THE UNION STEAM SHIP COMPANY.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12478, 14 April 1906, Page 5

THE UNION STEAM SHIP COMPANY.

THE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENTERTAINED.

PROGRESS AND PLANS OF THE COMPANY. •

THE VANCOUVER SERVICE

(special to "the press.") WELLINGTON, April 12. I Two years ago at a very pleasant I function here, Mr James Mills, the managing director cl the Union Steam S.iip Crnipany. w;is admitted to a life liKnibvt.s'irjp of '.lie Institute of Marin*; To-day tho marine engi- : mors and their frionds, including a 1 largo l numb, r of representative citizens. ! 111.X for .'he cf entertaining Mr : Mills at luncheon, and wishing him bon ] voyage to Eng'au-1. The Right Hon. j th.. 1 Premier presided, and the prccocdi iiigs wero marked by th? litma-t oordia:lfy. Muisagc-.s conveying good wishes were received from a hit go number of the civws in the fleet of tht.Union C.:mpai:y and other companies trading to N< w Zealand, an.l tlie letters <>: ap;)h"-gy troni many leading citizens • in various parts of t'ne colony, who were : unable to attend. breathed a spirit of goodwill and good wishes, showing the t very high <s.im.'itiou in which Mr Mills ILs held by the ecmmuiiity at large. j SPEKC'H RY THE PREMIER. Mr S.uion.. in tin* course of an appropriate r>peech. t-i.iid k wits well that J UK'*s::;d-oit should he from Wellington, j iK'caitfiJ nono of Wellington's sons stood ;li gner to-day than Mr James Mills. ' (Applause.) W'iiun he ivuk a mcml.or of Parliament ho gained th» respect of Will parties, but he believed t.hat Mr Mills had done more for the colony as mana,g:n,g director of the Union Company than he would have been able to do if ho had boon Premier of the colony. (Laughter and applause.) Mr Seddon wen.t on to trace Uie history of tlie company i+nc* iT* start in 1875, when it took s%-er t'ne vi.s.seJs of the Harbour Steam Company of Dunedin, tlio total tonraago of tho five steamers taken over lnn.Bg 3262 tone. From tiliat date the record of the company had been one of steady progress, and they might take the progrets of the company as cmbkima/tic of the process of tlie colony. He again said that in this respect the colony was groahly indebted to the company, which had ailways kept paoe with, and sometimes been in advance of, our requirements. Ho gratefully acknowledged tho colony's indebtedness in that respect. Thirty-one years ago the mileage ooverod by tlie oompany'e vessels was 170,000 miles, last year they covered 2,000,000 it—tee, and it spoke volumes for the offioere, engineers, and orews that there 'had been so liibtle \om of life and property. (Appßau6e.) Tho managing head of such a large concern had gravo responsibility cast upon him. Had things gone wrong tlie bLame would have fallen upon him, and it was only right, therefore, tih&t they should show their appreciation of the fact thait lnattdre had £<mc on so successfully. (AppilaiiHe).

Continuing, Mr Scddon said thai, this gathering of engineers was a great tribute to Mr Mills, and no one would contradict Mm when ho said that Mr Mills stood very high in their good will and confidence. He trusted that might long continue. (Applause.) Mr Mills was, perhaps, not frco from anxiety on. ono point, but ho hoped tho day was not far distant when tho same good foaling would'exiat with tho seamen. Mr Mills could do a great deal to assist in once mare getting the Vancouver service back to the oo'lony. It would be a neighbourly and kindily action if Australia would move in the direction of getfting the Vancouver steamers to call at our colony. Ho hoped Mr Mills would tell the Canadian authorities tfoat it would bo to the interest of Canada if those vessels called here. Canada would, ho believed, take tihe foremost part in the New Zeailand International Exhibition, but utiilcas tho Vancouver boats called, Canada would not reap the full benefit from its exhibit. There would be a tremendous pat monger traffic between Australia and New Zealand during the Exhibition, and he hoped that Mr Milte had amuiged for 13ks increased traffic. He had not soon, as yet, he added, any advertseiment from the company offering t lie cheap freights that another company was offering. Mr Mills wculd bo out of the war, and would be able to look on complacently. (Applause.) In conclusion, Mr Seddon said it ■would not surprise him to find that there would be more steameTH for New Zealand as a result of Mr Mills' 6 visit to the Old Country. The toast was drunk to tho acoompam- | iment of full musical honours. | MR MILLS'S REPLY. I Mr Mills, en rising to reply, was received with a further outburst of cheering. Having returned thanks for the warmth of the reception aocorded him, and the manner in which tho Premier had proposed his health, he said the company had always appreciated the very loyal scivice given by the engineers at all times, and had always been ready to reciprocate the good feeling exhibited by them. He referred to the early history of tho company, comparing tho first vessels with the steamers now running, and gave an interesting comparison between the fares of tho-e early daj-s and the* fares at present—£l6 from Auckland to Otago for instance. Tlicre had also been onori mous increases in the tonnage, which he hoped would continue. The rate of progression had !>oen much more sul>stantia.l during the past fifteen years, probably owing to the administration of tlio" colony during that period. (La lighter.) Tlie Premier: "I hope you havo as big a surplus :is the colony." (Renewed laughter.'* , Continuing, Mr Mills gave the folI lowing figure*, showing the I "Tos I annua! expenditure:—lßSs, ! £176.605: 180.3, £707,052; 1905, I £ 1.233,557. The mileage run per I annum was:—ln 187G, 171.000 miles; in 1885, 859.120 mile-;; in 1895, 1.830.800 mile*; in 1905, miles. Tlie annual coal consumption was:—ln 1885. 96.651 tons; in 1895, 191,410 tons; in 1905, 300,600 tons. The wages afloat, which totalled £10,000 in 1876, were £216.956 in 1905. Tho company owned 51 steamers of an aggregate tonnage of 109.000 tons, which did n include a earner of 3900 tons now building. With regard to the futtrre. it was part of his mission to arrange for the building of new steamers—one a turbine steamer to trade between Wellington and Lyttelton. a step that had lieen taken after the experience gained of that class of steamer. ''Applause.) That steamer would replace the old Rotomahana, and would "bo of about 3000 ton s , with a working speed of eighteen knots. Mr Campbell, marine architect, had crone Home in the Ruapehn, and would meet him there on arrival. The directors, it would be seen, hnd every ia tho future of the colony, nv.d were anxious to provide for future requirements. They <W,red to see the Vancouver service steamers again call at New Zealand. He thought that next- year it was very probable thit a change would be eecured. (Applause).

As to fix* relations between tihe compriny and the seinxni. ho thon«rht it was a pity that an n-eftation hnd \*?<>n start od. hut probably it —zr only rm the nnrt of- a fevr. as they already <»n----jovwl the sump —m&s as •orevailor} tbronebf.nt .Australia. trtpMhor witih other advantages, and ho believed that

difficulty would soon be righted. As to cheap freights, the Premier had forgotten that the company's freights were always low, and there was no room for reduction. Why they even carried State coal at 5s per ton. (Laughter.) In conclusion, ho again thanked the Premier and those present for the goodwill exhibited towards tho company, f Applause.)