THE PORT OF CARDIFF

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18723, 29 November 1922, Page 5

THE PORT OF CARDIFF

ITS CALL FOR DIRECT SUPPLIES. WHY NEW ZEALAND MEAT SUFFERS. COLD STORAGE ACCOMMODATION. INDUSTRIAL MILLIONS TO FEED. •From Oob Own Correspondent.) LONDON, October 5. That Now Zealand business men and producers are desirous of knowing about tho special facilities of ports other than London is evident. As the result of some information relative to Cardiff as a direct import port, which I sent you in July, tbo Development Department of that seaport received by return of post a communication from an Auckland firm asking to be put into touch with Cardiff’s chief importers. The fact that Mr J. S, Jessep is making a personal tour of all the West Coast ports is further evidence that New Zealand exporters are anxious to have all tho information that is available. Perhaps it is difficult for New Zealand! with its small population to realise tho almost limitless requirements of communities numbering millions.

Cardiff is tiho commercial centre of distribution for a population of over 2,000,000 within a radius of 30 miles, and of over 10,000,000 within a radius of 90 miles. This huge population is engaged principally in industrial pursuits, and in consequence its consuming power is great—greater, it is claimed, than that of any other industrial area in the country. The accompanying figures, prepared by the Development Agent (Mr T. W. D. Smith) will.be useful to note : Estimated average Consuming power of populawe.ckly consumption tion per annum within per person. 30 miles. GO miles. 90 miles. Tons. Tons. Tons. Meat Ijlb 75,040 133,434 348,214 Butter Got 13,241 35,712 83,275 Cheeso Boz 25,013 46,357 115,887 Among the numerous advantages offered as a direct import centre are the following: It is geographically nearer to New Zealand than any English port, and is the mar. ket city of a wealthy industrial area. It has adequate dock, cold storage, and warehouse facilities, and direct rail communications from the dockside to all pans of the country, enabling quick discharge and rapid transit to destination. The docks and railways are under one administration, which admits of more economical working than if two or more ownerships are involved. It is an important centre of the tin plate industry, and is in direct rail communication with Birmingham and the hardware centres. It is the premier cold exporting port of the world, and ships are always able to obtain a return cargo of coal and bunkers. ; WHY IT IS AN ATTRACTIVE MARKET. The view is expressed locally that the importance and suitableness of Cardiff for imported foodstuffs have not in the past been fully appreciated, the reason for this being that in pre-war days Cardiff’s activities centred principally in tho export of coal, aiid very little attention has been paid to the advantages it offers for receiving food cargoes. London and Liverpool were the old-established receiving ports, and the various interests associated with imported foods were so well established -"that individual efforts to attract tho trade from recognised channels wore of no avail. Shiploads of frozen meat, butter, cheese, and fruit arriving in London from the dominions are frequently subject to serious delay. Frozen meat, imported into London and sent thence by rail to South Wales, has a tendency to soften, and on reaching the consumer is not in prime condition. In addition, the extra rail, demurrage, and costly handling charges in London are added to the price of the meat, resulting in the consumer paying a higher price for an inferior article. The handling and rail charges on meat sent from London to South Woles are equal to §d (three-eighths of a penny) per Id—i.o., 3s fid per cwt, or £3 10s per ton, which would bo entirely saved if imported at Cardiff. The better condition of the meat would result in increased sales. South Wales is largely dependent on imported meat supplies from six to eight months of the year. Within 30 miles the estimated consumption of meat amounts to 75.000 tons a year, equal to 75 per cent, of the total amount of New Zealand' mutton and lamb imported into this country during 1919. The South Wales miner, on account of the strenuous type of his labour, requires largo quantities of nutriment, but the condition in which the New Zealand meat reach e? him, owing to its importation to London, does not create the favourable impression necessary to develop the trade. It is therefore apparent that it is to the producer’s advantage to encourage direct importation, which would effect a saving of £3 10s a ton (handling and rail charges from London), and, further, enable tho moat to reach the consumer in prime condition. By means of direct shipments of Australian meat to Cardiff (which shipments are increasing), importers there are able, owing to its better condition to obtain quicker sales at comparatively better prices than thov can in the case of New Zealand meat, which suffers considerable deterioration through the extra handling referred to. PROSPECTS FOR DAIRY PRODUCE. Butter and cheese are other Now Zealand products which are popular and in great demand in the areas controlled by Cardiff. Tho New Zealand butter season operates at a different period of the year from the Canadian and Irish, and so substantial is tho consumption that tho proportion of dominion butter is calculated, at not less than 75 per cent, of the total quantity used. New Zealand cheese, likewise, has a very heavy consumption in South Wales, and as tho season is not in competition with the Canadian, there is every reason' to believe that if imported direct, as in the case 01, the Canadian commodity, the sales would very considerably increase. Nearly all the New Zealand butter and cheese is at present received through Lnodon, tho handling and rail charges thenoe being 3s a cwt or equal to £3 P« r ton. This amount would be saved by direct importation. In fact, if quoted c.i.f. Cardiff the importer would be prepared to give as much as £2 a ton more than when bought through London. As an illustration of the use which is actually made of Cardiff for the import of foodstuffs, the following figures represent the tonnage of provisions, consisting principally butter, cheese, lard, and sugar, imported direct for the periods named: — * Tons. ]2 month’s moling December 31, 1321 21,498 G months ending June 30, 1922 20,084 A FINE MARKET FOR FRUIT.

