CHAMBEE OF COMMERCE.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XXI, Issue 31, 12 April 1862, Page 3

CHAMBEE OF COMMERCE.

In consequence of the statement made by ( Mr. Crosbie Ward, the Postmaster- General, at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, Wellington, Mr. Oswald Curtis, Chairman of the Nelson Chamber of Commerce, addressed the following to the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Wellington : — To the Chaieman of the Chamber op Commerce, Wellington. Sib — I have observed with some surprise a report of a statement made by tho Postmaster-General to the Wellington Chamber of. Commerce, in reference to the proposed alterations iv the mail service of tho colouy. Mr. Ward is represented to have said (I quote from tho Neio Zealand Advertiser of the 19th February), that "he had communicated indirectly with tho Chamber of Commerce of Nelson, and they had offered no opposition to the proposed alterations." Mr. Ward called upon me on the morning of his" departure, and requested that I would communicate to the Chamber the following scheme of future postal service. ' A monthly steamer direct from Sydney to Auckland, another from Melbourne to Otago; the Provinces of Canterbury," Wellington, and Nelson to be supplied with their mails by the latter route. I took down from Mr. Ward's lips the dates at which it was calculated by tho Government that the steamers ■would arrive at, and depart from, the different ports ; the result, as it affeoted this province, being that the inward mail would be delivered at this port on the 24th of tho month, and the outward mail would be despatched upon tho 12th, or possibly a day or two earlier. Mr. Ward also invited the opinion of the Chamber upon the desirability of a weekly inter-provincial service, and suggested further that the provinces of Wellington and Nelson might unite in a subsidy for the encouragement of a direct monthly service between those provinces and Sydney, intimating that the General Government would be disposed to contribute a portion of the amount. I undertook to lay the proposals of the Government; before the Chamber, and expressed no opinion upon the subject, other than that I was sure that the Chamber, in the consideration of the matter, would have no wish to support the immediate interests of this province to the detriment of tho general interests of the colony. The subjeot was laid before the Chamber afc a meeting held on the 26th ultimo, when a committee was appointed to consider and report upon it ; the report to be brought up afc the next meeting, which will take place on the 19th instant. May I request that you will kindly communicate this letter to the Wellington Chamber, and that you will also cause it to be printed in the papers which oontained the reports of the Postmaster-General's statement to wliich it refers. I have, &0., (Signei.) Oswald Cuetis, Chairman. Chamber of Commerce, Nelson. March 13, 1862. N At the meeting of the Chamber, held on the 19th March, the sub-committee on Mr. Ward's proposed alteration in the Postal Services of the colony, brought up the following report : — The Committee appointed to consider the alterations proposed by the General Government ra the Mail Service, report — That the proposed Bcheme, as reported by the chairman to have been communicated to him, for the information of tho Chamber, by the Honourable the Postmaster-General, is as follows : — That the mails shall be conveyed by a steamer running monthly between Sydney and Auckland, and by another between Melbourne and Otago ; that the monthly steamer at present running between Sydney and Nelson shall be discontinued, and the mails of Canterbury, Wellington, and Nelson be conveyed from and to Otago by means of an inter-provincial boat. The committee are willing to admit, with regard to the first part of this arrangement, that the Province of Auckland as the seat of Government, as well as on account of its large population and commercial importance, and that of Otago as the seat of a large and increasing population (and considering the importance of its gold-fields to the whole colony), are in a position to require and demand the advantage of direct steam communication with Australia at the expense of the general revenue. The committee are at the same time of opinion that the Provinces of Wellington, Nelson, and Marlborough, taken collectively, have at least a claim of equal validity to the conveyance of their mails by a ■teamer direct to Cook Straits : the more especially as the amount of subsidy necessary to secure this service would, it is notorious, be much smaller than would be required for that between Sydney and Auckland. Your committee therefore recommend that the Chamber should join with that of Wellington in strongly protesting against the alterations proposed by the Government, so far as they involve the discontinuance of the steamer at present maintained between Sydney and this port. With regard to the hope held out by the Honourable the Postmaster-General, of weekly inter-provin-cial steam communication in combination with the proposed scheme, the committee, whilst fully recognizing the great advantages to be derived from such a service, do not consider that it could render the other parts of the proposal acceptable to this province, nor that it is necessarily dependent upon them. The committee are not in possession of sufficient information, with regard to the expense which would be incurred by the colony in the establishment of a line of mail steamers via Panama, to venture an opinion as to its practicability. Chamber of Commerce, Nelson, March 17, 1862. Proposed by Mr. Sinclair, seconded by Mr. Symons, and carried unanimously — That the report of the sub-cominifctee now read, be adopted, and that copies of it be forwarded to the Honourable the Postmaster-General, his Honour the Superintendent, and the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. Early in March, the Chamber of Commerce received the following communication from Canterbury : — The Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, Nelson. Sib — I am directed to invite the co-operation of the Nelson Chamber in a memorial to the General Government, having for its objeot certain modifications of the tariff, which are generally acknowledged to be essential to commerce, but wbich have been uniformly resisted by the late Ministry. The tariff of 1858 is principally obnoxious, because not only is New Zealand more heavily taxed than any of the Australian colonies, but that the chief burden falls on coarse and bulky goods, and on articles of indispensable necessity and little value, while fine and valuable materials, and articles of luxury, are comparatively exempt. I find that watertight and other boots, straw and other hats, blankets, and rough goods generally, pay from 15 to 150 per cent, on their cost ; and pickles, sauces, fruits, &0., &c., about 50 per cent. This Chamber, therefore, recommends the assimilation, as nearly as possible, of the New Zealand tariff to that of "Victoria, believing that thereby the revenue will be increased, and the cost of collectiondiminished. Ifc will do away with much of the inconvenience and annoyance of opening, examining, and weighing goods, and the disputes and differences thence arising ; and, while increasing consumption, it will lessen the price of clothing, candles, soap, and other articles necessary to the health and comfort of the people. I estimate the loss to be occasioned by the reduction of duties on wine, beer, sugar, and goods by weight and measurement (taking the same rate of importation a* last year), at £26,700 ; and the increase on spirits, tobacco, and tea, at £22,000 ; the balance being amply covered by the consequent saving to the department in the cost of collection. I find that, in 1859, under the old tariff, the duties oi» j«od> fc>r megnuvowt lm«3 incrn»sed from &81f8OOf { in 1858, to £35,600 \ while in 1860, under the new tariff (with » krjjff increase of population), it Ml to

