"VOICE OF COMMERCE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 73, 26 March 1912, Page 8

"VOICE OF COMMERCE.

CHAIRMAN OF THE CHAMBER | STEAMSHIPS AND RAILWAYS. In his annual and retiring speeqh to ,the Chamber of Commerce this aftersoon, Mr. H. C. Tewsley made special reference to the overseas mail facilities, ■Empire wireless, and industrial matters. It was very gratifying, he said, to acknowledge the good feeling that exists .between the various New Zealand Chambers, and there has been a. free interchange of ideas upon several matters of importance to the Dominion^ amongst others Labour legislation, mail service, and delays in mails between Colombo and Fremantle. The Postmaster-General !had completed negotiations for a fortnightly mail service between Wellington and San Francisco, and the Union Com-/ pany_, with it* well-known energy, was putting on steamers that would uphold their prestige and Testore a connection with me United States of America that ehoald-never have been allowed to drop. If "Was ' 'gratifying to know that the Postmaster-General had also arranged a satisfactory contract with the same company for a fortnightly interval service between Auckland and Vancouver, with epecial provision for cool storage accommodation. It was to be hoped that, apart from the passenger and mail facilities thus created by these two services, our trade relationships and prospecte migjlfeje^pana. This would largely depend upon rates of freight, as, if these were reasonable, there must ere long be a w ,*go6d " market ,on the west coast of America, which had already expressed Ste readiness ,to reciprocate in trade relationships. WIRELESS. -An interesting -cable message from London ■■appeared in the daily papers recently, announcing that the British Postmaster-General, referring to Imperial wrreletfs, 'eiated that before long he hoped three leaps would connect England'_ and India, and two more would provide a connection with Australia. In this connection it was worthy of note that the New Zealand Government! was fully alive to the advantages of providing for the Dominion's wants in this respect, . and was well to the fore in making provision for bringing the outlying portions of the Dominion into touch with /ft also, the necessity for which wa3 recently exemplified in tho case of the &ti. ffirnitangi, stranded at the Chatham Islands. NORTH ISLAND RAILWAYS. During >the past year active steps had been taken to push forward the connection between Napier and Gisborne, as also that between Waihi and Tauranga. PRIVATE ENTERPRISE IN RAILWAYS. During the year a matter which had received much public attention had been •the proposal of the Taupo Totara Timifoer Company to extend its present private Tailway to Taupo. The matter was fthe subject of a Parliamentary enquiry, ■and without entering into the merits or • demerits of the particular proposal, tho -^Chamber had occasion to express the opinion' that as a general principle it fbelieved ifc was a matter of regret that )there was not more scope for private enterprise iii the matter of constructing' eemi'public worktf of this kind. There was ample provision in the Tramways 'Act and other acts to regulate the terms on which Orders in Councils, to construct private tramways or railways should be granted to ensure that no hardship is inflicted on the outside public wishing to use such line. "I notice with much gratification," Mr. Teweley went on. "that the Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward) in opening the "private railway of the Wellington controlled Waipa Railway and Collieries •Company at Ngaruawahia on the 12th March laet welcomed the construction of the railway by private enterprise. He commended the enterprise which the company was displaying ac it proposed to spend between £50,000 and £60,000. It would provide employment for a large number of men upon the construction of ■the line and when the . undertaking was an full operation, would employ permanently some hundreds of men." LACK OF INTEREST. The Chairman said the chamber had -'felt that for some time past there had

