PORT AND CITY.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19376, 31 July 1928, Page 8

PORT AND CITY.

QUESTION OF IMPROVED COMMUNICATION.

ADDRESSES AT SOUTHBRIDGE.

Last night, at the invitation of the Ellesmere branch of the Farmers' Union, Mr li. M. Chrystall, chairman of the Port and City Committee, and Mr A. L. Macfarlane, a member, gave addresses upon the subject of improved communication between Lyttelton and Christchurch. Mr R. G. Bishop, president, was in the chair. Those present manifested a keen interest in what the speakers had to say, and especially in the many fine pictures thrown upon the screen. In their addresses the speakers covered much the same ground as at meetings held alsow,here. "The question of direct access between City and Port is one ot the most* important questions of the day," said Mr- Macfarlane. The Port of Lyttelton was practically the ssme as it svas 20 years ago. That was not the fault of the Harbour Board. It was due to the lack- of proper access to the wharves. In no other port in the world that was up-to-date would ■ they see wooden wharves. A double-track highway was needed between Christchurch and Lyttelton. The speaker contrasted the conditions obtaining at both Auckland and Wellington with those at Lyttelton. To-day the trend was all in the direction of larger ships. At Lyttelton the shipping had fallen away. Why was that sop Partly because the harbour and the wharves and facilities generally were not as good as those at Wellington and Auckland. A while ago 400 copies of a questionnaire were sent out to business firms and leading citizens regarding the question of direct access to the port, and about 200 answers had been received, practically all being in favour of the proposals of the Port and City Committee. A m.*jjj|er of vital importance to the farmers was the shortage of railway trucks for the cartage of grain in harvest time. There were complaints every year about tho difficulty of getting their grain away. The provision of better access between City and port would release a large number of trucks for tho conveyance of grain. Under present conditions it took far too long to get goods from tho port to Christchurch. Road transport had come to stay. The' Port and City Committee held that for long distances the railway was preferable to Toad transport, but for short journeys the motor was the better.

"We have not an efficient system to get your produce to the port," said Mr Chrystall. Tho country and City must work together. The present system of transport was obsolete. There were people who were' endeavouring to hold Canterbury back by preventing tho use of motor transport between Lyttelton and Christchurch by ' a tunnel road. Manures and other materials required by the farmers would be cheaper if there was direct access to Lyttelton by a tunnel road. "We have got to go to the Government and tell them what we want," declared the speaker. The opinions of Messrs J. D. Hall, H. D. Acland, R. M. D. Morton, E. Hay, and W. Nosworthy, gentlemen all well known to the producers of Canterbury, were strongly in favour of the provision of a tunnel road. Referring to the canal proposal, Mr Chrystall declared that it. was far beyond tho present means of the province. The expenditure of I}. mililons upon Lyttelton, which had many very fine natural advantages, would make it a first-class port, with facilities for receiving and dispatching goods speedily, as in the case of Auckland and Wellington. After answering several.-questions, Messrs Chrystall and Macfarlnne were accorded a hearty vote of thanks on tho motion of Mr W. H. Abbott.