CHAMBER GE COMMERCE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 769, 26 November 1886, Page 10

CHAMBER GE COMMERCE.

The quarterly general meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was held last Friday afternoon. There were about twenty gentle. men present, and Mr W. T. L. Travers, the president, presided. Tbe Chairman said that no nouico had been given of any business, but he would venture to call the attention of the Chamber to two or three matters. In the first place, a deputation, as would be seen by the minutes, had been appointed to wait on the Government with reference to the completion of the Gorge railway. It was satisfactory to find that it was in the contemplation of the Government to carry out this work, that the Government had only been waiting for funds from England, and that the work would now be prosecuted with all possible vigor. In connection with this, he thought it was a matter for congratulation that they were now within a few days of the completion of the Wellington-Manawatu railway line for passenger traffic. Already, the amount of traffic which had taken place over the line, especially in live stock, afforded very encouraging symptoms of success to the Company in its undertaking, and had opened up a prospect both to the people of this district and of Wanganui of a market for their stock of which they could scarcely have dreamt a littlo time ago, as well as affording encouraging prospects to the people of Wellington. There, was one work which, fond; as he was of works involving high mechanical skill, he took shame to himself for not having visited earlier, but which he had recently had an opportunity of inspecting, and that was the W oollen Company’s works at Petone. He thought the character and extent of this work was scarcely as yet appreciated by the people of Wellington. He pointed out the advantages likely to accrue to this district from the very energetic manner in which the undertaking had been carried to a completion, and the. very complete and beautiful appliances which were in use at the works —the production of articles of most general consumption, and the employment which would be given to a very large number of persons. Indeed, those who looked at Petono and saw the extent of work going on in that neighborhood would see how important a Suburb of Wellington it was likely to become. He had no doubt that in the course, of a few years steps would be taken to bring into use the immense stores of power which would be afforded by utilising the waters of the Hutt and other rivers which were at;a very short distance from that locality. Recently improvements had been effected in the supply of water by means of turbines, by which machinery could be driven. The work being earned out by the Woollen Company was but an indication of the advantages which would accrue to this district if once the immense stores of natural power, in the shape of water, became utilised. He had no doubt that the Directors would look into that, with a view of saving a very large amount of expenditure necessary for steam. Once such a plan was adopted, Petone would become the seat of a very large number of manufactories. It would be within the recollection of the Chamber that a good deal of discussion had taken place with reference to the alteration in the cable rates threatened by the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company. Ho thought the Colony was to be congratulated on the firm stand taken by the Government, which , bad brought the Company to book, and had elicited this important fact, that this Colony conld. at a comparatively moderate expense, become the master of the situation by having a cablo of its own. This was a matter of verv great importance to the commercial interests of the Colony, and would mean the safety of the Colony from the aggression of