existed a necessity for galvanising more life into the commercial intereits in municipal matters, as there appeared a danger that the high standard of representation desirable in so important a factor of civic and commercial life would suffer from a growing neglect of duty and responsibility . among citizen* generally. This was amply borne out by the comparatively small number who exercised their franchise at recurring elections and the unwillingness of merchants and others having interests at stake to come out, declare themselves and back their opinions by practical help. A Citizens' League, 'under the auspices of the chamber, was recently formed, and was doing good work on broad lines. It aimed at securing good representation, irrespective of sectional interest, and should command the support and sympathy of all portions of the community. Ite motto, "Citizens, Protect Tour Own Property/ should appeal to all those- who have soiao stake ia th* city. " GENERAL DISSATISFACTION." Widespread and general dissatisfaction with the present method of assessing revaluations of Wellington City Corporation leaseholds waa given expression to by a representative meeting of lessee* and others, held in this chamber in October last, cnlminating ■in the formation of a. Leaseholders' Association. By combined action it was hoped that this association would secure improvements and readjnstmente of- present disabilities that, if not effected, would disastrously retard the progress' of the city. Steps were being taken to test the recent assessments ibefore a Bench of Judges in the Appeal Court, through the medium of a lease renewable now, and it was satisfactory to know that the ' city authorities were waiving technicalities and were approaching the matter fairly, it being m their interests to obtain an adjustment that will cause this form of tenure to be sought after and give holders satisfaction. "The Harbour Board wouM also be represented, as its interests were great seeing that it had large areas tltat muit be available in the near future for tenures under 6imilar conditions. CITY IMPROVEMENTS. The past year had caen a considerable amount of work undertaken in the direction of city improvements. The handsome block of buildings to house the Postal and Telegraph Department is rapidly nearing completion, and will be a distinct ornament to the city, besides finding accommodation for on© of our meet efficient and best managed commercial public 'institutions. The_ City Corporation had extended its tramway service and linked up sections that made the arterial connections much more valuable, while the extension of the woodpaving and the re-grading to and of Post Office-square were distinct improvements and to the credit of the>ity. EXHIBITION. The Wellington Industrial Exhibition, held in Wellington in May last, proved both, from a financial and advertising point of view, a thorough success, as it resulted in a substantial surplus for future operations by the Wellington Provincial Industrial Association. The Auckland Chamber of Commerce was to be congratulated upon its enterprise in a similar direction, and its exhibition will •undoubtedly have the beet wishes and cordial support of all portions of the Dominion. The action of the Chrietchurch business community in foregoing their scheme for this year ie to be commended. HARBOUR BOARD. The Wellington Harbour Board had had a very successful year's operations, and ite business had been conducted economically and efficiently. One important feature of its. year had been the decision to inaugurate a superannuation fund for its permanent staff, a provision that might well be considered by other public bodies and large employers of labour as tending to cement a better Reeling between employer and employee. It was to be hoped tie staff of that board would 'accept the proposal. IMMIGRATION AND INDUSTRIES. The president again emphasised his remarks at the last annual meeting by saying that what New Zealand wanted, and wanted badly, was more' agricultural population. "Ours is essentially a producing country," he added, "which should have an agricultural population four times what it has. Were I in the at present un enviable position of Prime Minister of this Dominion, I would make- all other considerations subservient to the introduction of the right stamp of sturdy, healthy men and women to cultivate our lands, at the same time endeavouring to evolve a form of land tenure that _ would reasonably provide for the requirements of the greatest number. Other countries in the Empire ar© alivo to the- advantages to be gained by increased population of the right sort. One has only to consider the inducements that Canada offers, or, nearer home, Western Australia, to be impressed with the necessity for offering advantages to all settlers to our shores. If we contrast the percentage of producers in this Dominion with that ol the distributors and manufacturers of products introduced wto New Zealand the want of proportion is at once apparent. This fact partly accounts for the high cost per head of taxation, which, combined with the ccist of the advanced luxuries of our social life, having outstripped cur producing capacity, will be felt for years to cntne unless we can increase our productive^ population, and co divide and reduce the burden." It was pleasing U> record that the Union Steam Ship Company had extended its operations and erected at Evans Bay large laundry works and ship-Te pairing yards. The Wellington Gas Company was transferring ite large plant to Miramar and expending a very large sum in extending the gas service in the city and outskirts. Messrs. Cable and Co. had removed their works from the centre- of the city asid re-established them on a large scale .at Kaiwarva. From time to time proposals to establish the iron manufacturing industry had come before tha public, and this assumed a definite shape when in October last a Bill was introduced providing substantial bonuses to encourage the manufacture of iron and steel from New Zealand iron ores and iron sand, and! it is to be hoped that this indubtry can be established, as there, is no question of supply if the process of treating can be discovered. The oil industry appeared to be assuming more practical shape, and there were indications that ere long operations would be conducted on business lines, and New Zealand oilfields fairly tested with, he hoped, good commercial results. COMMERCIAL EDUCATION. The commercial community of the Dominion possibly did not yet recognise the value of the woTk that was being done in its midst through the operations of the New Zealand Society of Accountants. That body was duly incorporated under an Act of Parliament passel in 1908, and since then had been actively at work establishing a standard of professional efficiency by examination. It was gratifying'to know that during the past year arrangements were cinopleted with the various universities throughout tho Dominion to hold classes, conduct examinations, and issue diplomas to successful candidates. As an evidence that this departure was appreciated it had only to be mentioned that over 500 students sat for examination last year. (Proceeding.) Mr. E. 11. Peacock, uf Molbourae, will address a mueting at tho Y.M.U.A. tonight.