NEW ZEALAND EXPRESS COMPANY.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 13702, 17 September 1908, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND EXPRESS COMPANY.

HOUSEWABMINO >*EW BUILDING.

- of tbe New Zealand .Express Company's handsome and comnaodiona building on Barnard street was celebrated yesterday by a complimentary Inncbeon when a number of Timaru Easiness men and distrcit agents accepted the invitation of the Directors (I - the Company to inspect lieir new premises, and then eit down to-geiher-at a well famished -table in one of th«'large eastern rooms opstairsl Most a| the guests before or after the luncheon inspected the building, and there were Many encomiums uttered on the capacr.ousnjSw, convenience, and good lighting -.of *he building, and on the enterprise of the ■Express Cocrtpmiy and the wide xamUkstiiOT of thejr business. '-The chairman o£ d : rectors, Mr .lani»?s Brown, arrived -iny'rimaru- by the 1.30 expr»», and un'il r h*> arrival the chair w*a taken by Mr C. S. Owen, a director, "who cordially welcomed those present anor naned a number of others whose engagements had compelled them to bend apoloff® 5 -

description of the building has 3 appeared in our columns. The gei e f| now. contains a considerabl qinntify of goods, and some of the sampl 'Wbb are occupied. thirty and forty sat down t • cold collation nicely ret out by M Budd, Mr Brown taking the chair, wit Mr Craigie, Mayor and chairman of th Harbour Board, and Air White, Presiden o|f the Chamber of Commerce, on hi Among those were sevcia oiaer memt>?rs of the committe, and thi secretary to • th» Chamber of Commerce the secretary to th* Harbour Board, M Graham, stationmaster, 3lr Hawley, Col lector of Custom?, and representatives c inest branches of commerce and shipping ®-few professional men, ilr O'Brien, re presenting the Company's insurers, atw tome of' the company » country agent«. Mr Brown, on proposing the Gr*t toast expressed his gratification at seeing sue! a representative gathering of buiiines; pe&ple- He took it as an evidence thai ukgr welcomed the company to the town and that the endeavour of the companj to.provide premises efficient for their parpo«s, had met with not only the approval bat also the sympathy of the people of Timaru. The company had come lu«te hopmg to 4.->;abti»u ■* par(neic*uiii wilt the people, and he had much pleasin proposing as a toa»t "The Alayor ang Corporation of Timaru." He did not kttfjr much about them, personally, but think of them as the persons m ch*»ge of a ;wdl-r*gnlated town. In his journeyings through the country he had made frequent calls at. Thnaru, had been impressed by the beatify of the placo and by; the amount of work done by tbo citix*S» through the agency of tlx; .Mayor and Corporation towards beautifying their city, and making it prosperous in every direction. i tmaru had many advantage* over other towus in New Zealand. It liad a back country that for agricultur.il and pastoral purpose* was probaly the 1) i>i "U the kuou n world. (lft ar, hear.) At .my„. rate New Zealand was acknowledged to have «ome of the best agricultural land in the world, and it was acknowWlged tliaC in this reepcct South Canterbury was not surpassed by any other port of Z\c\r Zealand. Anotlier faroerabte condition was its climate. The*© t»eire (ortuna-e actdtnt*. dispensations of •Providence, b.-yond human control. Be*'dfer tbwe Timaru was inhabited by a British people, and. in alldirections wcr*-* toibe fceo the evidence* of their energy and good judgment, UD that Timaru would luinpsr* with* any'other town of its size any* Ik re. Tim Mayor and Corporation had done the*** things, for and a* an ri pc«ißioß of the people, and (heir work prowd that they ntw worthy of ihe confidence that had been placed" in them. In speaking of the work that had been done, he included alto tbo harbour, and be hoped that the Mayor would aceejit the toast and reply to it, witb that understanding. The toast having boc-ti duly itcnoured, Mr Craigkt thanked tho chairman and the company for the honour paid to him by their invitation, and the cli.urm.iii for bw complimentary remarks about Timaru. In return he complimented the ditvrtois on their enterprise in erecting in Timatu, a building ►« spacious and we 11<-<| u 11< for their purj»o»c*; ami said thai if it was a little large at present, in ftvcyvar>" time it. wouhl not I>* larj;« enough lbaccepted the chairman'* j>i.»i>e of Tiniaru lor its uniqueness in two ways, its climate, and fertile »oii, and he added a thiid unique advantage, this being that their harltour w.ia crime by tlitir feinlo district 1 He n-e»l n«»t ,».»y nu:< h alxiul nh.ib the lS©n>ujjh t>»uuil had done, but- it wu< not unreavnsb?" i» «-Uini that tho people of Ttmani had ptob.iblv >p»-nt morn mon**y than any other pl.ii-*- of equal sue Mr t'raijie th«-n quoted >«>me figures tint hat] been prepare! by the Town t'lerk, showing . tho . prvxrc** of 'luuaru. 'lift tJovennnenf valuation ftoial »r «ajital v»lu.»| had inimenvlv inoeate.l lwrt.wren 11W1 and 130K - fr<»ni ».» £l. 'i'ZA,2s7~-and tb«* Borotigh (annual tain.-: a*«»«ji»ment doting th'* wmc tim» h,<d nearly donbted, £48,369 had bernnir> JD90.V17. The valuer atUxche-l to application* for bnilding in I*X?6 totalled £54.-12S; and jn l'*97, £O7, ■ 428. The town had broadened out in many way#. They had »pent m the l-i*» >ix or teven re,m £.>500 on the fyinj; of ('aroltne Bay ; they had obtains! an abattoir tliat was as a model for later one* erected el«ewber«; they hid installed electric lisht through the ent<*rpri«r of Messrs Scutt Bros, of Chnstr-