£28,700. I therefore anticipate that the revenue will bo largely increased by the imposition of a less duty on goods by measurement, because that system of assessment bears heavily on coarse fabric?, and bulky goods of small value, of which there would be an increased consumption. I am directed to transmit a copy of the alterations recommended by this Chamber ; and I have, &c, A. Lotjisson, fciccretary. Chamber of Conitnerce, Lyttelton, February 5, 1862. At a meeting of the Chamber, held on the 19th March, the sub-committee appointed to consider the above letter, brought up the following report, which was unanimously adopted : — Tho committee appointed to consider a communication from the Lyttelton Chamber of Commerce proposing certain alterations in the Customs Tariff, reportThat, in the opinion of the committee, the fact that the amount of the duties levied in this colony is higher, than in the Australian colonies is attributable to circumstances which it is peculiarly the province of the Legislature to consider. The committee question however whether the tariffs lately proposed in Victoria and Tasmania are less burdensome than that of New Zealand. That the committee do not agree with the Lyttelton Chamber in the general assertion that "the chief burthen falls on coarse and bulky goods, and on articles of indispensable necessity and little value, whilst fine and valuable materials and articles of luxury are comparatively exempt." By far the largest portion of the duties is levied upon spirits, wines, tobacco, pickles, sauces, hats, and other articles undoubtedly of luxury ; and the present duties upon some articles of necessity, such as blankets and slop clothing, must necessarily be maintained if our Maori fellow subjects, who, on the Northern Island, are very large consumers of these goods, are to bear a reasonable share in the expense of carrying on the Government of the colony. Tour committee do not find, moreover, that the alterations proposed by the Lyttelton Chamber would tend to remedy the alleged eyil, for a reduction of 33 per cent., on the duty on wine, of 50 per cent, on that on bottled beer, cider, and perry, and the entire remission of those upon hats, confectionery, bottled and dried fruits, pickles, sauces, and other oilmen's stores would obviously be a step in the opposite direction, which the small increase of one shilling per gallon on spirits, and of sixpence per pound on tobacco would not counterbalance; while these latter alterations would be objectionable on the ground of their tendency to increase the amount of contraband trading which there is reason to believe, is already in existence in tho North. That the distinction proposed to be made between raw and refined sugars would, your committee believe, tend to relieve the Maori population from their fair share of taxation, without materially benefiting the European inhabitants of the colony. That the committee cannot concur with the Lyttelton Chamber in the proposed increase of 50 per cent, in the duty upon tea, nor in the proposition to wholly remit the present moderate duty of 3s. per owt. on cutlery, hardware, plated ware, ironmongery, soap, and candles. That, for the reasons already stated in reference to blankets and slop clothing, the committee are averse to the reduction of Is. 6d. per cubic foot proposed upon silk, cotton, linen, and woollen manufactures, drapery, haberdashery, &c. ; an alteration, also, which would not in any degree tend to effect the distinction between fine and coarse goods referred to in the letter of the Secretary of the Lyttelton Chamber. That the effect of the alterations under consideration, upon either the amount of revenue collected, or upon the cost of collection, would, the committee conceive, be inconsiderable. That your committee, therefore, considering that frequent and minor changes in Customs duties are always undesirable, are not prepared to advise the Chamber to recommend any alteration in the existing tariff until the circumstances of the colony admit of some material reduction of the present scale. Chamber of Commerce, Nelson, March 17, 1862.