TRADE WITH CANADA.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 137, 10 June 1909, Page 3

TRADE WITH CANADA.

CARGO SERVICE ABAKDOXED.

Recently it ■was announced that the Alley Lme steamers had been withdrawn from the New Zealand-Canadian cargo service owing to the withdrawal of the Government subsidies. The steamer Lndravelli, which arrived at Auckland this morning, is the last vessel of the line to be engaged in the trade, which ceases with her departure from New Zealand, for she has been fixed to load in this Dominion and in Australia for London. The quantity of cargo shipped by the vessel at Vancouver was pretty considerable. Fo.* Auckland the vessel has 250,000 feet of Oregon pine and a large quantity of general cargo, while the has 2,000,000 feet of Oregon pine and general cargo for discharge at Wellington, Lyttelton and Dunedin. Since the service was inaugurated three years ago, the Canadian shipments have always been satisfactory, but the same cannot be said of the exports from New Zealand; in fact, more often than aot the steamers were sent back to Vancouver with no cargo at all, although it i 3 only fair to state of late a slight improvement waa noticeable.

The master of the vessel (Captain Pilcher) told a "Star" reporter this morning that the antipathy to the service was all on the New Zealand eide, and if the Canadians had their way the steamers would still be running. The people in the older Dominion regret that the service has been abandoned. The Canadians did not want to withdraw their subsidy. They were keen on having the line maintained, but as the New Zealand Government would not continue its subsidy, Canada was reluctantly compelled to withdraw its subsidy also. The service was inaugurated in the early part of 1906 by steamers of the Bucknall line, charted by Mr. Alley, who was the promoter of the scheme. Subsidies were given by both the New Zealand and Canadian Governments 3 and the service , was carried on for a year or more, when the death of Mr. Alley neceesitated new arrangements being made. The service was taken over by the Indra line and Mr. Barry (of Dundee), and carried on under the old subsidy, a bi-monthly service being established. It was due to the fact that very little cargo was shipped from New Zealand that our Government was induced to -withdraw its support to the line.