DIRECT SHIPPING.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 December 1923, Page 5

DIRECT SHIPPING.

VALUE TO TARANAKI. OVER £40,000 SAVED.' ADDITIONAL £20,000 SPENT. ! INCREASE IN TRADE. Direct shipping to the port of New Plymouth from overseas has saved Taranaki merchants, and through them the general public, £41,501 during the current year. In addition,’it has been the direct cause of the circulation in New Plymouth of no less a sum than £20,45(1 in cash. The continued growth ol the port is revealed by the fact that 36 overseas yessels have been berthed since January as compared with 31 las* year and 22 the year before. The worth-while saving of £40,007 which the port has been instrumental in making for the consumers of Taranaki, represents the difference in. freight and handling charges between cargo imported direct from the overseas markets through New Plymouth and the same amount of cargo transhipped at Wellington. The cargo rates to New Plymouth from oversees are the same as to any other New Zealand port, but extra costs are incurred if the imports have to be transhipped at Wellington. The direct cargo handled at the port during the year aggregated 30,188 tions, brought by 26 of the vessels which called here. W’orking on the basis of 23s 6d per ton for shipping charges by coastal steamer from Wellington, and allowing a modest 4s for wharfage and handling charges at Wellington when goods are shipped in a through bill of 1 lading, the saving which the direct shipments to New Plymouth render possible becomes simply a matter of menta'. arithmetic. That the saving is appreciated by the merchants of Taranaki is plain by the increasing quantity of direct importations.

PAID IN WAGES. Of the total of £20,546 in cash put into circulation through the agency of direct shipping, just on £ IQ,OOO was paid out in wages to the watersiders, stevedores, railway men for overtime, carpenters, and, in fact, to all whose means of livelihood are at present more or less dependent on the port. The balance of the sum went principally to the harbour board for wharf dues, victualling, as well as in settling ether minor expenses such as the provision of timber for shoring up cargo. The money paid as wages as a rule is put into circulation again almost immediately through the grocers, 'butchers, bakers and drapers, but it is also a -fact that the other sfim mentioned is not locked up. The harbour board, for instance, uses its revenue to pay interest and Sinking fund charges on ttl loans, thus obtaining the use of a much larger sum, which is being spent on harbour improvements. These In turn providd a large number qf men with work to the of all. Who finds this cash? A Daily News reporter discussed the question with one oi the shipping agents, who were al! good enough to place particulars of their disbursements at his disposal. It was agreed that the consumer must ultimately pay, as he must do in all things involving expense, but the big point made was that instead of the greater part of the total dum mentioned being spent in Wellington it wa* kept at home. Some of the money “foreign capital,” the bulk of it is local. The J fact that part of the money would stih be spent even if all the cargo were transhipped is obvious, but there would be little or no harbour works and fewer men would be required at the wharf.

INTER COLONIAL AND COASTAL. Apart from the growth of the overseas trade, the coastal and intercolonial trade of the port during the year haalso increased, involving the circulation of yet more cash through the agency or the port. The days which the records have shown no vessels in port have be«n .few and far between. Since January, eleven vessels have mace use of the port from Australian ports, .bringing li),806 tons of cargo, consisting chiefly of coal, timber and fertilisers. The Koromiko, due on Christina’ Day, will make the total arrivals up to the round dozen, and probably increase the amount ol cargo brought in by at least another 2000 tons.

; In the coastal trade the main increase has been due to the increased arrivalfrom southern ports. Regular service* have been maintained by the Corinna, Opihi, and the John, but frequent visitors have been the Kaliika. Kakapo, Progress, and lately the Kaimanawa. In addition, various small boats have called at the port on a number of occasions from the West Coast. One of the features of the coastal trade has been the inauguration of the North Island West Coast service, calling at New Plymouth, Waikato, Onehunga and Kaipara. Tn the development of this service there arc many who see the birth of New Plymouth as the distributing port for fhis side of the North Island. The following table gives particular’ of the overseas vessels which have called at the port during the year, together with the totals of cargo imported or exported by each: Im- Ex-

called twice at the port within a few flays. The vessel commenced to dis. charge and load on May 11 and cam. back to New Plymouth from southern ports to complete. Of the vessel. b w U ?u ht earßo ’ tbe Waimarino and the Waihemo came from the Pacitlo Coast of America, the Jersey City. Kentucky, City of Batavia, West Natan, Kalomo, Quebec City, and Citv of Birmingham from the United States of America, and the remainder, with the exception of the Pinna and the Havre, which eame from Singapore, from the United Kingdom. Two other vessels, the Port Kenrbla and the Roval Citv are on the list for early arrival at New Plymouth, but it is not expected that they will arrive before the New Year The intercolonial vessels which died al the port during the year with their total cargo were the Pukaki, from Wai. pole Island, 475 tons; Kauri, Newcastle. 4223 tons; Joan Craig. Sydney and Newcastle, GSO tons; Gabriella, Sydney and Newcastle, 1117 tons; Inga, Sydney and Newcastle, 388 tons; Kaiapoi Adetatde UM tons; Koromiko, Newcastle, 3457 tons; Joan Craig, Sydney and New. eastle, 408 tons; Omana, Sydney an! Newcastle, 1222 tons; Koromiko, New--3300 Uns B7 t0I ” : Koromiko ' Nowcast!.

Cross. ports. .ports. Vessel. Tonnage Tons. Tons. Carpentaria .... M75 — 6.50 Tekoa , 8526 — 568 Waimarino ... ■ 4*204 778 13 Otarama . TTGO — 1508 Callie 7912 — 608 Kia Ora . 8030 — 1454 Jersey City .... 0322 735 — Karamea 5563 — 376 Paparoa ........ 7697 — 492 Waihemo . 5027 , 1967 — Raranga , 7956 3350 1909 Whakatane ... 7055 — 67*2 Kentucky . 6650 1(530 — Opawa . 9297 1648 1727 Waiwera 0237 1360 376 Dorset . 8734 r2030 495 Port Auckland 8308 — 238 Waiwera . (5337 500 299 City of Batavia 9855 634 — West Katan .... 5056 500 — Port Kembla .. 8405 2031 64 Devon 9661 1610 675 Waihemo 5627 1185 30 Kalomo . 5018 1400 — Pinna 6121 590 —» Port Chalmers .. . 6534 2631 62 Westmoreland 95412 —• 865 Naringa 6607 1757 — Quebec City .... 4936 739 — Paparoa 7697 —— 11-25 Piako 8253 —. 1036 Citv of JBirm'gham 61'82 881 —— Waihemo ...... 5(527 2589 — Dorset 8734 628 1202 Havre 2078 115 — Himutaka 8893 — 927 Kurunui 9280 — 187 Totals .... 30;188 16/210 will be noted that the Waiwera