CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1156, 24 January 1874, Page 4

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

The adjourned annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was held on Monday afternoon, in the City Council Chambers. The members displayed their usual want of punctuality, and a quorum was not brought together until about aii hour after the appointed time. The following members were present :— -Messrs* L. 0. Beal, G. S. Brodrick, A. Burt, J. Brook, J. Copeland, J. Davie, T. S. Graham, W. Hepbutn, R. A. Low, B. B. Martin, J. T. Mackerras, R. Oliver, J. Rattray, G. F. Reid, L. Thoneman, J. A> Walcott, and J. S. Webb (Secretary).

AXXUAL REPORT.

The Chairman (Mr X, Oliver) laid before the meeting the following report, brought up by the Committee of the Chamber :—: — The Committee have permitted the Annual Meeting to be deferred beyond the usual date, in the hope of being able to announce that suitable premises had been secured for the Chamber. The want of a Commercial Heading Room in a central position, which should also serve as a place for meetings of business men, has long been felt, and has of late been found to be a decided inconvenience. The Committee is now able to announce that au offer has been received, by the acceptance of which suitable accommodation, with the necessary attendance, can be secured on terms which ought to be within the means of the Chamber. It is also proposed that this room shall be regularly supplied by telegraph with the more important part of the shipping intelligence of the Colony, other thun that now supplied to the public by the Telegraph Department. The apartment proffered not being immediately availabls, the Committee have left it to their successors in office to deal with the proposal. It is necessary, however, to state here that the expense of furnishing and maintaining a proper room cannot be_ borne by the Chamber without a large accession of members. No difficulty ought to be experienced in this respect. Notwithstanding the expansion of business and increase of population which Dunedin has experienced during the past few years, the number of members of the Chamber has from various causes fallen off. The Committee have reason to know that the want of proper apartments for the Chamber is one of the chief causes of this ; and also that many who ought to be members of this Chamber are ready to join it as soon as such arrangements as the Committee has been endeavouring to make are completed. The Chamber at its last annual meeting instructed the Committee to take certain action in regard to :— (1) The duties on underproof spirits; (2) The shipping telegrams supplied free to the public ; and (3) The formation of a Harbour Board for Otago Harbour. In regard to the first and second of these subjects the Committee, after conference witli the Representatives of the City in the Assembly (both of whom are members of the Ministry), deemed it inadvisable to take further action. The refusal of allowance of duty on undei proof spirits appears now to be geueral throughout the Colonies, and does not create an inequality of taxation greater than appears to be unavoidable in many other instances. On the subject of shipping telegrams the Government is inexorable. Your Committee, however, do not believe that some of the absurdities of the present system can long be maintained. The arrival at Port Chalmers of a small coasting sieamer from an out-port is duly announced to the public at Duuedin. A few weeks hence a steamer of the line which is about to convey our English mails to and from San Francisco, will arrive at Port Chalmers from London, and in accordance with the present regulations the event will be passed over as unworthy of announcement even at Dunediu. The other day the arrival at Auckland of a steamer, which brought n few bags of mails for England from Napier, was announced at all the principal ports of the Colony, whilst the arrival on the roast of large steamers from Australia is systematically left unrpcorded. Your Committee are awavo that these anomalies have been formally brought under the notice of the Commissioner of Telegraphs by their predecessors in office. The reply to the memorial in which they wore detailed does not, however, go beyond a general refusal of extended shipping intelligence, and in no way commits the Government to the maintenance in its present form of the system now in force. The Committee therefore hope that useful modifications will not long be denied. At the same time, they have deomed it very desirable that the arrangements already alluded to for securing moi c extended information should be carried outHarbour Trust.— The Committee, after obtaining information as to the probable revenue which would be available for a Harbour Board constituted under the existing Act of Assembly, communicated with H\a Honour ths Superintendent, and learnt that the Provincial Government did not coYiuider the time yet ripe for the constitution of a Bonrd. Subsequently the question was taken up with great spirit by a Committee appointed at a public meeting. With the view of supporting the efforts of these gentlemen, a Bpccial meeting of the Chamber was called by your Committee, when their action was cordially endorsed. Although these efforts have hitherto been without .fruit, your Committee is of opinion that their success can only be a question of time. English Mail Services.— ln May last the Com. mittee joined, by invitation, with the Committee of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce in urging the Govommont " to take immediate steps to insure the quickest conveyance of our English mails by the Suez Service." The arrangement for conveyance of mails subsequently announced, by which Hokitika was made the Port of arrival and departure, appeared to your Committee so unsuitable" t > the requirements of this Province, tlmt they took active steps to make known I to the General Government the feeling which here existed upon the subject The public being invited to join in the memorials then addressed to the House of Representatives ami the Hrovin- J cial Council, a very hearty response was givon — a circumstance which, uo doubt, had its weight with Parliament whon the question w s immediately afterwards under discussion thoro. The Committee desire to congratulate tho Chamber on the success of the effort then made. The prompt resumption of the service by the American route is also a subject for congratulation, and the Committee trust that the existence of tlm competition will ensure rapid and regular communication, by both routes.