As regards apples, the demand for this fruit has grown enormously in recent years. The New Zealand season docs not clash with the Canadian. During the season 192021 Cardiff received its first direct shipments of Canadian apples, amounting to 5.000 packa<T£c; During tho season 1921-22 this figure exceeded 100,000 packages. As in° the case of other Now Zealand food products, tho apples are received via London. Tho handling and rail charges thence to South Wales average 2s 6d to 2s 9d a box of 561 b weight. As the producer receives on an average 5s 6d to os 6d a box, the elimination of these charges when received via London represents a direct saving of more than 40 per cent. Spanish fruit is received in this country through several ports, and better prices are secured by tho producer in shipping to the most economical port than by sending the whole of it to London. In older to avoid delay in receiving shipments of frozen meat and other foodstuffs and to reduce prices to the consumer by butting out extra rail, demurrage, and costly handling charges on indirect shipments, Cardiff is slrr>gly encouraging direct imports, realising well tho important results of such direct shipments to its consuming population. It is also reasoned that in this way the Cardiff importer will be in a position to buy more heavily, and still sell at a profit, because he will handle a greater volume of trade and will not have to meet the extra transit charges incurred when goods are imported at other British ports. The following is a table of the approximate total cargo which some of the principal importers can market if a direct monthly service is instituted from Now Zealand to Cardiff: Tons. Frozen meat 400 Butler 550 Cheese 000 Apples 1260 2800 COLD STORAGE EQUIPMENT. The Cardiff docks are compact, with a total water area of 165 acres, and a. quayage of over 55,000£t, fitted with 140 fixed and movable hoists. The cold storage capacity of Cardiff is equal to 1.152,000 cubic feel’, and tho daily output of ice amounts to 130 tons. Tho cold stores at the Queen Alexandra Dock have a frontage on (ho quayside of 300 ft. _ Tiiey are of the latest design, and equipped with all modem apnliances. Tho largest vessels can be berthed alongside and the meat discharged direct into the stores. Tho railway lines run parallel with the whole length of the cold chambers, and thus enable the meat to be

