THE STEAMER SERVICE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 13967, 27 July 1909, Page 2

THE STEAMER SERVICE.

NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT URGED.

REPLY OF THE COMPANIES. At the meeting of tho Employers' Association last night reference wus made to tho very unsatisfactory shipping service at New Plymouth, and the . great need lor improvement was em)hasised. a The chairiuan (Mr. (Joodacre) said € although wo had the harbour loan the v shipping companies seemed to bo in s league with the Government in hani]>- r ering shipping at the port as, much as c possible. They had devised a most in- t convenient service. It was just about ( as inconvenient as it poss.ibl\ could \h\ \ The Union Steam Ship Company had 1 for instance left New Plymouth so tar as the service between here and One- l mnga was concerned, and the Northern 1 Company gave a bi-weekly service which 1 was not at all suitable to tho district. < For instance, leaving here on the Fri- 1 day night one would arrive in Auck- 1 land generally towards noon on Satur- < day, and then the warehouses were closed, and the boat returned^ again on the ; Sunday, so that no one could do any ' business at all unless, he remained there < until the following Thursday. The 1 ourney thus occupied a week. It would 1 be difficult to conceive a worse time- 1 table. It had always been a surprising ' fact to him that the Auckland mer- < chants and also the Auckland Chamber 1 of Commerce had given so little atten- ( tion to the business of this west coast. ' They seemed to caro little or nothing ' about it. 1 In reply to Mr. Stewart, the chair- 1 man said he had not heard it mention- ' ed that the mid week boat was to be ( mado to leavo Auckland on Wednesdays ! instead of Thursdays. Referring brief- ' ly to the freight serv>e, he said those who did business in the South informed * him that the service in this direction ' was even worse than tho passenger trai- : fie. _ Goods, ho believed, could not be received in New Plymouth now in less than a fortnight, whereas in the past only a few days were required. Mr. Baker endorsed the remarks of tho chairman. It was an exceedingly unfortunate service. So iar as he was cencerned he found Wellington far more convenient now than Auckland. It was very evident Wellington would get the trade from this port in tho iuture aud not Auckland. Mr. Okey said it seemed to him that it took over a week now before- goods could be obtained from either Wellington or Auckland, whiUt they could get them in three days beforo the service was altered. The discussion then onded. THE OTHER SIDE. Our reporter this morning saw Messrs. Rudd and Webster, the respective local agents of the Union and Northern Steam Ship Companies, with regard to the above matter. They stated they were grieved to notice the unjustifiable remarks of Mr. Goodacre. They informed him that Mr. Goodacre had evidently not noticed the paragraphs that had appeared in the papers rV>r the last few days announcing that the time-table of the Rarawn had been altered, and that she would, from August 1, leave Auckland on Wednesdays instead of Thursdays, and leave New Plymouth on Thursdays instead of Fridays for the North. The shipping companies had observed some weeks ago that the running was not convenient to the public, and had decided to make an alteration at the first opportunity. They state that no complaint was made locally to them about the inconvenient running, but when the matter was represented to them from Auckland that the change would be more convenient they immediately fell in with the s"<rgestion. Our reporter gathered from a remark made by the above gentlemen that the earnings of the Rarawa in her present running were most disheartening and that unless an improvement takes place some alteration will be necessary. It is hoped that it will not be necessary to replace by a smaller and more cheaply run steamer. It should also be borne in mind, say Messrs. Rudd and Webster, that the shipping companies now carry the burden of the passenger tax, vis., 2s per head single and 4s return. This, of course, has to be deducted from the ship's earnings. Messrs. Rudd and Webster stated that the competition of the railway has most seriously affected the earnings of the steamers, which cannot compete successfully against the low railway freights and fares. Under these circumstances they greatly regretted the remarks made seeing that the companies were endeavouring to provido the best possible service under most disadvantageous circumstances. With regard to the freight service from Wellington, the Union Company advised our representative they hail placed the Rosamond in the trade as a special cargo-carrier. Her earnings so far had not been very encouraging, but it was hoped that they would improve and so enable her to continue tunning. The company was now providing a biweekly service from Wellington, the same as was in force between Auckland and New Plymouth. The Koonya was unfortunately sometimes delayed at Greymouth by the bad bar, and this was equally disastrous to the company as to the public. Mr. Rudd wa"s not yet able to announce what arrangements Would be made during the summer months for the carriage of butter and cheese, but of course tho Corinn* would in any case be kept running. It was doubtful, however, whether she would in any case be kept running. Th? company, he concluded, would make every provision to meet the requirements of the port in that direction. Mr. Rudd further pointed out, in reply to Mr. Goodacre 's statement that the Unite Company had abandoned the New Plrmouth-Onehuuga trade, that his company had not done so, but had a joint interest with the Northern Company in the Rarawa's running.