Trunk Lines of Railway. —A special meeting of the Chamber was called by the Committee in May last to consider the desirability of memoralising the Government in favour of the prompt completion of the Trunk Line of Railway through the Province. The Chamber responded with earnestness to this appeal, and the following resolution on the subject waa unanimously passed : •' That it is of paramount importance to the trade of tile Province that the junction be effected as speedily as possible between the Southern Trunk Railway and the AloerakiWaitaki line ;" also, " that the immediate completion of the Southern Trunk Railway, by the construction of the line from Clutha to the Mataura, is highly desirable, and is a matter which only yields in importance to that of railway communication between Dunedin and the Northern line." Copies of this resolution were officially communicated to the Colonial Government, to the Representatives of this Province in the Assembly, and to His Honour the Superintendent. The subject of this resolution was warmly taken up by the public and by the l°ress; and expression was subsequently given to the popular sentiment by the Government and Legislature of the Province. This highly opportune movement has been successful, and the Committee are glad to be able, before resigning office, to record the fact that tenders for a portion of the Dunedin- Moeraki Line have already been called for,

Tariff.- When the proposed changes in the Tariff were first made known by the Colonial Treasurer, Very careful attention was given to the subject by the Chamber, with the vie«r of ascertaining whether the result of these changes would be to increase the taxation of the country, and to what extent, and how local industries would be affected by it. The Chamber expressed by resolution its approval of the principle of the substituting of the ad valorem duties tor those hitherto levied ; but finding that those first suggested would give a considerable increase of revenue, memorialised the Government in favour of a reduction of the proposed rates.

Trade.— The usual tables of statistics of the trade of the port during the year are appended to this report. [These tables have already been published by us.J Tbe<e exhibit few features calling for special remark. The Imports, Exports, and Customs Revenue have all increased. Amongst the exports may be noticed many items now for the first time assuming proportions of some importance. It is also worthy of remark, that although tho gre.-it demand for labour has drawn many away from mining pursuits, the yield of gold in the Province remains remarkably steady, having varied but very slightly for many years past. The statistics now furnished extend to 30th September last, and up to that time our Imports, although showing a considerable increase over previous years, appear to have been fairly adj usted to consumption.m ption. Since that date, however, stocks of many articles have shown a tendency to accumulation, which must be chiefly accounted for by a falling off in the Interprovincial trade, in which the merchants of this port have now to contend with a very keen competition on the part of importers at other ports in the Colony.