loaded right into the refrigerating vans for conveyance to all parts. At the Eoath Dock the cold stores are built upon a jetty, and vessels can discharge on either side without being interfered with in any way by other traffic. The stores are fitted with all the necessary appliances for giving prompt despatch to the discharging and storing of cargoes. Hydraulic lifts receive the deliveries from the cranes and distribute them to the various floors of tho_ stores. The three cold chambers in the city are within easy distance of the docks. They are constructed on the most modern lines and equipped with the latest machinery capable cf dealing with traffic expeditiously. The accommodation at the docks it sufficient to always provide ships with a ready berth, and the storage capacity admits of three of the largest ships fitted with refrigerating machinery being dealt with simultaneously. Whatever demands are made on the port, the arrangements are adequate to meet all requirements. Another important feature is that Cardiff is exceptionally well provided with facilities for dry docking. There are 12 graving and floating docks (including one public or commercial dry dock) capable of accommodating the largest vessels afloat, and one public gridiron 7 There are 27 warehouses with a totai storage capacity for at least 100,009 tons, conveniently situated on the docks, and whore necessary overhead travelling gantries have been installed to facilitate the handling of goods. As for transport facilities, from Cardiff radiate railways which ramify its coalfield interland into as concentrated as traffic network as will be found outside of London. The docks are now the property of the Great Western Railway, and owing to the latter’s amalgamation with the Welsh railway it will now obtain more direct freight services, thus saving time in transit and eliminating overlapping services. The existing organisation for distribution by road to the more numerous places adjacent to Cardiff relieves the possibility of any congestion which might arise, and facilitates despatch by rail to the more distant places not so quickly covered by road transport— Birmingham and other important centres in the Midland counties are well served by through rail connections from the dockside. Cardiff is, of course, the natural port of shipment for the South Wales coalfield. The shipowner has the advantage of obtaining coal bunkers on the spot, and steamers bringing freight to Cardiff can be certain of an outward cargo, thus saving expense ot seeking a return load elsewhere, and thereby having to pay double dock dues. The docks are provided with the most improved coal shipping appliances, including the Lewis-Hunter coaling cranes, as well as movable hoists , ranging up to 85 feet in height from the quay level, and so arranged that three and even four can ship into different hatchways at the same time Cardiff has the exclusive use of the LewisHunter coaling cranes in the Bristol Channel. and in addition to accelerating dispatch, colliery screened coal shipped by these cranes is equal to doubled screened coal shipped hy ordinary slaiths, and thereby ensures to the purchaser an increased value of at least one shilling per ton over that of coal put on board by shipping appliances at other docks, besides ensuring great saving in breakage and uniformity of distribution throughout tho cargo of any small coal that might exist, thus minimising any risk of spontaneous ignition from small coal in cargoes bound for distant ports. SOME LOCAL INDUSTRIES.

Cardiff is something' more than a coal exporting port. It stands as the iirst port in the world for outward Ixnmd tonnage. It is the first port in the world for the import of pitwood, iron ore, also for the export and import of potatoes. It is a big, if not the first, centre of the milling industry in the United Kingdom. Within its confines are to bo found one of the largest paper-making mills in the- country, and then there are the world-famous Cardiff-Dawlais Iron and Steel Works of Messrs G-uest, Keen, and Nettlefolds. Cardiff is also an important centre of the tin plate industry. The works of the Melingriffith Company (Limited) are located just beyond the city /boundary, and within a radius of 20 miles of Cardiff many tin plate and galvanised sheet works are in active operation. Cardiff is so well placed for the shipment of such goods, that ono firm alone could readily export 10,000 tons per annum if a direct service to New Zealand is inaugurated. Messrs Lewis and Tylor (Ltd.), manufacturers of leather belting, have established agencies in New Zealand, and substantial shipments are anticipated. The Cardiff Eopeworks and Brattice Cloth Company also have agencies in New Zealand, These, and other manufacturing films, express their preference for Cardiff as the port of shipment, and are confident that direct sailings would materially help to stimulate trade.

Although to-day it is .only possible briefly to allude to the great industries which have combined in attaining for Cardiff its great commercial fame, and to touch briefly upon the many natural advantages possessed by the port, which have caused it to be regarded as one of the most favoured industrial centres of the world, enough perhaps is written to give New Zealand readers much useful and helpful information. The direct steamship service between Canadian ports and Cardiff, instituted in 1920, is now established on a successful basis and the direct shipments from Australia which commenced about six months ago show subtautial improvements. The Cardiff merchants are fully alive to the possibilities of a closer trade connection with Now Zealand, and it is hoped that sufficient has been said to invito and encourage this new enterprise. The economic condition must always bo considered and hold sway in practical commerce.

THE BIBLE IN SCHOOLS TO THE EDITOR. Sib, —Tlie Very Eev. Dean Fitchett, in tie recent discussion by the Anglican Synod upon the Bible in Schools, stated! that m past years the Synod had stood for the belief that the system "working -well in three ■ Australian States should be tried. If the system has really been working well in New,. South Wales, the “remarkable conclusion”. (published in your issue of the 21st inst.) as, to the habit% and moral tendencies of children of school age, related by a special committee of the Presbyterian Assembly sitting in Sydney, require some explanation by the Dean. Even he, I think, wijl have soma difficulty to convince those who take an interest in the educational system of New" Zealand “that theft, untruthfulness, truancy, coarseness, and even immoral conduct are offences which are surprisingly common.” Even Mr Outten must sorrowfully admit that the system which the Dean tells us has been working so well in three Australian States has not yet obtained results superior to our - own secular system. It appears that *‘a> system of controlling and correcting wrong tendencies in children until they are of miture age, and even longer when necessary,” is advocated by the Sydney committee. It , ’does not appear to have occurred to the committee that these misguided infants are largely influenced by 'the adults with whom: they come into contact. Has the Church, then, so little influence upon the adults that their example continues to exercise so pernicious an effect upon the little ones? The Anglican Synod closed its discussion with a pious resolution to “find with aa little delay as possible some method acceptable to all parties which will make it possible for the State school teachers to give religious instruction to the children in school hours.” It would appear that the Synod has ’ deprived the Dean of his longed-for hope of himself teaching children the faith of hia forefathers. t As the right to private judgment is one of the planks of the Protestant Church, it may reasonably be assumed that the solu-' tion of the problem has been gracefully deferred to the Greek Kalends. The object of the movement is to influence the mind of the child so that in after years he or she may develop into a church member. This is apparent from your report:! “Dean Fitchett contrasted the Eoman Catholic system of education with that of the Anglican Church, declaring that by theira the former had an immense advantage as far as keeping their young people ‘ was concerned.”

