THE PORT OF HULL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19311, 24 October 1924, Page 4

THE PORT OF HULL.

ADVANTAGES TO NEW ZEALAND. RAILWAY REPRESENTATIVE’S ADVICE. HOW TO APPROACH SHIP-, PING COMPANIES. The conference of representative South Island business men held hero yesterday for the purpose of obtaining better shipping facilities for the South Island heard a very practical and vigorous address from Mr Austen Wilson, chief agent in Australia and New Zealand for the London and North-eastern Railway Company. The chairman, Mr Peter Ban - , called on Mr Wilson to address the conference shortly before the luncheon adjournment. Mr Wilson said he had been busying himself on this matter for some time with his company’s sanction and goodwill. The present itinerary from the United Kingdom to New Zealand made Liverpool and London the two chief loading ports. None of the boats came out' to the South Island ports first. They all came t,o Auckland or Wellington or some other North Island port before coming to the South. That was a very serious handicap. The South Island paid the same freight, but did not got anything like the same facilities. It was practically a fortnight behind the other people, and no business community could live and advance under such conditions. It .was too big a handicap altogether. From all inquiries he had made they appeared to have quite sufficient cargo coming in from the United Kingdom to the South Island to justify at least a monthly service—probably more. There was no reason whatever why they should not have a monthly service. They ought to demand it. They had got into the habit of thinking that the shipping companies were their masters instead of being their servants. There were any amount of shipping companies in London who would bo glad to have the chance of shipping to the Skmth Island if they gave them full control; but he did not think it would be advisable to go to outside firms, because il would simplv mean a war of rates, and a war of rates was no good to people in business. They wanted stability in business. But if they could not get what they wanted from the. Conference people they had no option, in his opinion. They had got to stir them up. At present they had to my on imports on sight drafts. They paid at least a fortnight before they got the goods.

Mr W. Gow: Sometimes a month. Mr Wilson said ho did not . want, to exaggerate, the case was so strong as it was. His directors had sent him out on a mission to promote Empire trade. If they worked together he thought they could do a great deal in furtherance of that object. His company was the largest dock owner in Great Britain, and had one of the largest railway companies m the world, and it could help them very considerably. He suggested that they have a sort of mutual understanding or working agreement that the company would push their interests so long as they helped it to get this thing going. They had approached the steamship people in London and had suggested that they should give the South Island a direct monthly service, making Hull the last port of call. The answer they got was that the steamship companies were the servants of the traders and went where trade was. It depended on the trading communitV to establish their case tnat there was trade available, and the companies would provide for it. That was all right in a way, but his company did not work on those lines. They said that trade followed the facilities. 'they provided the facilities, and the trade came along. That had been their experience all through. ’ Just now they were committed to an expenditure of somewhere about £19,000,000 on new facilities at their various ports, and they did not look upon that as lost money by any means. That money would come back with a tt-emendous increase. In his opinion, trade always followed when you provided facilities. There was no doubt about iG-thoy could easily fill a monthly steamer to the South Island: and he felt confident that if they £ot these steamers started the trade would develop to such an extent that they would soon require a mere frequent service. The handicaps such as th"y wore suffering linden to-day stopped development. What they had to do was to prove jo the steamship companies that they hail sufficient volume of business to justify their starting this line. If they could do that then his company would hold the shipping companies up to their word. They had given their word that, if (ho trade was there they would provide for it. This was not a case of going cap in hand. This was a case whore they could demand reasonable facilities.—(“ Hear, hear.”) He knew the shipping people all personally, and he could not understand the attitude of people out here who approached them in their bended knees.—(Laughter.) He did not think that was the right attitude in which to approach ship owners. If they started this service it would be to the, benefit of the steamship companies themselves. They would have a concentrated business by catering for the South Island, and far less expense than they had to-day. •Inc of the great benefits would be to their export business. They would be able to open up new markets for their produce in the North of England. At the present time the North of England did not get in any of our perishable products except by rail, and that was a very expensive business for somebody. They importer! through Hull annually about 30,000 tons 'of butter. None of that came from New Zealand. They imported over 100,000.000 eggs, none of which came from New Zealand. Last year they imported million packages of fruit and vegetables, but none from New Zealand. They imported t Iso 10,000 tens of beef, over a million tons of grain, ond over a million loads of timber. They served a population of over 12,000,000 cheaper than any other port could, and the South Island was not taking advantage of this huge market at. all. They won* not catering for it. If they could get direct South Island steamers they would open up a new era of trade that wouftLsurprise them. The reason he suggested! Hull as the last port was because he thougnt it. was time they got away from London. They had concentrated too much on London. They would find a very live body of people at Hull to look after anything they sent if tbev wished to open up new markets. They had' spent a lot of money at Werablev and a lot of energy with the sole idea of increasing their trade. They must not let things lapse now. They had got to get into new markets. The election pending inst now at Home was to be fought largely on Imperial preference. Ho had been advocating Imperial preference for nearly 20 years, and there was a large and growing body of opinion at Home in favour if it. For many years people at Home took very little interest in what they called “ the colonies,” and there was not a great deal of knowledge to-day as to the whereabouts of places out here. The population of Great Britain was 2,000,000 more than it was, before the war. and it was increasing at the rale of 1000 a day They had to export people, and out here wo Wanted people. The Old Countrv had a tot W burdens to bear. She was the only country among the Euoponn nations standing up to her guns. She had not gone back on her word, but was standing up to her troubles, and gradually working through them. Ho thought Britain was an the verge of a great trade boom. Things were tending that way. and the boom was about duo. He thought, thev wore in for a good trade development. What they wanted to do was to get closer together. He had been through Germnnv not so long ago. Germany'was marvellously "quipped—she had not "been knocked about during the war like other countries. She was building up new industries; she had cleared off debts and mortgages, and was starting absolutely from fcrat-h . gain. Tbev were going to have more competition from Germany.

