PORT OF LONDON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20249, 8 May 1929, Page 12

PORT OF LONDON.

GREAT VOLUME OF JRAD|.

ASSISTANT-MANAGER'S VISIT.

TOUR OF DOMINION PLANNED.

[BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON, Tuesday.

The principal assistant to the general manager of the Port of London Authority, Mr. T. R. Toovey, arrived in Wellington by tho Maunganui from Sydney to-day. Mr. Toovey is visiting New Zealand as part of a world tour, to make better known tho marketing and distributing facilities of the Port of London, and to confer with producers and shippers with regard to tho great volumo of merchandise which goes to London every year.

Daring his tour Mr. Toovey will endeavour to inspect the port facilities of tho Dominion, to gain ideas which may be of value to of London. Ho is accompanied by Mr. R. Letch, of the authority's commercial department, and they have already spent three months visiting tho principal cities of Australia. Mr. Toovey will visit . the principal cities and towns in New Zealand, and proposes to address the chambers of commerce at each place on the marketing and distributing facilities of the Port of London. Greatest Port in World. "London possesses many unique advantages," said Mr. Toovey to-day. "It is not only the capital of the Empire, but is the greatest city and port in the world. It is the financial centre of the world, and its marketing and distributing facilities are unequalled by any other port. Manufacturing industries are steadily drifting to the south of England, and London's position as an industrial, as well as a commercial, city, is more predominant than ever. "In recent yef»rs London's commerce has increased by leaps and bounds. The latest Government statistics available are for 1927, and show that London had. a record year. Over 52,500,000 net" register tons of shipping entered the Port of London, or 20,500,0)0 tons more than entered Liverpool, the next largest port in Britain. The overseas trade amounted to £706,000,000, exceeding Liverpool's by £225,000,000, and more than two and ahalf times tho value of the combined overseas trade of Hull, Manchester and Glasgow. "More than 39 per cent, of the import trade, and 60 per cent. .of the reexport trade of Britain pass through London every year. London is the largest importing. and consuming centre for Empire products, and receives four-fifths of the meat, nine-tenths of the butter and cheese, and three-quarters of the fruit sent from Australia and New Zealand to tho United Kingdom. Recent Large Expenditure.

"In extending the docks £15,000 000 has been spent, apart from the very Jarge sums, aggregating some millions of pounds, expended: in modernising the equipment of the port. The River Thames has been deepened, so that the largest class of vessels can navigate • the river to the King George Vi dock, 40 miles from the sea.

"New docks, cold stores, quays, ware-' houses and sheds equipped with the latest, mechanical appliances have been constructed. At the present time £4,000,000 is being spent, chiefly at Tilbury, where a dry dock, a river entrance lock, and a passenger landing stage are being built. The entrance lock will take the largest ship afloat, and the passenger. landing stage will be able to accommodate the largest liners from New Zealand at any time of the day or night. Part of the landing stage is already in use,' and it will be completed this year,"