MONTHLY MEETING.

Colonist, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11976, 11 July 1906, Page 2

MONTHLY MEETING.

The monthly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was held last night, when the Chairman, Mr F. Hamilton, presided. Messrs Lucas and Lewis sent apologies. Minutes were confirmed, and correspondence wan then read and considered. Amongst the letters received were the following... From the Prime Minister, acknowledging the message of synipathy from the Chamber on the death of the Right Hon. R, J. Seddon. . From the Hon. Attorney-General, re Reserve at Lake Rotoiti, together with a letter from the Minister for Lands offering to ask for a vote of J650 to provide a reserve of over 13 acr.es, with bridge across the Blackwater creek, and stating that, the reserve asked for was private !??9.nerty belonging to tbs owner of the' Lake rud. Mr Kerr said the 13 acres was not easy of access. He said that tell acres would be amply sufficient, or even n've^ adres, so that there was ready aCcess from the rnaiii rdad, Mr Fen moved „ that the Hon. Colonel Pitt be thanked for his efforts, and informed that the suggested reserve was not easily accessible, and that if five acres could be acquired which could be reached by vehicle it would be much preferable. The motion was agreed toj the Chaifmaii and Secretary to frame a lefcteh From the Attorney-General, re Tata Islands, .with reports thereon from Uommiseidner bf Crown Lands; and Crown Lands Ranger. From the latter it appeared that the islands contained about; se#en acres, each being about 50ft above the sea level. From -the southern end of the inner islands some 12,000 tons of stone had been removed. The islands provide tho only shelter for shipping in the locality, and if the stone continued to be removed, it was only a question of time when the shelter to snipping would cease to exist. It was also stated that limestone could be obtained from the mainland. Another report stated the islands were shown on plan of sale as containing ten acres. Mr Fell moved that the AttorneyGeneral be thanked and asked that steps might be taken to acquire the islands by the Government that the harbor of refuge might be retained. Motion carried. From the Attorney-General, intimating that in consequence of the representations of the Chamber an additional police constable has been provided* Resolved to acknowledge, and thank the writer From the Takaka County Council, conveying resolution endorsing the action of th 6 Chamber in its endeavor to have clause 14 of the Para; para lease deleted. From the Tourist Department forwarding a couple of publications issued by the Department. Mr King moved that a Committee consisting of the Chairman, Messrs Bannehr and Cock, be set up to go through the publications with a view to pointing out omissions concerning Nelson.—Carried. | From Mr Graham, M.H.R., acknowledging letter from the Chamber re Tariff revision, and promising to do what he could. From Mr A. H. Bisley, apologising for absence, and forwarding notes re wool production, etc. (The notes appeared in yesterday's issue.) Mr Cock mentioned having received returns of £19 los net per bale, and averaging Is lj-od and Is 2d per lb. He thought without maintaining the present extreme prices there was a good prospect of good prices being realised for many years. After further discussion it was resolved, on the motion of the (Chairman, seconded by Mr C. King, that a hearty vote of thanks be accorded Mr Bisley for his interesting notes. From Mr Bisley, suggesting that during the Exhibition Nelson attractions should be advertised in the ChristchUTch papers at a cost-of, say, two or three hundred pounds, pointiug out the climatic advantages, the sunshine, its scenic attractions, its productions, the healthy nature of the country for stock; that it still possesses over three million acres of Crown lands, and provides good sport; that its Colleges, etc., should also be called attention to. He said his firm was ready to contributo £10 towards the cost of securing a quarter page advertisement. The Chairman said Mr Bisley thought more good could be done this way than by exhibiting at the Exhibition. The suggestion was commented on favorably by Messrs Cock, Fell, King, and others. Mr Lock also said that he favored Mr Bisley's suggestion. The Chairman said it was a pity that the Exhibition Committee meetings had not been better attended. Mr Fell spoke in the same strain, and said if others had come to help them at the first they could have got up a very good exhibition. It was suggested that a committee should be set up to see how Mr Bisley's suggestion could be carried out. to report at next meeting, and with power to do what they thought necessary.—Carried. On the motion of Mr Fell, seconded by Mr Lock, the Committee of .the Chamber was deputed to act. Mr J. P. Harris repotted that the Exhibition Commissioner^ had allotted 504 feet of space, with three frontages. Mr Cock suggested that exhibits in bulk would be effective. Mr Fell suggested that fruit should be sent weekly,and said that if fruit were given away at the week end there would be a rush for it. It was reported that Messrs E. Buxton and Co. had promised the use of a store in wbicb to place exhibits temporarily. The Chairman then referred to the question of water supply in connection with fire prevention purposes, and referred to the lace tire at the Port. Mr Bannehr said it had come under his knowledge that in conse-

quence of the unsatisfactory pressure of water for tire pervention purposes representatives of some of tbe Fire Insurance Companies were discussing the question of raising the premiums, and he said that if premiums were raised a considerable tax would be imposed on the people. It was suggested that silt in the pipes attested the pressure, but ' whatever the cause it would be wis& to ende&yor tb. irhprovb the pressure 1 and avoid a tax in i the form of higher insurance premiums. , . „ . Mr, H. Baigent said he believed that the fault was that the mains, wore ,noU sufficiently flushed. ,'Teajr^ . agp the Fire Brjgadp went, ou.t frequently, and used the water in the various parts of. the City and that; had the result of keeping the. mains . clear. Be knew as a matter of fact that there was silt in the mains, and gave instances to show that the pipes were more or less blocked with silt. \ Mr Fell asked if there was any blow oft at the lowestiends.i . , „ , Mr Baigent said that there waft not, and at Oollingwood street there had been a blockage on the occasion of a fire some time ago. Mr Cock said that with the large ; body of water and a larger additional main he could not conceive that the supply or pressure should be * diminished. The reasoc that tire premiums were not increased lay rather in dissentions among the Insurance Companies themselves. Fire insurance business was Unprofitable, for the number of fires that had to be , paid for left the business highly un* profitable. If the present oye" ? competition passed away the haturai . revulsion.. would be ih.the.direetidji ' of higher rates to make good pasc losses, and if they could forestall an . increase by securing a better pressure, say within six months, it would certainly be wise to do so. I Mr Duncan said they had also the quality of the water to consider. IHe , had made analysis himself, and had. had these checked, and last summer he was surprised ; to fin di the unmbey qf t; organism's £that existed in the water, including water fleas which indicated stagnation. He thought they should break pipes, and let the water flow into the Mait&i and the sea, so that the mains would be completely flushed. The water was better now the weather was cold, but something should be done before 1 summer. < Mr King said that for drinking purposes the water was not to be 1 compared with what it used to be. Mr Fell questioned whether the fault was in the mains or behind the dam. Mr Baigent thought it was in both, and said the water was let into tbe dam before the. latter was ' thoroughly cleaned; After discussion, it was resolvedon the motion of Mr Duncan, seconded by Mr Lock, that those present .wait upon the Gas and Water Committee " of the City Council on the subject iof > water supply, and that a letter be sent asking that tbe deputation be i received. • Some discussion then to^ '«•.•"'•"»« } relative to varying rates of freight, ■ when it was complained that while freights from Sydney to Wellington -■ were 15s a ton, an additional 12s 6d had to be paid on the same goods ' from Wellington to Nelson. Also i that the freight of fruit from Nelson in Dunedin was twice that from Auckland to Dunedin. i The meeting ended with a vote of thanks to the Chairman.