church; and they were now carrying out a scheme of underground drainage. The ordinary receipts of the Borough Council had increased from £13,000 odd in 1901 to over £20,000 in 1907, and the expenditure had increased proportionately. The expenditure on streets went up from a little over £SIOO to over £suoo,- and on scavenging from £470 to £IO7O. There was still room for improvement. Every ratepayer thought the street he lived in was the most important in Timaru, and should be metalled and have it* footpath* asphalted; and these things would- be done but for the rooted objection to increasing loans and increasing rates(Laughter). - . Turning to harbour matters, Mr Craigie contrasted the opinion held in Christchurch regarding Timaru 20 years ago with that which was entertained to-day. Then limaru was an awful place, and every ship's captain commiserated on having to go there and congratulated on getting aw3y. Now Christchurcli people' were making the success and progress of the port of Timaru a "painted devil." a bogey to frighten people into voting for a new canal harbour. In supportof tins statement he read Mine extracts from Christchurcli papers, referring to presentlosses of shipping trade to Timaru, and fears of greater losses in the future, —unless something' wa« done to improve the conditions of shipping from Christchurcli. Timaru might take this as a compliment, for the. Harbour Board had not been aggressive. They had simply provided for the trade of their own district. If they chose to be aggrrssive (and patriotic too; they would increase the harbour rate and redure the charge*, and then they would get the trade,a.i far as the Rakaia in one direction and beyond the Waitaki in the other. Mr Craigie read the following statements showing the progress of the harbour an«l harbour district: Valuations for harbour rate: Year. Valuation. 1899 £6.095.821 1904 , £7,308,5-10, « 1905 £8,049,556 1906 £9,053.968 1907 £9,257.915 1908 £9,740,132 Increase in ten years, 60 per centImports and exports and frozen mutton : Frozen Year. Imports Exports Total Mutton Tons. Tons. Tons. Carcase*. 1889 31,855 47,181 79,019 30,971 1898 40,140 38,378 78,518 302,800 1907 86,220 65,052 151,272 837,997 Increase of total in last ten years, 93 per cent. Increase in frozen meat, Inst ten year*, 17/ |>er cent. Harbour jvvenuc: 1877 ... £1799 Nil. 1889 ... £12.883 £250 . 1898 ... £12,552 £6OOO 19Q7 ... £25,6/6 £17,277 Revenue increase in last ten years 105 per cent. j Value of imports ;uid exports at leading ports, with i>eiccntage of increase : I'ort 1898 1907 CVln. limaru 636,389 "1,514.089 138 Wellington 3,857,710 9.167,237 138 I Vuckland 3,863,280 8,006,040 107 Mufl: 831,733 1,6/6,675 102 Vapwr ... 1,294,728 2,198,294 '/U Lyttellou 3,282,130 6,469,856 61 jiincdin ... 2,5/6,489 4,027,767 50 Mr Craigie explained that the last table >f values icfvried to ioivign and inter- j ■olouial trade only, no values tamg i-.-. *>rde<l for the coastwise tiade. Could bo*? valm-s have been added, 'Timaru, vith its large toat>twixi trade hi flour and >Urt mill stuffs and horse Kh.il, would ! iav«- made la«t yrarts'total over-tivo niilions, and he <|uc-iUonc,l whether, in any Mrt of the world, a population of oniy 81000, had provided so much exportable tealtb from tliy suil. tAppiausv. j Mr Ouen "ih* Tiadc and 'ommerce of iunaiii." Mr M. White, in 'cpponding, remarked that, a «o.kl index of ho prosperity of Timaru ami «S>ntli Canerbury uat> the \ery Miiall numlwr of unkruptck's that, oeeurred. The <ii>tii« t j :ad unfortunately hid a set-back through he drop in tb-* price of wool, but ili.it loud was lifting, and prion uoitld projablv soon be back to the old Kv. i. jotunately the pricet> of other produu: li.nl ! »|< up very well. H« claimed that south Canterbury had a real live Chamber ; i Commerce, "through whw* exertions ;oods ucr«« now lanood fioni Home as heaply at Timaiu as at any other |*>rt. lb- direct iin|>ort tr.nl<- ws growing too, ind inr>tcad ol a direct boat »vtiy alternate iionth, tli«y nc»dvd, and woubl probably iav«> mini <lt;u«dy, a monthly bo.it. Inoiigraliila'.cd il.o Express Company on ifir tine budding, ami truot»d tlwi the •ntitidcn<c th-v had rdiou n in th- con mued pro*p<-nty of South CaiiNibuiy »tmld piov<- to In.- M< 11 founded, "I li-* chairman, m tailing upon him t<» iri.j».v,- the next mentioned sli.it Mr tiij* Timaru manager, had In ■» ••rv.itit of the < oin|'-i[iV miii e ii». iih> ptimi. aid h-' {twr-esM-d th«* entity i "iitidciu c of he H<>ard »>( |>irect»>r*. • Mr Kli'oin |Tojxr«-.l "I h- .Nr' I)!*- .ind li>- Builder, ' .ind Mr W I'.mioii and Mr I'lingl" rr»m»nded. Mr Craigie prop'i«-d ' Sti< > ■«•**. '•» :h--if ihe by tli.tn m >rc( l "X - four ■■•nti«*. in luding the first "Vky *ir.it»<-t" m ('ln;vi hnrch;. -Mid othfr and h"i'iiic that i) l.iiinebtnj out .«.« ?h'*v h.id in "im.titi th'-y would be virji t<-u.irdrd ,\- ■fayor. Hp w-dminrd tb*-ni jjo .«■» ik»' at' ptypiT. In In* icplv. Mr Hr'iH'fi £•'*'■ i I; !*» }*-• xpunation "f Uk- .vuii m«*th«»d» «>f tii«* oinptny 'lti-y utf> i!«-\tiinr by n"' without ir K'" prenii""! ut th-- 'our i<-ntr».-s. -<i»d f.jtc!.ildc m |-'. -tjt t'j-y «ri" by m» inc-ua. .» inonoj-iir.s. < fli j » li % *1 Leu lifllH -« « .».» A ,*\*i«ll! rgani'a! ion. or ■ "inbma! ion. i". ra< rnabled to uti!i»<- and dir»v! a nunil'T ■f rmpli-rc<-3 to better parj>**.o thaa wuul-j

