CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Evening Post, Volume LIX, Issue 127, 30 May 1900, Page 2

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

_ « At the quarterly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce yesterday afternoon, the President (Mr. John Dulhie) in the chair, the following report was read: — "Since the annual meeting which took place on the 28th February, the Council Ins had under review some subjects of <'cner;il interest, the chief of which wero as follows:— The attention of the Minister of Railways has been called to the desirableness of straightening and duplicating the line of rails on the section between Wellington and the Hutt, and at the same time it was agreed that as the work would involve some reclamation of land along the line, advantage might bo taken of the opportunity to effectuate a much-needed reform by giving additional width to the narrow roading which runs adjacent to the railway. To these representations a reply has been received to the eft'ecb that there are more pres&ing ■works in different parts of the colony waiting the necessary funds for their carrying 1 out. If, however, it is true, as is commonly understood, that the value of the land to be reclaimed, even between the city and Kaiwarra alone, would bo equal to the entire cost of the ■work, this reply is not satisfactory. The Council has urged cm the Government the more vigorous prosecution of the North Island Main Trunk line, which has been dragging on now for nearly six* teen years. It is gratifying that Auckland, which has hitherto been largely responsible for delay in the work, is now heartily in favour of its rapid completion With this concensus of opinion in favour of the line it is hoped that in the approaching session of Parliament an attempt will be made to make up, to some extent, for lost time by a substantial vote for this work. A suggestion has been made to the Minister of Railways that an arrangement might be come to between the Government and the Manawatu Railway Company whereby the yearly tickets of the two systems might be made interchangeable where practicable. This would be a great boon to users of the railways^ and the Government has promised the matter consideration. The Council has promised its assistance to those who desire to see the' use of trading stamps made illegal, as it is considered that they do not operate to the benefit of either the tradesmen or the public. In view of .recent events, the Council has urged the Minister of Defence to give increased facilities to volunteer forces to make themselves efficient soldiers and generaly ! to foster and assist the volunteer system. Several other matters of minor importance but which are believed to be in the interests of trade and commerce have received attention." The President, in moving the adoption of the report, made the important speech which was published in our columns yesterday evening. Mr. H. Beauchamp, in seconding the motion for the adoption of the report", complimented Mr. Duthie on the very able address which he had just delivered. He regretted that during the year the Chamber would, not have the benefit of the ability which Mr. Duthie invariably brought to bear on all important questions. He understood that Mr. Duthie was about' to go Home, and in consequence of his departure it would be necessary to elect some other gentleman to fill the position of President. He first met Mr. Duthie ia Wanganui so long ago as the seventies, and from then until now he had always recognised that in any position he had displayed conspicuous ability. He (i-r. Beauchamp) was quite in accord with Mr. Duthie's views upon railway matters. 1 He was sorry to find that in the speech delivered at Riverton by the Hon. Mr. Ward there was no indication of the proposed straightening and duplicating of the Hutt railway or as to the improvement of the Port Chalmers-Dunedin line and tho railway over the Rimutaka. ~. either was there anything to show that there was any readiness on the part of the Government to obtain possession of the Manawatu Railway. He thought it was simply an omission that nothing was said about reducing the price of commercial travellers' tickets. Commercial travellers assisted in the development of the country, and every facility should be given to them to pursue .their calling. As to the San Francisco. mail servioe, he had long held the view that the benefits derived by the people of New Zealand were not commensurate with the amount which the colony paid, and he should prefer to see a moderate, subsidy paid to the Union Steam Ship Company to run their steamers to and from Sydney in such a way that the people might have the full advantage of the Brindisi service. He had frequently heard it said that if the penny postage system were adopted the concession would benefit the commercial class more than any other in the community. Traders already benefited by the penny postage, inasmuch as a great deal 'of their mail matter was being distributed through the post for a penny. If the penny postage system became universal, the general public would really benefit more than the commercial classes, and he hoped that the Government would see its way to bring into operation the Act passed some years ago with reference to penny postage. He trusted that the Mayor would bring under the notice of the City Council Mr. Duthie's remarks with reference to power for lifts, etc., and induce it to take such action as would remove the anxiety as to the water supply which a number of business people felt during the summer months. Speaking as a member of the Harbour Board, he could say that the question of a dook had not been lost sight of. Each time the Board had discussed the matter it had been confronted with the difficulty of finance. Mr. Ferguson would no doubt make exhaustive enquiries as to dock accommodation during his trip to Europe and America, and in the near future Wellington would have a dock. At the present time the Harbour Board was spending between £130,000 and! £140,000 on various works, with the result that when they were completed Wellington would, he felt certain, be the best equipped port in the Australian colonies. The Mayor (Mr. J. G. W. Aitken) said that the City Council had not lost sight of the water, question. The City Engineer had prepared a very exhaustive report on the subject, and if the Council acted as "he (the Mayor) believed it would, there would be ho difficulty in future with respect to water for hydraulic power. If the scheme proposed was carried out f there would be abundant water for all 'purposes. He could not approve of the suggestion made by Mr. Beauchamp that we should cut off the San Francisco mail service and have instead 0 weekly service via Brindisi. The service by way of America was the quickest we had, and when the new boats were running and the time was reduced it would become indispensable to us. His Worship complimented Mr. Duthie on his address, and expressed a hope that he would return to New Zealand feeling invigorated and with many fresh ideas. The motion for the adoption of the report was agreed to, and the meeting terminated.

A Royal Irish Rifle non-com, in Pretoria has smuggled through a letter to a Belfast friend, giving a pitiable account of the situation there. Food> consists of Indian meal porridge for breakfast and supper, and a small quantity of bully soup "without bread or meat for .dinner, their guards having to exist on similar