DUNEDIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6003, 12 February 1881, Page 5

DUNEDIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

MB LAENACHONWREVIVALOF AU trade. rnv TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Ddxedin, Friday. The Chamber of Commerce held an important meeting to-day. In the course of his address, Mr. Larnach (Chairman) said : —Members will have it fresli in their memories that, at the time of the election of the present 'committee, this part of New Zealand like other parts of the colony, was /uttering from the effects of a very severe cri«k unequalled m seventy and intensity l>v anV previous one, and the greatest colHnse of trade ever experienced hitherto Within an equal period of time by even the oldest inhabitant. At the time referred to «n°n were fait gathering in and hoarding up their coin. New business of the safest nature was declined, and genuine mercantile bills cautiously looked at, until at length honest and bona fide trade seemed to rebel at being crippled within unwholesome limits. These restrictions gradually c ->vc way to a more hopeful and better state. Confidence is slowly but surely returning. Fresh capital from Britain and some of our sister colonies has not been slow in relieving our money market of any undue tightness that existed. Money can now be borrowed at 7 per cent, whereas a few months ago it was difficult to secure it at 10 per cent. An abundant clip of wool, and the high percentage of lambing which has been experienced, will, together, assist most substantially to strengthen the restoration of confidence towhich I havereierred. The extremely bountiful harvest noy- being cut and gathered throughout this year must in itself point within a reasonable time to still further cheapening of money, and improvement in the value of other commodities, . and bo a benefit to trade generally. Agricultural lands are already engrossing more attention by inquiries that are made for them, and although the sales of land made recently are not yet numerous, evidence is not wanting to show that a great number ate awaiting to invest in land suitable for settlement, and knowing of the earth hunger that naturally exists in mankind we must not be surprised to witness at no distant date the value of good laud becoming higher than ever known in this colony. There can be hardly two opinions.of the harm done to the progress of the colony by the imposition of the property tax. Such a species of class tariff is far more apt to discourage than encourage settlement. .It is, therefore, to be hoped that when Parliament meets measures" will bo devised by which the colony will be relieved of the noxious burden under which it staggers, but cannot walk. Sufficient taxation for all the wants of the colony can be found through the ' Customs tariff, which is most willingly paid, and most easily collected. I trust the time is not far distant when a practical beginning with the frozen meat export will be made by the shipment of such a cargo from our ports. It is a mistake to suppose that the process of freezing destroys the cohesion of tlie tissue of the meat, and that the meat when thawed shows a tendency to decompose rapidly. I can tell you one "fact in opposition- to that theory. A friend of mine in London recently purchased a quarter of the frozen beef on its arrival there, and sent it up to the North of Scotland as a present to a small family. The good lady of the house, fearful of the capacity of lier household to consume the whole as fresh meat, lost no time in salting down the greater part of it, and I have been assured, on indisputable authority, that the result was most satisfactory. In short, Australian fresh beef, sent by chance to the north of Scotland to be salted and cured, proved an unqualified success. Before closing, I beg to call attention to what might be termed the neglect on the part of our mercantile community in not having sought for new outlets for produce. Look, for instance, at the colonies of Queensland, South Australia, Fiji, and others surrounding us, where British people are fast making homes and connections. Surely trade could be opened up with these ■ colonies for some of our products that cannot from climatic influence be produced by them. And why, gentlemen, in this enterprising commercial community in this year of grace, ISSI, should we find ourselves without sugar works of our own, unless it be in the cause of sweet philanthropy to enrich our friends who may be interested in the rich harvests to be . gathered annually by the Sydney and Melbourne Sugar Works ? In the course of the discussion that ensued, Mr. Bathgate very severely commented on the action by which he said we had nearly produced a crisis, by withdrawing seven millions of capital at a critical juncture.