>The farmers, especially in the North, are greatly moved about
the importation of meat. The people would not eat the overcooked Australian meat, but they like the Canadian and American joints brought over in vats, kept at a temperature just below freezing-point. First-rate beef, so good that it cannot be distinguished from the English, is now imported in this way, and practical farmers who have recently visited the States, Mr. Barclay, for example, Member for Forfar- shire, say the trade will become a very great one, and will reduce the price paid to the grazier by a penny a pound all round. That is a very serious loss, which he thinks must be met by a complete removal of the restrictions now pressing upon leaseholders. That removal may be a good thing, but we should like a little more evidence as to the fall in price. Has it fallen ? Meat is certainly no cheaper in London, and we sus- pect the import will have to grow enormously before either farmer or consumer knows that it has occurred. With every decline of a penny a pound, a new class begins to eat meat, till the demand sends up the price again.
Previous page
