Chamber of Commerce

Southland Times, Issue 14815, 17 December 1900, Page 2

Chamber of Commerce

— •> The 32nd annual meeting of the Invercarfill Chamber of Commerce was held on Friay, and was attended by Messrs J. E. Watson (President), Turnbull, Lennie, Vyner, J. A. Mitchell, R. Dunlop, R. (iilmour, ICirk, (}. W. Nichol and Morris. Rei'OßT : At the close of the tf2nd year of the existence of fchia Chamber and under the circumstances in which the district and the colony are found your committee has mnch ploasure in presenting the annual report. When tint last report was presented the nation had l-een forced into war with South Africa. It was at that time hoped that long ere this peace would have been proclaimed and a righteous government established. Although victory has been achieved and the unity of the whole of the British Empire manifested (o the world, the subjugation of the Boers has proved a much more difficult task than was at first apprehended. The trouble in China has developed in a way which could not have been foreseen. It is however f» cause for thankfulness that the Powers are still united in judgment and in action, and while the expression " wars and rumours of wars " fitly describes the state of things at' the present time it is to be devoutly hoped that the difficulty in China may be settled without much more blood* shed. We now comv to matters colonial and local, the commercial aspect of which it is the special business of this Chamber to-<ieal with and from this standpoint there is much to oncoairagu the hope that a period of progression and colonial advancement will be enjoyed for many years. Returns just published by tho Government of New Zealand are evident c of the rapid progress the colony is making. When compared with the year 1890 the increse in population (exclusive of Maoris) is over 23 per cent ; total imports about f>B per cent, total exports nearly 37 per cent, while the exports of the produce of the colony have advanced over 38 per cent. in dealing with individual articles of produce exported, it is shown that the quantity of wool sen 1 , from New Zealand exceeds that of 1890 by ov'-r 41 per cent ; frozen meat, 142 jjer cc.it; butter, over 322 per cent (the value of th) 3 item has increased 427 per cent) ; cheese, 151 per cent ; gold over 66 and coal 53 per cent. The nunioer of occupied holdings of land has increased 63 per cent, the area of land in cultivation over 55 per cent, and hind occupied, 80 per cent. The number of sheep in the colony has increased 20 per cent, and of cattle nearly 47 per cent. The deposits in the P.O. Savings Banks of the colony have advanced 118 per cent. Theue figures indicate that the progress of the colony is of a permanent character. Locally the steady onward march is' as apparent, in Southland as in the whole colony. Farmers are proaporous and farms have changed hands at prices showing a considerable advance od those realised only two or' three yearn ago. The town of Invercargill is sharing in the material progress that ifi being made. Several business premise!! h&ve been erected ; these were absolutely necessary in order to meet the demand for accommodation required to carry on an increasing business. Good substantial residences have been built in all parts of tho town and many properties have changed hands. So far aa the work of the Chamber is con • cerned tfaexe have been no burning question;) brought before it during the past year, biri several matters of considerable importance have been discussed and dealt with, one of '\ the most prominent being, The Defences of tub Colo^t.— ln con- ..'. nection with this subject the Chamber re* commended tho Government (I) that arms '■ of the most recent type should be obtained, '>; sufficient to arm at least 20,~000 of our .- militia ; (2) th.it every male liable tc-servs in the firsn class of the militia should bj : compelled to attend drill at stated periods until he bacomes eineient ; (3) that, all ablebodied youths between the ages of 16 and 20 years sho\il<l be compelled to . attend n sufficient nuiabcf 6f dttllfl to Windet fcheßl efficient, and they should J&qJ&iwghv to shoot, ride and swim ; (i^.tbit iijtha unsettled state of the nations ".a large supply of arnts and ammunition should always be held in stock by the Gpverlimeufe : ; diAMßiitt of Commerce Bat. —A measure waa introduced into Parliament last session dealing with Chambers of Commerce, o'rie of the clauses of wldch practically had tb/3 effect of depriving Chambers of the right to elect their own members. The Chamber opposed this bill on the ground that it waa an interference with the liberty of the subject and would rob Chambers of their independence. Teadk With China.— A coramuication on this subject has been received from tfce Secretary of the China League, London. The objuct ii to seek the advice and «»- if- , operation of the Chambers of Commerce of kV the Empire with a view of assejrtajnigg tl,e r best mesjis ot' maintaining commerciaViiT— *-= terests in China. The matter is at present | before the Committee and will be dealt' v^ with. .