which it might otherwise not have sufficient notice. It was also satisfactory to find such harmonious feelings existing between the Harbor Board and the City Council, and that those bodies were likely to bring their negotiations to a conclusion which would be beneficial to the commercial portion of the community, and when the commercial inter esls were benefited, it meant a benefit to the community at large. The inhabitants not simply of this City, but also of the whole district, would derive large benefit from harmonious action between these bodies. It was a matter of regret that the Harbor Board had not been successful in inducing the Government to give it endowments which would aid it in the prosecution of the important works it was about to undertake. His own opinion was that it was wise for the Board to persevere in its efforts, and he believed the time was not far distant when the commerce of this port would be so large that the Government would be bound, in the interests not only of Wellington, but of the public generally, and of the commerce of a very large portion of the Colony, to do something substantial to aid the Harbor Board in the prosecution of its efforts. He thought that an expression of opinion oil the part of the Chamber of Commerce should periodically be given in reference to this, because it was one of those matters which were very legitimately within its functions, and he thought it must be patent to all those who had an opportunity of seeing that the Board, under the advice of their engineer, were carrying out works of a class and in a manner which had no example in other parts of the Colony, without the substantial aid which had been given to Harbor Boards elsewhere. Another matter he had to refer to was in connection with the following letter received from the Adelaide Chamber of Commerce, calling attention to a matter in regard to the wool sales, which appeared to be of some importance : —“Adelaide, August 20, 1886. The Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, Wellington.—Dear Sir : I am instructed to hand you copy of resolutions passed at a meeting of this Chamber on the 18th inst. bearing upon the high bids insisted on by the brokers at the London wool sales, which has been brought under its notice by the South Australian Stock-breeders’ Association. On low-classed wools the of often means a rise of 12J per cent., which appears most excessive, especially when the usage at cotton sales is considered. Resolved, That the recommendation of the Stockbreeders’ Association, that the bids at the London wool sales should be Jd instead of Jd, as now, is cordially approved by the Committee. The fact of Monte Video wools being sold at bids is sufficient proof that bids are neither necessary nor adhered to, while they are especially hard upon Australian growers of low-priced wools. That the warehouse charges (of about 3s 6d per bale) appear heavy, and it is desirable that inquiries should be made with a view to their possible reduction. The object of this Chamber is to draw the atten<ion of the other Australian Chambers to the subject, with a view to arrange for united action, —I am, &c., H. Driffield, Secretary.’’ Mr Travers went on to say that he did not see present any gentlemen who might be specially interested in this question. He thought it was a pity that they did not take a little more interest in the subject. It was said—-he did not know whether it was true^—that these gentlemen used to get their money easily. He did not think it was so easy now as it used to be, and it certainly behoved them to look into the matter, and do what they could to increase the advantage to the wool-grower as well as themselves. The export of wool from New Zealand had reached over 89,000,0001 b ; but taking 84,000,0001 b as the amount, a bid of supposing it to be extended throughout the whole of the New Zealand wools classed for , sale, would mean £175,000. That of course was taking an exaggerated view of the matter. It might operate both ways, but he thought the competition would be too keen to prevent it operating against the sellers. It seemed desirable, he thought, that there should be no hard and fast rule as to no bids being less than £d. A lower bid might mean an enormous advance on the exports of the -Colony. V Mr J. C. Harris would like to observe, on the matter of the wool bids, that although there were no wool-growers present, this was a question which affected all, and that not remotely or indirectly. If the bid meant £175,000, extra obtained would mean £40,000 or £50,000, and that would be an amount exceedingly welcome to this Colony. He thought the Chamber might well pas 3 a resolution cordially endorsing the action of other Chambers with a view of getting the bids reduced. The people of New Zealand, so to speak, were living on wool —wool and mutton —and the prioe of these commodities was a question of paramount importance to them. He moved, That this Chamber cordially endorses the view expressed by the South Australian Stockbreeders’ Association, as communicated by the Adelaide Chamber, and will be prepared to support any action tbat may be taken to reduce the bids on wool to Jth of a penny or a farthing. Mr A. A. Barnett seconded the motion, which he said' was so reasonable. and carried so much evidence with it that it was only just that the Chamber should support it. He agreed with the Chairman’s view of the matter. The resolution, being put, was carried unanimously. Mr John Plimtner moved, " That this Chamber learns with regret that the deputation from the Harbor Board to the Government re endowments was unsuccessful in its endeavor to secure the sections of land which the Board had a right to expect, in terms of the letter addressed by Sir J ulius Vogel to the Chamber of Commerce on the Bth of August, 1885.” Mr Plimmer pointed out that the Premier had advised that when Sir Julius Vogel returned to Wellington, a deputation should wait upon him, and take this letter with them. (Laughter.) He (Mr Plimmer) had very great pleasure in moving this resolution. ' Mr T. K. Macdonald, in seconding the motion, said it seemed very peculiar that a Government thould be iu the position that the Colonial Treasurer should write a letter a year ago making a distinct statement of fact, and agreeing to perform a certain act when called upon to do so, and then for the Harbor Board to find that the Premier should

