TRADE WITH MONTREAL

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14323, 13 October 1910, Page 3

TRADE WITH MONTREAL

NEW FACTS, AND INTERESTING. In an address, before the Council of the 'Wellington Chamber of Commerce. Mr W. .Beddoe, Canadian Trade Commissioner, dealt at some length ■with the new service of steamers from "Montreal to Australian and NewZeahiiul ports (says the " Dominion." i !'■ was. inaugurated, he stated, in May last, and the general mourning which followed on the"death of the. late King obscured this commercial event so that its importance was to a. great extent overlooked. The establishment of the Forviee had, nevertheless, already been directly instrumntal in promoting a considerable expansion in Canadian export trade. The first steamer of the service to leave Montreal was the Y.:\kaia. which sailed on May 20 with about half a cargo. She was followed on June lo by the- Whakataiio, which obtained very nearly a full cargo. The "Walcanui, which left in July and arrived at Auckland on Wednesday, took VOfMJ tons of cargo, of which' gfKX) were for \<nv Zealand. "The Tokomam and the Turkestan sailed respectively on August i-1 and September 1.1. each with si- full cargo. Thus tlia last two boats of the subsidised service mailed each with a full cargo two day* before their advertised date for sailing. One ui' them had to leave ■i'Y.) tons of cargo behind, winch was in itscli' a .--triking evidence of the growth of trade. The service was subsidised by the Canadian Government to the extent of £2OOO a month, and under the contract freight rat"s were subject in revision bv the Canadian Minister of Trade ami Commerce. It was expressly provided that in no case must rates exceed ilior.e tinon n. similar r-ht.ss of guods dispatched from X'mv York.

The position was ihat Canada was sending every month an 8!>0f)-ton boat to New Zealand, which had to be prov:ded with refrigerating space. Whethor the s; earners obtained cargo or not they had to touch at three New Zealand ports. The service had not yet been much appreciated in New Zealand. After being emptied, the boats were turned loose, and New Zealander.s lost all interest in them. 'Proceeding to Australia, the sieamers loaded froy.en mutum. which they carried to London. Meantime Canada was buying raw materials in London, some of which ihe speaker thought might very well lie sent direct from New Zealand. Canada n=ed hides, wool, skins, tallow, gum. and mutton. .Mi- Towsiey suggested thai in one respect tics subsidised service might, prove anything but a blessing in disguise, lie alhnh'd to the provision under which freights were controlled by the Canadian Government. It was possible to keen i hem too low. New Zealand had already bad a disagreeable experience in being made a dumpingground for goods shioped from other countries under a similar arrangement. Mr Beddoe stated that it was partly in order to prevent anything of th's kind that power to control freight rates had been vested in the Canadian Minister for Trade and Commerce.