CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3672, 29 July 1924, Page 10

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

The monthly meeting of the Council of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce was held on the 21st. In the absence of the president (Mr P. Barr) the vice-president (Mr F. M. Shortt) occupied the chair. The Secretary of the Invercargill Chamber of Commerce wrote stating his executive’s pleasure in receiving assurance that thera was no intention of depriving Invercargill of the present three days a week service to Christchurch. In the meantime the Invercargill chamber was doing nothing further in the matter. —Received. The Secretary of the Otago Law Society wrote stating that the subject of the collection of unpaid land tax was at piesent receiving the best attention of the law societies of New Zealand. They had every reason to believe that a strong effort would be mado next month to have tho obnoxious section of the Act repealed or modified.—Received. Correspondence was received on the subject of defining the terms “ c.i.f. ” and “ c.i.f.e.” —Mr J. B. Waters, who had attended a meeting of the executive of the Chamber® of Commerce at Wellington, when the subject was discussed, reported that a legal opinion wss being obtained before proposals were submitted to the associated chambers. Dunedin's report had been favourably received Attention was drawn to the fact that in night letter telegrams figures were permitted only in the address and signature. This largely destroyed the value of the concession. The secretary was inctructed to write to the assistant secretary of the Telegraph Department asking that the regular tion bo altered It was decided to approve of the principle of having elective and nominated members on the council of the chamber in the proportion of two-thirds elective and one-third nominative, and that the maximum total be 24. Details of the proposal were left to the executive to work out. Mr Waters reported on several matter® dealt with by the executive of the Chambers of Commerce. The matter of railway tariff had been discussed with the Minister of Railways (the Hon. Mr Coates). A conference of delegates of southern Chambers of Commerce was going to be held to consider coastal, intercolonial, and overseas shipping as it affected the South Island. The conference was to be convened by Canterbury, and would be held in Dunedin, probably in September. It raised a very important question indeed. The idea was that the conference should bring up a report embodying the South Island point of view for submission to the Conference of Associated Chambers The secretary was instructed to advise the various associations interested of the conference. Several members expressed the view that it was no use negotiating with the shipping companies unless they had some definite other alternative to threaten the companies with. Mr Waters said that one of the difficulties in New Zealand was that we had 19 overseas ports, each claiming overseas service, and two-tliirds of thesa should not have been opened for many years to come. The matter was referred to the Imports and Exports Committees, to confer with other bodies interested to prepare for the conference.