FREIGHT SPACE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10634, 6 July 1920, Page 5

FREIGHT SPACE

FOR EAST COAST FORTS ACTION' BY WELLINGTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. For some time past the difficulties usually experienced by Wellington merchants in the matter of shipping goods to East Coast ports have been exceptionally pronounced, so, with a view of lessening the trouble, the secretary of the council of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce wrote to Messrs Richardson and Co., Ltd., of Napier, one of whoso bonds has been engaged in the trade, as follows: —“Wellington merchants have been given to understand from Captain Petersen that there was a probability of another boat being put on to cope with the trade —probably the Pntiki. I need hard-' ly point out co you what is the position in Wellington regarding cargo for Napier and Gisborne. .One could safely assert that on hardly any occasion for many months past, during which the Ripple has been receiving cargo for those ports, has there not been a long queue of carts with goods awaiting shipment, and in many cases not only is tho cart-age ‘waiting’ time very costly to shippers, but often they are unablo even after sending goods down to obtain shipment owing to lack of space in the steamer. If your company could see its way to put on the Putiki. or a similar boat, to take cargo for Napier and Gisborne from Wellington, I think there will be no doubt that there will bo more than sufficient cargo offering. If a weekly service * o Gisborne by tho extra. steamer is not possible I am directed to suggest, would it be feasible to arrange a fortnightly service?” BRIGHTER PROSPECT'S. The letter brought the following reply from Richardson nnd Co.: —“We quite realise that, at the present time, the Ripple is unable to cope with the cargo offering for Napier and Gisborne, and it was this fact we had in mind when purchasing the Putiki, as wo realised wo would need a boat of her type t o help out the Ripple with tho freighting. When tho Putiki has completed her overhaul, which should be towards the end of July, we anticipate no difficulty from then on in keeping tho Napier nnd Gisborne cargo cleared. Your suggestion that if there was insufficient cargo to run the Putiki a weekly service, then to arrange for a fortnightly service, is a good one, and immediately our present accumulation of cargo is cleared, we shall endeavour to put this into effect/’

The foregoing correspondence was read yesterday at the meeting of the council of the Chamber of Commerce, and a suggestion#was then made that coastal shipping companies _ should adopt the practice of only taking cargo the boat-notes for which had been stamped at the shipping office. The feasibility of this was doubted, and accordingly it was dropped. It was then resolved that the Importers’ Committee ho asked to arrange a special meeting, at which shipping clerks and Harbour Board • officials should he invited to attend, to discuss the question of receiving cargo at Wellington wharves for coast- ’ al ports.