The Chairman then went on to say that the past year had been so prospero\is, he presumed, that members of the Chamber had not thought it incumbent upon them to pay much attention to the duties said to devolve upon Chambers of Commerce. Still a few matters had been before the Chamber, and they had been successful in reference to one or two — as, for instance, in obtaining a settlement of the connection of the Suez mail at the Melbourne end by way of the Bluff. He thought that was a matter on which the Chamber had reason to congratulate itself as having bad some influence. During the debate on the alteration of the tariff from the old duties to the ad valorem system, the matter was discussed very fully by the Chamber, and possibly the telegrams interchanged by the Chambers of Commerce might have had some influence on the course of events ; but the voluminous report got up at considerable labour by the Chamber — or rather by their Secretary— was too late to have much influence. However, the combined action of the Chambers throughout the Colony, and the free use of the telegraph wires certainly had some influence in inducing the Ministry to adopt the 10 per cent, ad valorem duties instead of the 12£ and 15 per fent. duties at first proposed. He would conclude by moving the adoption of the report.

Mr J. S. Webb seconded the motion. In doing co he wished to add a few words upon a matter not referred to in the report. When the Chamber instit »ted the annual medals at the High School, it attached considerable importance to the subject for which they were given, and the greater cultivation of that subject at the High School. At the request of the Rector of the High School, and the Mathematical Master, he (Mr Webb) set the paper for the boys, and examined all the better papers of those sent in by the competitors. By that means, the Chamber had obtained an independent testimony as to the sound knowledge of the arithmetic taught in the High School. He might say that, although the best boys of the High School had left the previous Christinas, bo that those who comSeted were chiefly juniors, yet he had no esita-tion in saying that, in their methods and advancement for their age, the boys had been brought on very well. Mr Webb then read a balance sheet showing a considerable debit balance due to the Treasurer. The report and balance sheet ware adopted. ELECTION OF OFFICE-BEARERS. Mr P. C. Neill was unanimously elected Chairman, and Mr Tewsley Vice-Uhairman. The following members were elected a G<>mmifctee for tlie enauing year :— Messrs LarInach, M'Neil, Oliver, Rattray, Turnbull, aud Walcott;. MARINK SURVEYORS ACT. At the suggestion of Mr Davie, it was resolved that the proposed Marine Surveyors Act, forwarded to tho Chamber by the Hon. Mr Reynolds, should be referred to the new Committee for consideration.

coMmiiEtfTAß-i 1 ftfrtf it'H m* if. fti&U oatLEOTOR Off OUSTOiUf Ai JttJNB&IH. Mr Davie said that no doubt the nWmb'ertf of the Chamber were aware that they wefe losing the services of an important public officer, and he thought it would be a graceful act on the part of the Chamber of Commerce to mark their sense of the manner in wh'ch he had discharged his public duties. They all knew that the gentleman occupying the position of Collector of Customs could be very obstructive, and could make Custom House' work very difficult and very disagreeable, while, at the sanle time,- that work could be made very pleasiilg and comparatively easy. He felt certain that He was giving' expression to the opinion of every one' coming iuto contact with Mr Hill when lie g'aid that by his urbanity and courteous obligiiig manner he had done everything to facilitate trade and -commerce — (hear, hear) — and at the same time had done his duty to the Government. — (Hear, hear.) With their permission he would like to move— "That having learned that Mr Hill, who has for several years occupied the position in Dunedin of Collector of Customs, ia about to be removed to another Province, this Chamber, as representing the commercial interests of the city, resolves to record its sense of the courteous and efficient manner in which he has discharged the duties of his office. The Chamber feels that while Mr Hill has at all titne3 acted strictly in accordance with his duty to the Government, he has at the sam e time spared neither time nor trouble in extending all legitimate facilities to promote the trade and commerce of the Province. The Chamber desires to express its hearty wishes for Mr Hill's future welfare, and directs that a copy of the resolution be forwarded to him."

Mr Walcott seconded the resolution. The Chairman said he did not think it would be necessary to say anything more on this subject, as he was sure the resolution would commend itself to everyone present.

The vote was then agreed to unanimously. VOTK OF THANKS TO RETIRING OFFICE-

BEARERS.

On the motion of Mr Copela.no, a vote of thanks was recorded to the retiring officebearers for the manner in which they had discharged their duties during the past year. The meeting then terminated.