Sept. 1895.] FROZEN MUTTON TRADE OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 133 



together with a statement of the value of the total quantity 

 received from these sources and the average value per cwt. 





New 

 South 

 Wales. 



Queens- 





Total. 





Year. 



land 



r«iew 







V alue per 



and 



Zealand.. 







Cwt. 





Victoria. 





Quantity. 



-f r„i 



Value. 







Cwts. 



Cwts. 



Cwts. 



Cwts. 





£ s. d. 



1885 



9,085 



49,489 



284,013 



337,587 



836,558 



2 9 6 







32 949 



346 'i6.'i 



384,276 



842,409 



2 3 10 



1887 



20,927 



21^518 



395,638 



438,083 



918,816 



2 1 11 



1888 



44,489 





498,628 



543,117 



1,104,173 



2 0 7 



1889 



30,999 



11,101 



568,499 



610,599 



1,287,955 



2 2 2 



1890 



90,329 



19,497 



787,322 



897,148 



1,823,478 



2 10 



1891 



100,954 



66,377 



896,126 



1,063,457 



2,108,610 



1 19 8 



1892 



188,671 



23,055 



765,668 



977,394 



1,981,162 



2 0 6 



1893 



197,995 



89,163 



900,300 



1,187,458 



2,304,719 



1 18 9 



1894 



349,356 



118,894 



971,072 



1,439,502 



2,772,947 



1 18 6 



As regards the imports from Queensland and Victoria, it 

 should be observed that the figures in the above table represent 

 for the years 1885 to 1887 inclusive imports from Victoria only ; 

 while for the years 1889 to 1892 inclusive the figures relate 

 solely to Queensland. In 1893, the imports from the latter 

 colony amounted to 57,006 cwts., and in 1894 to 27,482 cwts. 

 The extreme decline in the declared value of fresh mutton 

 imported from Australasia in the decade is equivalent to a fall 

 from 5ld. per lb. to 4Jd per lb. Since 1886 the value has 

 never exceeded 4Jd per lb. ; and for the last two years it has 

 been approximately 4s^d. per lb. 



Although great improvements have been made during the 

 past few years in the arrangements for the transport and cold 

 storage of frozen mutton, the export trade has been handicapped 

 to a large extent by the want of efficient means of controlling 

 the output, and of a more economic system of distribution and 

 sale. The remedy suggested for these disadvantages is co-ope- 

 ration among stock owners, not only in their respective colonies, 

 but throughout Australia, and particularly in New South Wales 

 and Queensland. Co-operation has been already tried with 

 encouraging results in the colonial dairy industry, and Mr. Bruce 

 has attempted to set out the conditions under which it might be 

 applied to the meat export trade. As a preliminary step, the 

 graziers' meat export-companies in each of the colonies would 

 bind themselves to grade their meat and other animal products 

 closely and fairly; to ask for and accept only such share of 

 freight, cold storage, and sales as would be allotted to them on 

 the basis of the relative number of stock owned by their share- 

 holders ; and to co-operate in the shipping, storage, distribution 

 and sale of the meat in the countries to which it is exported. 

 Boards of advice would be formed in each colony to consider 

 the market reports and to determine what quantity of meat 

 should be shipped, while, in order to secure inter-colonial co- 



