§ Sir R. HERMON-HODGEasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food why, in the absence of certain meats, those distributors holding live permits are allowed to purchase dead weight to make up their full quota, while a person holding a dead permit may not buy live meat of any kind, even though there be a surplus?
§ Mr. CLYNESThe hon. Member would appear to have misunderstood the Regulations with regard to this matter. Retailers of meat are permitted to take out permits to buy either live stock or dead meat according to the class of trade which they were doing in October, 1917, but in neither case are these permits interchangeable. In consequence of a shortage of supplies in a particular market, the holder of a live stock permit may not succeed in obtaining his full quota, in which case his supply is made up with imported meat through the prescribed channels. The holder of a dead-meat permit on the other hand is assured of obtaining the full amount of his quota from the wholesaler with whom he is registered, and it may further be assumed that, since his trade is in dead meat, he would not be in a position to handle live stock even if it were available. In the event of there being a surplus of live stock in any particular market, it is transferred to a market where there is a deficiency.
§ Mr. W. NICHOLSONasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether the control of both home and foreign-produced meat is in the hands of officials who, before the establishment of the Ministry of Food, were solely inter- 552W ested in the import of foreign meat; and whether he will give the names of those responsible for the distribution of meat, together with the names of the firms or companies with which they were originally connected?
§ Mr. CLYNESThe control of both home-produced and imported meat is in the hands of the Meat and Live Stock Executive Board of the Ministry of Food, which is composed of Civil Servants and representatives of agricultural interests, the meat trade, auctioneers, etc. The supplies under their control are distributed through the agency of the National Meat Distribution Committee, which is composed of wholesale meat traders who, before the establishment of the Ministry of Food, dealt with supplies both of home-produced and of imported meat, The following are the names of the members of these two bodies:
Meat and Live Stock Executive Board.
Mr. E. F. Wise (Chairman), Civil Servant.
Mr. E. M. H. Lloyd, Civil Servant.
Mr. W. Anker Simmons, Chartered Surveyor; Messrs. Simmons and Son, Land Agents and Auctioneers, Henley-on-Thames, Reading and Basingstoke.
Mr. F. T. Boys, London Manager of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company, Limited.
Mr. W. H Wells, President of the Auctioneers' Institute; Messrs. Chesterton and Sons, Auctioneers and Estate Agents.
Mr. S. P. Kerr, Barrister-at-Law.
Mr. P. B. Proctor, Secretary to the Colonial Consignment and Distributing Company, Limited, and to the Australian Chilling and Freezing Company, Limited.
Captain Wilkie, Advisory Accountant to and member of Management Committee of the Home and Colonial Stores, Limited.
Lieutenant the Hon. A. Borthwick, Messrs. Thomas Borthwick and Sons. Limited, meat importers.
Mr. T. E. Metcalfe, Secretary.
National Meat Distribution Committee.
Mr. Willis (Messrs. Willis Brothers, Birmingham), Messrs. Webster and Bullock.
Mr. Nichol, Messrs. Nichol Brothers, Smithfield.
Mr. Whitney, Messrs. Armour and Company, Limited.
Lieutenant Lewis, Secretary.
553W
§ Mr. NICHOLSONasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that a quantity of foreign meat consigned to Petersfield, Hants, by the Ministry of Food last week for local distribution to butchers, etc., was examined by the local sanitary inspector and condemned by him as unfit for human consumption; and whether he can say how long the meat in question had been in cold storage and who are the officials who are responsible for sending the meat to Petersfield without previous examination?
§ Mr. CLYNESI am making inquiries with regard to this matter, and will inform the hon. Member of the result.