OUR EXPORT TRADE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1678, 27 April 1904, Page 66

OUR EXPORT TRADE.

DIRECT STEAM SERVICE TO , MANCHESTER. ADVANTAGES FOR DISTRIBUTION. Boaring on the question of direct steam counimi cation between New Zealand and Manchester, Mr Charles Onyon, of Wellington, has during his stay in England been prosecuting inquiries, the fruit of whith is seen in the following letter from the Chief Traffic Superintendent of the Manchester Canal:— ,11th March, 1904. Charles Onyon, ESsqiy Of Wellington;", New Zealand), Midi raid Hotel, Manchester. Dear Sir, —Refuymg to our interview regarding the posttiVilsties of the importation of produce from New Zealand direct to Manchester, I would invite your attention to the following statement of the great advantage which woulld result to New Zealand as well as to the United Kingdom, especially in the vast industrial papulation of the Northern and Midland Counties, by the establishment of direct steam communication with Manchester. The port of Manchester is the most convenient and cheapest distributing centre for a large district containing an immense population consuming vast quantities of frozen' mutton and beef, cheese, butter, tinned provisions, fruit, ©to., and it is understood that the New Zealand Government is desirous of obtaining incremed facilities for the sale ' of such products " 'in the United King- ' darn. I Within a radius of tweive miles of the city of Manchester there is a population of over two. and a half millions.

The population of the area to which Macnohester is the nearest port amounts to seven and a half millions. This teeming population is mainly composed of working tilasses who earn abundant wages, tare well employed, and iare in the habit of consuming good food of all kinds.

Manchester possesses an important provision market in which for example, more butter is sold than in any other English market. There is not, in short, such an equally good field in the whole world os this district for pushing the saile of New Zealand agricultural produce. In corroboration of the consuming capacity of this district, it may he mentioned that regular sea-vices of steamers to Manchester have been established from Canada and the principal United States ports—Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston, Brunswick, Pensacola, Mobile, New Orleans. Goflvestom, etc., also from the River Plate. These steamers are bringing f ull cargoes 'of produce in great variety. In support of tire statement that Manchester is a cheap and convenient centre of distribution, a statement is appended showing the relative cost of distributing produce from ex ship Liverpool, London and Manchester respectively. The following are some examples taken from that statement: From From From ManLiverpool. London. Chester.

The rates from Liverpool include Liverpool port charges, cartage to railway station and railway carriage. The London rates are railway raids only, including collection, but they do not include dock charges at London. The Manchester rates are inclusive of Manchester ship canal tolls and wharfage, delivery to railway waggons, railway carriage and delivery alt destination within the ordinary cartage limits. Only a small group of specimen towns is given in order to prevent the statement from being too voluminous, but the comparisons are types of the savings that can he effected to a very large number of towns. In the city of Manchester, and the immediately surrounding town's within carting distance, there is, of course, a very large saving as compared with bringing the produce from Londlon, because only the ship canal charges and the cartage have to be paid. The London comparison is given because London lias hitherto been the distributing port fo'r New Zealand produce. It ik self-evident that New Zealand exporters who confine their shipments to London are practically excluding their produce from this, the greatest consuming centre in England.

A matter to be taken into consideration in connection with the distribution of frozen mutton is that- wo have a perfect net-work of railways at the Manchester docks, over which the cars of the different railway companies can get alongside the steamers and convey the meat to any part of the country. Your are doubtless aware that the railways are not directly connected with the docks at Liverpool, and all traffic, including frozen mutton, has to be carted from the ship to railway station. It will, therefore, be at once palpable to you that at Liverpool 'the mutton must undergo a certain amount of deterioration from exposure, particularly in the summer months, during the transit by cart between tire refrigerated chambers on board the (Steamer to the cars at the railway station. This exposure is absolutely saved at Manchester by the fact that the railway cars load right alongside the steamer. Manchester is very much nearer than London or Liverpool to Bradford and other towns in Yorkshire, where wool is largely consumed, and the Yorkshire spinners assure ru-s that they are wishful of having their wool imported via Manchester. They are getting large shipments of wool by the steamens running from the River Plate to Manchester. There are excellent facilities at Manchester for storing frozen mutton and other produce requiring to be placed in cold store’s. The Union Cold Storage Coriipany, Limited, have a large refrigerator store at the Manchester docks capable of holding 130,000 carcases and specially constructed for the accommodation of the colonial frozen meat trade. A wharf for large steamers, with railway connections, has been provided for the berthing of steamers discharging at the store.