“Ton are not adequately doing your part of the job out here at present,” said the speaker, “because to-day we are buying ‘Jo per cent, of our eggs from foreign countries, 50 per rent, of our butter, 70 per cent, of our meat, 20 per cent, of our cheese, and 70 per cemt. of our dried fruits.”

Continuing, Mr Wilson said it was really the duty of the people out here to cater more for Great Britain, and up to now they had considered London as their only market. There were, however, over 30,000,000 people outside the London distributing area they were not catering for. He suggested that they should put up certain figures to the shipping companies, and let his company fight their battle for them as much ns they could at Horne. The business people could do it out here. It was no doubt a very hard job out here dis-

cussing matters with the shipping companies, because -the principals were not here, ami they did not sec the difficulties which presented themselves as they should do. He thought if they worked with his company it could help them to get the shipping facilities they required. It would open up a new era for the South Island, and they would see big developments which would be a big advantage to everybody in business,—(Loud applause.) Mr Bensou ashed Mr Wilson to explain clearly in what way the people out here could co-operate with his company. Mr Wilson said the merchants out here could only meet the local agents, but the principals of the shipping companies were in London. He had received a cable from his people, and they had interviewed these principals. They had got the promise that if the people out here could get the produce for the steamers the steamers would be provided. They handled the steamers of the lines now connected with the dominion at their docks and on the East Coast of England every week. His company had suggested that when the shipping companies were arranging their Itinerary direct steamers should be sent to (he South Island, and had pointed out the advantages that would be gained. He thought the companies were waiting for some advice or intimation from the South Island people about the value of the business that they controlled, and that they could load the steamers if a line were provided. He was speaking of the same boats that were in the trade at present. Mr Benson said the principals of the companies must have the details of their exports and imports. He did not think it was possible to offer a guarantee, other than that individual importers and exporters might agree to give these companies all the business they could. Mr Wilson said that his company had no definite details of the business in the South Island at the present time—only general information as to the value of imports and exports. He wanted reliable figures to cable Home to his people to enable them to present them to the shipping companies and say “Here’s the trade!”

Mr Benson said he thought the shipping companies must have the information.