• ;£• P .;,-. Cokobess C'F Chambers oj GqmmS||^v> London. —Tho Eon. Thomas iiid^ Thomas Brown, Esq., were appointed jf>b!£\ represent the Invercargill Chamber at t^lJ: Congress which was held in June last. ? • Confederated Body of N.Z. ChAmbi^V:; : op CoaoiEßCK.— lt is proposed that ifilSii^i Chambers of Commerce of New Zealand. be?g?' formed into a confederate body. The 4ws-?fp^ tionwill bo considered at a conference of i|^ Chambers to be held in January next in;?fe connection with the Canterbury Exhibition. " Bjl This Chamber -will be represented on tk.*t ■4i occasion. ; ,i S; PHiLADKunxu Commercial MosacTmii^;.^; This Chamber has been admitted as a mem- S ber of the Liter national Advisory Board pf}:s| this institution, which haa for its object t<he i;^ encouragement and facilitating of busin/iss reiatiomi between manufacturers and mepjh- :j|f. ants. In returning the compliment tfiJfi Chamber 'ias recoived as honorary membsrs Dr W. P. Wilson, the Director of 'jie:^Commercial MuseurujMrCassi us A. Greeß,lj»6:^' chief of its Bureau of Information, and IVfr "if: Wilfred H. Schoff, chief of its foreign «Je- .% partmont. i. . Weight ok Hacks of Wheat. — This Chamber has co-operated with other Oham^«? bers with the view of establishing i;he practice of using smaller sacks for wheat. The size until lately containing about 2401 b, tho moving of these sacks was very injurious to those who had the handling of them. . The Government have at length taken up . the subject, and the rule now will be that sacks shitl contain not more than 2001 b. Slaughtek op Ewe Lambs.— The Chamber desires to draw attention to the evil that is resulting from the iudiscrimin vte slaughter of ewe lambs, a practice which has had the effect of very seriously depleting the Jlocks of the colony, and causing a further loss by reducing the duality of i:he stock on hancL' Tbe very pick o£ trie' ewe lambs baing exported as freezers. This is a > matter which tho Chamber feela might engage the Berious attention of the Agricultural and Pastoral Association and indeed all flock owners throughout tbe colony. Cost of Telegrams.— The Chamber supported «. movement having for its object a reduction of rates in telegrams, recommend' ing that only M per word be. charged for «Q over twelve words. A number of other subjects have been dealt with during the year, including Federation, tbe grading of meat, Canterbury Exhibition, tabla code vocabulary, po?»t»l ' reform, direct trade with Manchester, pillage of cargo, railway season tiokuts, quarantine site, tradiug stamps, tetnli of trading, etc. Your committee is glad to report a tousiderablo increase in the roll of membership of the Chamber. With nei^ blood ami a return of some old and esteemed members it is hoped that fresh life will be infused into the. Chamber, : The President, in moviug the adoption of tho report, referred with satisfaction to ibhb general prosperity of tho colony ,and totho |mmense progress made during the last 20 ysars in Southland —chiefly the result of downright hard work on tbe part of the settlers. For the past few years the prospects of tHosei » engaged in agriculture had been fairly bright tmd they had had much encouragement to labour, but most of them who were now pretty comfortably oircumstanccd-r-----enjoying their well-earned reward— had toiled bravely when the outlook \yas gloomy and forbidding enough. A gratifying fea'.urg , of the spread of settlement, and agricultural development, in Southland was that tho. impetus wi^s given from within its <^Vfl- . bqrdoH, Large estate? had befinggu! £rijk „ and tho divisions had been taken' poasesnolo: o£ and put uudear cultivation, crtiefijf^ljf^Bi:';;; 690Q of *>W oWtt Iwawas, not;^> any iibUcfi- '. able extent by ineoniert. Outsiders Mwrft howevor, beginning to realise that in buying land they could get better value for iiheic money in. Southland than anywhere elie in the co)ony ' or elsei¥hera^^;^ißJi^oßii:itiou ' had aliready produced aomo considerable effect dv the. price of land and he antibif ated -^ tljat Jta y^h^^^^;'«i^|pjue t^^iTw^ £

• hanced until it reached the level of prices ruling for the very best and most favourably situated parcels oi land in other portions of the colon y> , The agricultural show just over he considered a credit to the district in every department, and ventured to say that it would have been creditable to any part of the world. The stock all round was first-class— not to be surpassed anywhere — and the splendid display of machinery, nearly all of colonial make— much of it, and much of the best of it, locally made — was a proof of the skill and enterprise of the manufacturers, and, at the same time, of the enterprise and enlightenment of our farmers who bought and used these machines. They were fully alive to the fact that if they meant to keep in the van of agricultural progress— as no doubt they did— they