The same company have also just completed the erection of cold stores in the centre of the city, which is principally intended for meat for local consumption. The Manchester Corporation have provided excellent cold storage accommodation in a central position, about a mile and a half from the. Manchester docks. These cold stores form a valuable adjunct to the extensive meat markets and abattoirs of the Oorporation, and are constructed to accommodate 120,000 oar oases of sheep. The Ship Canal Company is a railway company as well as a canal company, and lias placed lines of railway all round its quays. These lines of railways are

in direct comimunication with all the prinoipal railways, and the Canal Compalny will take charge of and forward 1 produce at inclusive “ through rates,” specimens of which are in the annexed statement, from the docks direct by rail to any town in the kingdom. The docks are also in actual communication . and working'connection with all the inland canals of the country. Moreover, transhipment cargo can, be dealt with expeditiously, as there are regular and frequent sailings from Manchester to all the prinoipal coastwise port®. With regard to your inquiry regarding the size of vessels that navigate the canal, I would inform you that the waterway is now dredged to a depth of 26ft. and we are at the present time in Parliament seeking powers to increase the depth to 28ft. All t]ip locks .are 600 ft in length and 65ft wide whilst the fixed bridges crossing the canal are 75ft from {lie under-girders to ordinary water level. There Is no doubt but that the majority of vessels engaged in the Ned Zealand trade could safely navigate the canal, although it is undeniable that some of the steamers not of recent construction would require structural alteration® to their masts and funnels. Such structural' alterations have, however been cheerfully undertaken by other shipowners in view of the benefits to be derived l by utilising the canal. For instance, last year the Leylafnd line belonging to the International Mercantile Marine Company, commenced a regular service of steamers from Boston to Manchester, and it was found necessary to fit telescopic top masts to these steameirs, as well as to telescope the upper part of the funnels

Another instance is the case of the oil steamer Spondilu‘s, v one of the largest tankers afloat. This' vessel has a dead weight capacity of 10,500 tons, net register 4752 tons, gross register 7291 tons, length 471 ft and beam 55ft. Her funnel had 1 to b© altered to navigate the canal, which operation was performed on arrival of the steamer in the river Mersey, causing only a few hours’ detention.

Of course, large vessels of modern build are so constructed that their funnels and masts can pass under the fixed bridges on the canal. I am sending you plans of the Manchester Ship Canal and Docks, and shall be very pleased to give you any further information you may require.

The “annexed statement.,” referred to in the above letter, has been forwarded to us, and consists of. a table shov’d!)g the comparative cost of forwarding chilled or frozen meat to some fifty different cities and towns from Manchester, London and Liverpool l’esp ee tively. It shows in every oasie a great advantage for Manchester.

In a letter to us, covering these documents, Mr Onyon writes from Manchester as follows:—“There is a very fine market here for laimb, mutton, beef, butter, rabbits, guano, oil, timber, etc. Mr Openshaw. who is running twentyeight shops in Manchester and Salford, tells me he can take 2000 carcases of lamb and 3000 of mutton from New Zealand per week, if he can get them direct. The Corporation Stores in Manchester are full of Russian rabbits, poultry and butter, and of Argentine and Danish

Frozen meat. Per ton. Per ton. Per ton. ex ship. s. d. s. d. s. d. To Bolton 19 11 56 10 14 2 ,, Bradford ... 30 11 ' 50 0 25 0 „ Halifax ... 30 5 52 6 24 0 „ Leeds 28' 5 35 0 22 0 „ O-ldham ... 23 11 50 0 16 2 „ Rochdale ... 23 5 57 6 16 2 ,, Sheffield ... 28 5 34 2 22 6