NEW WHARFAGE CHARGES

Taranaki Daily News, 19 July 1929, Page 8

NEW WHARFAGE CHARGES

ANOMALIES under system ADJUSTMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED, DELEGATES FROM HARBOUR BOARD Anomalies affecting importers arising under the new system of collecting wharfage at New Plymouth according to ships’ manifests are to be discussed, by representatives of the Harbour Board and Taranaki Chamber of. Commerce. At its meeting yesterday the board received a letter from the chamber saying that thb council had discussed the matter recently and had suggested a conference to clear up the points to which objection was made. “It was felt there were several anomalies that pressed very heavily on importers,” said the letter. The board appointed as its delegates the chairman (Air. C. E. Bellringer) and Aiessrs. E. Maxwell and D, J. Alalone. The chairman said ho had been in touch with tho Chamber of Commerce and had found that, rather than send a deputation to the board, it was thought better to set up a joint committee to go into the details. A number of importers had written to tho board pointing out anomalies, he. continued. There certainly appeared to be anomalies, but he felt they could be adjusted. Mr. C. 11. Burgess: There are a number of anomalies.

Air. Bellringer thought there should be some country members on the committee, as most of the town members were interested as business men. Produce importers were most affected, owing to the fact that the weight measurements were arbitrarily fixed. For instance, ten sacks of flour weighing 1501 b. each were treated as one ton under the new system of wharfage collection. They neither measured nor weighed a ton. Air. Burgess: You cannot have a hard and fast rule fixing the number of sacks in r a ton. One member said the importers recognised the Harbour Board had to collect a certain sum in revenue, but objected to paying on more than they received. For instance, if a man were sold 15001 b. of flour and charged for 20001 b. he would naturally object. The chairman pointed out that th* ships’ manifests charged Is 8d a sack for potatoes. They did not charge for them by the ton. A good deal of the trouble arose, he said, owing to the form of the circular sent out by the Railway Department. Alany people thought the new system was going to apply to railway charges as well as to wharfage charges. It was decided to refer to the joint committee all the letters received from importers on the subject.