SHIPPING FOR OTAGO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23044, 21 November 1936, Page 21

SHIPPING FOR OTAGO

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—Seeing that the Mayor has recently given civic receptions to two outstanding New Zealanders —Miss J. Batten and Mr J. E. Lovelock—-it would no doubt be appreciated by the merchants and shippers could he see fit to extend one to the makers of what surely must be another New Zealand record. . _ The New Zealand Shipping Company’s Tongariro left Liverpool with Dunedin and other cargo on September 8, and arrived in Auckland on October 18. totalling 40 days. Provided the steamer arrives to-day and does not further pleasure cruise on the coast, it will have taken 33 days to reach Dunedin after arrival in Auckland; making a total of 73 days from Liverpool to Dunedin. This steamer carries a good deal of Lancashire piece goods, a line highly competitive with Japan these days, and a perusal of your shipping notes shows that a Japanese steamer left- Milke (Japah) eight days after the Tongariro reached 'Auckland, and after discharging at the same ports as the Tongariro, with the ‘exception of one, it will arrive in Dunedin only four days later. Further, the New Zealand Shipping Company has a very, soft spot for. Port Chalmers, so actually the cargo from the two vessels will reach merchants almost simultaneously. The Lancashire manufacturer breaks his neck to get the business against Japan, but . a British shipping company breaks his heart in the delivery of his goods. The Mahia, which left Liverpool later than the Tongariro, was reported to have been .full and ' left behind enough cargo to half fill her again, yet the New Zealand Shipping Company says there is not enough cargo to justify a direct Liverpool-South Island service!—l am, etc.. Regular Importer. Dunedin, November 20.