SPECIAL INTERVIEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12240, 8 April 1903, Page 1 (Supplement)

SPECIAL INTERVIEWS.

I THE WEST COAST TRADE. POSSIBILITIES OF THE FUTURE. , A gentleman who takes a keen interest in the development of the trade of Auckland was yesterday waited upon by a Herald representative and asked for his impressions regarding the West Coast as gathered in a trip through Taranaki a few weeks ago. " The most striking feature about Taranaki," he said, " is the rapidity and energy with which it is being extended. If yim simply go in the train, from New Plymouth to, say, Patea, the whole line is dotted with little mushroom towns thathad hardly any existence a few years ago. Patea, of course, is itself a little older, as it has the good fortune to boast of what they call a harbour. But all the other little townships are decidedly new. Look at Stratford, for instance, lit with the electric light, and now there is a scheme to light Hawera, and three of its neighbours, all from one river. Hawera is a very thriving and busy town, with many substantial and up-to-date buildings. They have a public swimming bath in Hawera that looks just as smart as any in Auckland or Rotorua, and the main street has splendid shops, hotels, and other buildings, some of the best being built on the site of the recent fire." " .And all this growth has come about through the dairy industry V" " Yes. Taranaki has run butter for all it is worth. It is true that round Hawera the local people are sounding a note of warning and declaring that adjacent land is too high. Fancy paying £40 per acre for land to graze milking cows! But as long as people are ready to pay that, and can make money at the figure, I suppose the value is not too high. The speculative inflation is what you have to be afraid of, but in Taranaki the only speculative element ■is whether butter will keep up. Butter has been at rattling prices the last few seasons, and prices for land as well as cows are based on that estimate. I asked a gentleman in Hawera what would happen t butter dropped threepence per pound as a result of the enormous development in Siberia that we hear so much about. He preferred not to face the problem, but acknowledged that it would be a bad day for his town, and would 'smash up' Taranaki. You know the trouble in the butter business is not from any fear of over-produc-tion in New Zealand. We could quadruple our export and it would all disappear on the London market, and then we have the provinces left; but if Siberia and the Argentine swamp London at little over half the price of our butter, it will take all our reputation to keep prices up. Things are booming in Taranaki, and I am told that young fellows can still go into dairying on the share system and make good money." "Why cannot that be done in Auckland

" That is what I would like to know. Do you remember the Parliamentary tour through the North last year, when the Southern representatives were so surprised at the amount of good land lying idle, declaring that if that was in the South their merchants would never allow such a state of things to continue, but would buy it, and, if necessary, the cows to stock it, in order to get settlers on it? Like most people here, I thought that an after-dinner exaggeration ; but it is no such thing. In Taranaki not only merchants, but wealthy farmers are continually taking up freehold land, which is run on the share system, that is, the owner pays for the land, building, and cows, while the occupier does all the work of milking, feeding, etc., both parties dividing equally the gross returns for milk and pigs' sold, and also equally sharing the calves raised. I am told that many young men have been' put on their feet in this way, in a few years owning enough cows and money to start on their own account'. And all the while the owner makes good interest on his outlay. Everyone knows that in Wellington one of the foremost merchants of the city has a large interest in dairying, owning one factory that has an enormous output. But in Auckland the people are not educated to this system, and are letting a splendid opportunity pass, while they call upon a deaf Government to do the work for them. I shall never forget one day when I was leaving Wellington in the Waikare, a howling gale blowing as usual, when it was so boisterous that another Auckland gentleman, a prominent merchant here, was the only one to accompany me on the high promenade deck. As we gazed over the stern at the city I asked him for his impressions, and he gave them almost in the words I had myself already framed: ' They have the public purse, and do not hesitate to draw on it.' But a Wellington merchant told me that the difference between their city and Auckland is that they have energy whereas our merchants and citizens generally are half asleep. I daresay the truth is somewhere between these two versions, and will give an instance. A week or two ago I travelled for thirty miles on a road in the Wellington district, and not a main road either, and for the whole distance the road was perfect, not a single steep grade, although it was through country more like the Waitakerei Ranges than anything we have, and the road itself was fit for a bicycle all the way, while a pedestrian could safely walk it in slippers. That was, of course, in dry weather, and I am told that in wet weather it sets harder still. A few inquiries elicited the fact that the Council that' ran it was £24,000 in debt; and that is apparently their principle', if they want anything and cannot get it they borrow the money. How many years will it be before our main North road is as good as this little country road in the Wellington Province?" " Perhaps general trade js good there, too." " Yes, it is, and we shall have to learn a lesson there, or else Wellington will keep it. We should have a far bigger share of Taranaki trade than we have. This we can claim as neutral territory, and yet we have not anything like our share of it. We have a steamer every day to New Plymouth, and one every week or so to Wanganui and Waitara,' but from Wellington they have daily steamers to Patea, besides the ports we touch. And in Taranaki trade it is largely a matter of freight. Besides sugar, which they must of necessity get from us, we can sell soft goods, fancy goods, and saddlery, but goods that are affected by freight, such as _ ironmongery, glassware, groceries, wines, and spirits, it is difficult to sell at a profit. A steamer should run to Patea, so that we could send by that route all the goods for Taranaki as "far North from that port as, pay, Stratford, leaving New Plymouth and Waitara for. Stratford northwards. Take Hawera as an example, and this town is a good way north of Patea. Wellington can land goods there for 10s freight, 2s dues, and lis railage, total 23s per ton; Auckland costs 6s to Onehunga, 10s steamer freight, 2s dues, 26s railage, total. 44s per lon. What we would save by shipping to l\thi>a is the difference between lis and atw railage. I daresay the Northern Compony would very, soon put on a steamer, «civ build a suitable one to negotiate the little Patea Harboui, if freight was offering but the matter wants to be taken in hand by the merchants." "How about a back freight?" "Ah, that's the rub. There is no back freight, as it has all been secured by Wellington. Patea and neighbourhood produces onlv butter, and it all goes to. Wellington. 'Why cannot we get it just as well? -Would-you believe it, that so far from trying to get any Taranaki butter shipped" here., the Auckland merchants have agreed to ship all their butter via Wellington for a term of five years, and that only a few months have expired? New Plymouth will stand it no longer, and are moving heaven and earth to keep the trade to themselves instead of sending it to •Wellington. You noticed that they had a r very : enthusiastic meeting to discuss the ! possibilities of a line of steamers direct to j Sydney, exporters and; importers being ' unanimous in : their "endeavours. • That j shows whsfc New Plymouth people think

thev are losing by sending their butter to Wellington. A port should never allow its trade to filter through another port, if it wants to keep in the front rank. An Auckland importer would never dream of allowing all his goods to come in through the South, but in exports we, are careless, just as we are over South Africa, allowing the South to capture all the trade, while we stand by and wonder why we never see a single steamer here." "Should not the Chamber of Commerce take it up?" "Certainly, but. a member of the Chamber told me a couple of years ago that he could not get that body to look at the Taranaki business. There is a splendid field for their labours, and the advantage to the trade of Auckland would be enormous. As a matter of 'fact we want more exporters in the Chamber, as well as importers. And when the representation is fixed up properly I will commend two fine openings for their energy, viz., to get the South African steamers to call here, first by worrying and then by getting freight; and to extend the Taranaki trade; and if I am not mistaken they will find the steamer to Patea the best solution of the latter difficulty."