be possible under any other conditions. It was a business that could not pay large dividends. Erery. branch was indirectiv a part of the whole concern, and aG such entered into partnership with the people of the town in which it was established, and the profits weri& raainjy spent- among them, after paying a fair remuneration to the employees. The erection of buildings required the aid of the capitalist, who must get % a return for his money. 'ihe employee* must be well paid, for what thecompany undertook to do, it desired to do well. Mr Owen, who had been a member of the company from its inauguration, added some further information. He, with a partner, had been carrying on a business of the kind until it became too big for them, and it was formed into a limited company. Starting with £3OOO, the company now had. a capital of over £IOO,OOO. They paid in wages about £IOO for everv day of the year ; over 1500 people earned thtir living directly through the company : last year they paid to farmers £l7 16s per day for horse feed, and their total working expenses were £52,C-00 for the year. For the two years, 1906-7, they had spent on buildings an average of £k» per day for every day of tlte'year, besides the £38,000 now boing spent in Dunedin and in Auckland. The company had no monopoly. Since they Martett business the Government had three tames reduced th© rate of parcels pw>t. Ths company had to pay all charges to Harbour Boards, while the Government did not pay at all, and the company had to pay Government land tax. There could be no monopoly, wlk-ii they hid to compete with the Gov- ' eminent as well as with other people inthe same line of business. They aimed at getting a good stati of emplovces, who wire inspired with the idea of making the company a success, and they had got ouch a staff, working loyally for them. Mr Ensom, for instance, was with tbciu before the started, and: had' helped to rai*e it from -rery small things. 'Hie company were a direct help to every town in which they ivere established. Lustrear, for instance, ihoy paid £1462 in rat<s tind tail's, Snd they would to' help limaru in that way. As to their employees, the director; took an iuterest in them, and they had at- present under consideration a scheme for making them shareholders. The employees were th© mainstay of the company, and he was prtesiug upon the directorate Ihe adoption-of th.t> scheme. He had goti a- certain length with it, and hoped to be abie to complete it next year. What was true of tho company was true of New Zealand. Individual effort on the part of employee as Well as of capitalist, was required to <t>Üblisb and maintain the welfare of th-? country, and was the only thing that would do it. 'Hie company's had l>een largely due to the hearty support the head office bad received from their icpivsentativts in all departments, and a con dition of mutual confidence had been established between them.

.Mr Craigic the health of th« visiting directoib, Mossi-s Brown and Owen, and .Mr Brown, in a graceful reply, thanked their <ju<»>(* for attending, and naid he hojied the little function had gained, it* object of establishing and the feeling of friendship that the coin pany di'.siicd to exits! he(M-en them and tlk? commiinitios among which thev c«labii.*hed themselves. The company th»-n separati-d.