The Dean, however, did not insist upon, the even greater contrast between the two' churches. The Roman Catholics instruct their children at their 'own expense; tho Anglicans desire that their children should be taught at the expense of the State, which includes Roman Catholics, although the fact seems sometimes to bo overlooked. Prom: the point of view of Anglican Ghurchianity, the object may appear legitimate, but i think that this constant harping upon “religious instruction in our godless schools”. accounts to a considerable extent for thoweakening of the spiritual influence of the ■ Protestant churches to-day. To the plain man it seems strange that if loving Protestant parents really and truly believe that their children are in danger of eternal damnation unless they are taught, and accept at an age when they cannot possibly understand them, the tenets of Christianity, they * most assuredly would spend their money to attain a purpose so laudable. One is compelled to conclude that they have no such belief and remain content to leave such matters in the hands of well-meaning men : and women who meet from time to time and r pass resolutions having for their object to> , bring about a day when these same loving parents can have their children educated in some particular way which involve upon them neither additional trouble nor additional expense. With such adult example, is it surprising if the child in time becoming a father, concludes that his church is a human institution evolved from crude beginnings and as liable to error as a political party or the Deague of Rations? Is there no moral teaching common to • ■ Christ, Moses, the Buddha, and Mahom- ’’ mot, which, having ourselves first learned* ' we may help our children to absorb without clogging their little minds with legends and superstition which arc flotsam and jetson?—• I am, etc., Eaha Map. Dunedin, November 23. THE DUNEDIN CENTRAL CONTEST. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Every elector in Dunedin Central is under a debt of gratitude to Mr C. B. Statham for his able and fearless criticism of the Massey Government iu his addresslast night. For a reasoned, logical, • and’condemnatory discourse it stands un- ‘ rivalled by any avowed opponent of the Government. In moving a vote of thanks to the speaker, I mentioned that, according to Mr Statham’s showing, Mr Massey ia hurrying this country to a state of bankruptcy. Certainly the signs of the times are that the present Conservative party will soon have us where the last Conservativa Government left us. Sir, you will remember ■those sad, hard times. When on the question of loyalty and patriotism Mr Statham left me rather uneasy. I love New Zealand. Its rivers, lakes, mountains, and people are all lovable. They rival our Bonny Highlands. Has my education on loyalty been faulty? It certainly differs from Mr Statham’s views. I believe that a man who would not defend his country is disloyal, but a man who would not give his life in defence of tho Massey Government is not necessarily disloyal. Disloyalty manifests itself by perpetuating injustices on the peoples of a country; so tho person or party that stands to save and not destroy life is loyal. Now, to the crux of the matter. Mr Statham is an intelligent, courteous, and courageous gentleman. As an elector in his constituency I view his candidature with many misgivings. I agree with him that the Massey Government is working for tha ruin of New Zealand. When asked by myeelf ■would ho vote to put Massey out, ho honestly said ho would not answer. Now, I want, for what I believe the good of the country- to see Mr Massey where he once did good work—on the Opposition benches. Would it be fair to me to vote for Mr Statham and then find him supporting Mr Massey? Again, would it be fair to tha Government supporters in Dunedin Central to vote for Mr Statham end then for him, to vote against Mr Massey? Should Mr Statham bo returned, it will be largely on. a sympathy vote. Most people have sympathy with a man who has lost his way. Will it not be better for one man to perish than the nation?—l am, etc., M. MDennaj;. 34 Law street, Caversham.