet so unwieldy, our business interests not so varied, 

 our economic difficulties not so acute. Our resources have as large a future, our home 

 industries have more room for expansion, our foreign trade has a greater opportunity, 

 through our relations with the mother country, to effectively win its way in the com- 

 mercial markets of Europe. 



We have reason, then, to set our hands to this task in a more careful manner than 

 that in which we have ever before entered upon any undertaking. We must lift pro- 

 duction to a level that shall permanently secure for us a comprehensive surplus, avail- 

 able for export. We must promote an organization that shall obtain for our produce 

 such recognition as is now given to Argentine beef, Danish bacon, New Zealand butter, 

 or Dutch cheese. 



To achieve this end, we must have a better understanding, a more complete co- 

 operation, between the producer and the middleman. We must secure a co-ordination 

 of interest between production and transportation. W'e must endeavour to link up the 

 financial institutions in this movement in such a manner as shall secure their support 

 to every phase of its development. The interests of these great industrial bodies must 

 be clearly allied in attaining the end in view. Each unit has a particular and important 

 part to play in the common programme, and each must recognize that, only as this 

 function dovetails completely and satisfactorily into those of the others, may real and 

 final success be achieved. Only thus may we hope to compete successfully in the 

 great commercial war soon to be engaged in by all the important nations of the world. 

 Only thus may we expect to build up a business in Canada commensurate with our 

 natural resources and worthy of our national ambition. 



THE EMPIRE'S SHARE IN THE MEAT TRADE 



In Australia there are about forty freezing works to deal with the exportable 

 surplus from 11,000,000 head of cattle and 80,500,000 sheep and lambs. 



There are in New Zealand no fewer than forty freezing works, in operation or in 

 course of construction, to deal with the exportable surplus from 25,000,000 sheep and 

 lambs and about 2,000,000 head of cattle. 



Australia and New Zealand are practically the only regular and reliable sources of 

 supply within the Empire, and they together furnished only 284,056 tons of meat in 

 1915, out of 664,508 tons imported into the United Kingdom. In addition, there was 

 a small import from Canada, and a still smaller import from South Africa. The 

 Over-seas Dominions should be equipped to furnish much more than one-half of the 

 meat imports of Great Britain. 



It is in the interests of the Empire that everything possible should be done to 

 foster the Canadian Live Stock industry. In Canada, the number of cattle is about 

 6,000,000, besides 2,000,000 sheep — a total which, having regard to the population of 

 the Dominion, does not at present leave a very large margin for export. With the 

 probability of preferential trade in food within the Empire there are great possibilities 

 in the expansion of Canadian live stock production. 



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