absolutely refuse to carry out the expressed intentions of his colleague. He thought the Board deserved a very great amount of credit, not only at the handsof the Chamber, but from the people of W ellington for the action they had taken on the .whole question of endowments. They had for a very long time past—some years—endeavored to obtain justice at the bands of successive Governments ; but it did not seem to matter, very much whether Major Atkinson or Sir Robert Stout was in power, so far as the City of Wellington was concerned. Neither party seemed at all prepared to understand that the harbor of of Wellington was a colonial matter, and that certainly the members of the Board charged with the administration of its affairs conld not carry out their functions if they were not provided with the necessary funds. The whole of the Premier’s answer to the deputation was based upon the smallest- local considerations— he could not conceive how a man in the Premier’s position could lookatmatters from such a purely local standpoint. If there was anything in the work at all it was a Government work, and the “ere f a°t of a Government having appointed half a dozen gentlemen to carry out a Governmental function did not, in hia opinion, relieve the Government from the plain tact of the duty being cast upon them of finding the funds necessary to carry out the duties. He did hope that onr representatives in Parliament would support that view. The Government was always complaining, he believed, of the want of political support ie Wellington, That might be true ; and if one were to believe that support should be given because of a feeling that justice was being done to the city and district—that fair play was being given to the constituencies the argument could be understood. But when thev knew that in Wellington they got very little indeed—when they knew they could not get the most ordinarv fair play and justice, no Administration could expect support. In the face of a general election taking place shortly, the sooner the Government understood that unless they were prepared to do justice they could not expect support, the better for them. The people of Wellington would have been prepared some years ago to meet the advent of the present Government with satisfaction in the hope that a new leaf was to be turned over ; but it was the same old state of affairs—purely loca considerations prevented the Government from recognising what many of them had stated to be absolute rights and demands. The resolution was carried, and it was decided that a copy of it should be forwarded to the Government. Mr Haroourt moved, “ That this Chamber desires to place on record an expression of its satisfaction at finding that there is every probability of an early settlement of the long vexed question between the Gity Council and the Harbor Board respecting the faceline of the Te Aro reclamation, as it is of opinion that the works proposed to be carried out on the foreshore will greatly facilitate and improve the trade of the port. This was seconded by Mr R. Gardner and earned* Mr T. K. Macdonald moved, “That the Secretary prepare, during the ensuing month, a return showing the total fire Tosses by the insurance companies in New Zealand during the last six years, specifying (1) the amount lost each year in Wellington, Dunedin, Auckland, and Christchurch ; (2) the insurance tariff rates in existence in Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch, and Auckland.” A great feeling was expressed, he said, that the rates in Wellington were higher than those in any ofclior part of the Colony, and that Wellington, with its comparatively small number of fires, was largely supporting the insurance companies and getting no adequate recognition. That might be so, or it might not; at any rate, it was quite time that the commercial public should have before them some definite , data on the matter. He had no doubt the companies would be prepared to make fair and reasonable concessions if they were shown to be fair and reasonable. A great deal of the information required could be obtained from the Insurance Banking Record. Mr Plimmer seconded the motion. Mr Harcourt would be very glad indeed to support the resolution if he thought any good would come out of it. He pointed out that the Secretary would have trouble in fixing the boundaries of the cities men-' tioned. The'information from the Banking and Insurance Record would be of no value. The amount of losses was no evidence of the profit made that bore upon the revenue. The companies no doubt had got the information; but were they (the companies) going to prepare rods for their own backs ? (Mr Macdonald: Is it a rod?) He thought they were putting a lot of work on to the Secretary, out of which no possible good conld come. The rates might be lower in Wellington; but he believed they were lower in Wellington than in Canterbury, though in Dunedin rates had been quoted, he believed, lower than in London. But after all the matter of insurance was merely a matter of value received. Mr Dransfield supported the resolution, remarking that the information would be very valuable. Mr Harcourt said it would be absolutely of no value unless the revenue derived was shown. Mr Macdonald had no objection to the secretary asking the companies for a memo of their revenues. (Laughter.) Mr Harris said this was an age of statistics, and nothing but good ever resulted from statistics. This return was likely to be a very valuable one, and for that reason alone, apart from individual considerations regarding the companies, he supported the motion. . It was only right that they should have as much information as possible about matters which affected them so nearly as that of insurance.

Mr Dutbie suggested that the return should also show the coastal trade rates. At present the rates were exorbitant, and the result wa3 that in most oases goods were not insured. It cost 10s here to insure for a night’s passage, which cost 2s 6d in London. Mr Macdonald adopted this suggestion, which was embodied in the resolution. Mr Barnett pointed out that these. returns were all in the hands of the companies and underwriters’ associations. He asked, therefore, the object of an infiiotion on the Secretary of preparing a large return like this. The return would mean a very large amount

of labor, and it was doubtful whether it would serve the desired purpose. Mr R. Gardner was of opinion that if Wellington was suffering from such rates as it was said to be—if it was a sort of pooket out of which insurance companies could recoup themselves for losses—better competition would be obtained. The matter of rates on freight from England was also one which should be attended.to. Mr Macdonald, replying, pointed out that returns were very seldom asked for. He bad not raised any debatable matter, prefering to wait until the return showed the position they should take up—gave them the information upon which to act. If any extra expense was involved he would pay it. The Chairman remarked that the rates had recently been, lowered 10 per cent, on account of the Wainui water supply. The motion was carried, and the meeting terminated.