HIE RETARDATION OF CANTERBURY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12933, 12 October 1907, Page 10

HIE RETARDATION OF CANTERBURY.

TO THE EDITOR OF "THE PBEBS." P( Sir,—Your progressive readers doubt- w ess appreciate the consistent manner V a which you hare lately urged upon !', vhnstchurch citizens! the necessity oi V lealing aggressively with the Lyttclton " ailway rate question. w There is not the slightest doubt that I! Hiristchiirch, as a trade distributing -.1 entre, is the worst situated city in Cew Zealand. It is practically a side- w racked town, and has always been +1 reat«d as such by colonial trading irins. Hence the reason Aihy in Anck- g 3 and, Wellington, and Bunedin the O i rholesale business premises are much th urger and moro numerous than in in Jhristchurch. The solution of the mat- se cr is not far to seek. Tie Jack of n* lirect chipping facilities has robbed c<l his district of many thousand pounds' "fit •orth of trade annually for the past or wenty-fivt- years to Tny knowledge, is " * likely that colonial and foreign '>« raders end manufacturers are going R a 0 pay about 7s per ton railage and artage on their imports and exports 1 hen it only costs them 3s 6d for the nine in Wellington? Is it reasonable » oxpect these people to push a largo rado with Christchurch when Wellingon offers them such superior opporunities of increased profits on hun- ffa reds of tons of yearly shipments? CI ihy, Timaru can afford better tr hiprmg jChristchurch. m< -oode oan be landed into stores at 4s in> d per ton in Timaru, as against 7s in ne hristchurch. I am afraid thet the It ocently-formed Canterbury Advance- vr lent Aeeocmtion have a very hard be ctt to no© to induce outsiders to Co rade or reside in this city in any .so reat number M its shipping dieability im nd its dust fiond ere tro almost hope- th :ss drawbacke. And regarding the orailag* reduction que»tion, I am poai- na l lfi j Jt w,ll nerer be satisfactorily bw ?ttled, no matter what Government k th 1 ° fit * or the P 4,51 quarter-cen- I» >tiy« refutations have waited upon w< !it« vanutis Ministries, with uiu<>.h the '''1 tint- noiilt. Even eiippofrinj; the pru- ~I(

cent Cabinet reduced the Lytt«iton rat© by Is per ton (which ie the xnoet we could expect), thereby decreasimr th© coet to (3s, what materia] benefit would that provo to Christchurch as ngain6t Wellington's 3s 6d. If we desire to attract new commwco «nd industries to this district, our shipping expenditure muet approximate as nearly *s possible .to those of Wellington. That. I take it., is th© position in * nutshell. And the Lyttelton railway will never help us much along that line. A direct access to the ocean is the only possible nntidote to this city'e present uiifortunate situation. Therefore, the Smnner eenal echonie, if technically fefisible, must Im» proceeded with «s much despatch as cireunistancee will permit. So long ac Christchurcli has to depend solely upon the Lyttelton line, with all ite set-beck charges, delays, and chipping disabilities, so far from it o-ver becoming the chief industrial centre of the Dominion, it will never be anything more than » district market town. Thin city's urgent need of a canal from the sea stands pre-ituinent alx>vo all of ite other necessities, excepting, perliaps, the water supply for adequate etreet watering purpose*.—Yours, etc., ' ADVANCE CHRISTCHURCH. October 9th.