would wisely avail themselves of the most perfect machines they could procure. At the previous annual meeting he had hazarded the opinion that a rise in the value of wool that had just taken place would be permanent. Unfortunately it had not. Wool had receded, and that seriously. He would not attempt to ascribe the fall to its various causes ; but one of the most prominent of these was the failure of some great wool speculators in France. The market had been very unsettled for a time under the shock, but had steadied again, and prices bad recovered to an appreciable extent, with a fair prospect of further improvement shortly. As a set-off to the low prices of wool, he might congratulate the Chamber on the condition of the frozen meat trade, which, he thought, might be expected to continue equally satisfactory for some considerable time to come. The development of this industry in New Zealand had really been moat remarkable. The substantial resultß from freezing and export had, however, led to the indiscriminate slaughter of ewe lambs— the best of them, too— and the result was now pretty severely felt in the shortage of sheep. He supposed natural processes would soon supply the remedy, as the price of good breeding ewes would be sure to rise to such figures that it would pay better to save the ewe lambs than to slay them. The same argument would apply to wheat, the price of which had been very low for the past two years. The -wheat acreage would naturally be curtailed until prices recovered, and there were many shrewd observers who anticipated an improvement very soon. For oats— the most important cereal in Southland— the market had been fairly satisfactory, no doubt to a considerable extent due to the demand for South Africa. In connection with this chance trade he might express his gratification at the action of the Government in the steps being taken to establish permanent trade relations with that country. He thought they deserved the thanks of every section of the community. Some might say euch efforts should be left to private enterprise, but he thought otherwise, and that if the trade was not developed by some method of Government encouragement it would not be secured At all. South Australia had almost the whole of that trade .at present through having subsidised steamers running regularly. He might also attribute the 'large and increasing Dusiness done by Germany and France in the Australian colonies to the subsidised steam lines of these countries. Referring to the prosperous condition and great expansion of the dairy industry Mr Watson paid another high compliment to the Government for the assistance rendered by the department, which had been admirably, managed, and had so improved the output orboth butter and cheese that these now stood on a very high level in the Home market. Although the volume of this business was small comparatively, it was a very important industry, for the reason that it affected beneficially a very large number of the smaller settlers. For some time prices had been pretty steady, but a bad year or two might come again and then they would «cc a repetition of scenes of some past years —dairymen selling off their herds at a sacrifice. To prevent this, and maintain the industry in a sound and steady condition, he would suggest that the factories should establish a reserve fund into which the surplus over a fixed price should be paid in good years, and from which the deficiencies of low seasons could be made good. Referring to the telegraph service, Mr Watson instanced one or two directions in which alterations recently made did not work out as the mercantile community expected. A concession has been made on short cables, and other alterations in the tariff had "been effected. The reduction it was found applied only to messages up to six words, but as few messages could ■be limited to that Dumber of words, these cables were really more costly that before. This he thought would be remedied if the Chamber took the matter up and made proper representations to the head of the department. Touching the defence proposals of the Government he (the speaker) thought the country should support the movement. No prudent business man grudged his insurance premiums, and the cost to the country of carrying out the defence proposals of the Government should jußt be regarded as the colony's insurance premium against fire and sword. " Having been duly seconded the motion for the adoption of the report was passed. The balance sheet was also read. It is of little significance to any but members. On this occasion, owing to a considerable number of new members having joined, it was in a rather more satisfactory state than it has been for some years. Mr Watson was re-elected President, Mr Dunlop declining re-election, Mr J. H. Kirk was elected vice-president, and Messrs TurabuU, Dunlop, Hawke, McQueen and Gilmour members of committee. Mr David Strong was re-elected auditor. The customary votes closed proceedings.