Mr Wilson (drily): Well, evidently they are keeping it up their sleeve, because we have not the information about it. In reply to Mr Macdonald Mr Wilson said he would not be leaving the dominion until October 31. He was going to Australia, and would return to the dominion later. Mr Mackrell said that Mr Wilson wanted to know what the volume, of exports from the East Coast ports of England to New Zealand was, and also what the exports from New Zealand to the Bast Coast of England would be; also whether the trade with London or a portion of it could be diverted. For instance, Mr Wilson would doubtless like to know what the export of meat from Now Zealand to these ports would be. Voices; The Moat Board controls that.

Mr E. C. Reynolds said he was neither an importer nor an exporter. He was one of several who were engaged in building up a new industry—the fruit trade. Regarding the warning note sounded by Mr Wilson with reference to not going cap in hand to the shipping companies, their pioneers would not have done so. and why should they? With regard to fruit, if the Fruit Control Bill now before Parliament became law, the fruitgrowers would have to send their fruit wherever the Fruit Control Board dictated. Their wool would be likely to be placed in the same position. The fact of the matter was the people of the dominion did not know where they were with regard to their produce, owing to the control which the Government was exercising. He was quite sure that the fruit trade would grow into a groat industry if the Government would only leave them alone. The Chairman said he realised there were considerable difficulties in the way. The question of importing from Hull was an important one. There was no use their establishing a trade in their produce unless they could got back loading. It remained for him. on behalf of the meeting, to thank Mr Wilson for attending and giving them the information he had. Mr Wilson said the Meat Control Board had unfortunately let a contract for three years, which had tied their hands. Ho thought, however, they might be able to get over that difficulty. Ho thought it would be better to deal with the existing lines instead of dealing with a new line. Ho thought there would be no difficulty in getting any amount of strong and reliable people to assist them in getting what they had in view. Mr Campbell questioned whether any representations they would make would be strong enough to thwart the Covent Garden and Tooiey street influences. Mr Wilson said that they should not forget that the shipping 'people and the merchants of Covont Garden and Tooiey street were the servants of the people of New Zealand, not their masters. Tho Australian people wore going to fix their prices, in- the same way as tho Danes wore doing. The trouble at present was that New Zealand butter was not known in England. It practically all went to tho blenders. The New Zealand people had got to make up their minds to stand up to these people.' After the. luncheon adjournment Mr Orchard moved—‘‘The members of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of the South Island of New Zealand and the other bodies representative of importers and shippers, after hearing the address of Mr Austen, Wilson, and being of opinion that there is sufficient volume of cargo controlled by South Island importers, are prepared to recommend importers to support direct steamers sailing from the port of Hull tq* the South Island ports of Lyttelton, Timaru, Dunedin, and Bluff. The present itinerary of the Conference liners is prejudicial to the development of trade and industry of the South Island and constitutes a heavy tax on the goods imported by our merchants and traders. We therefore request the shipping companies to arrange jointly or separately to institute regular monthly sailings from the port of Hull to tho aljqve-mentioned ports.” The mover said he wished to impress on those present that Hull was recognised as a cheap port, cheaper than either London or Liverpool. Hull had railway lines on every dock, and that meant less handling and less chance of breakage or pillage. Hq thought it possible that later on they might go further and get a better insurance rate. This was certainly a big breakaway from the ' present itinerary, but ho was sure it was going to be a great boon to them in the South Island. If they supported the resolution ho believed the service would be established. Mr Paterson seconded tho resolution.

Mr Hoyles said he believed they were all seized with the necessity of improving the position of South Island ports, but he did not know that they wore prepared to bind themselves to a definite resolution. Mr Orchard pointed out that his resolution was not definitely binding. Mr Hoyles said they did not know exactly where they were as to the steps that would bo taken to give effect to the academic resolutions of which they had approved. He was prepared to agree that Mr Orchard’s proposal should bo referred to the committee which, he understood, would be set up by that conference. Ho would move as an amendment—“ That thrresolution bo referred to the coinmiltoo to be sot up later on.” The Chairman pointed out that that could be moved after the resolution was adopted. Members suggested that it bo incorporated in Mr Orchard’s resolution. Mr Orchard said ho did not mind his resolution being put in the form of a recommendation to the committee to bo set up. It was agreed to preface to it the words —“That the following be referred to a special committee to bo set up to consider and take surf) action as may be deemed necessary.” Tho motion was adopted in this form.