WEST COAST NOTES

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19156, 12 November 1927, Page 24

WEST COAST NOTES

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. (arrtui. to the rsiss} GUKYMOUTU, November 11. Tho (irevinouth Chamber of Commerce met tliis evening. Present: Messrs J. McLean (chairman), J. P. Irvine, W. R. Keltic. B. Tate, W. B. Cunningham. J. V- Williams, J. W. Greenslade, 1). Tennent, F. A. Kitchingham, and A. Naylor. The chairman announced that during his visit to Wellington he interviewed Mr F. W. Furkcrt, Engineer-in-Chief to the Public Works Department, in connexion with the bri'dging of the Punakaiki and Porari rivers on the GreyWestport coastal road, but was told that nothing had yet been done in the matter He then got in touch with Mr It. E Holland, member for Buller, who promised his support. He later interviewed the Minister for Public Works, who was very sympathetic, and had an amount placed on the Supplementary Estimates for the work. The Minister Lad assured Mr Holland that the work of bridging the rivers would be put in

Land immediately. With regard to a terationg to the Post Office and tl erection of a new Customs-house, he ha an assurance from the authorities th: the work would be proceeded with i an earlv date, and when completed bot offices would satisfy the requirement Of Crevmouth for many years to come Mr McLean went on to say that 1 attended the annual conference of tt A«soeiatcd Chambers of Commerce, an said it would be in the interests c the district that representatives fro; tho Greymouth Chamber should atten future conferences. Wanganui had tw representatives on the executive, an as a result that town was deriving grei benefits in furthering its advancemen especially in the matter of its seem attractions. He regretted that a rem from the Greymouth Chamber had n< received support from other parts c tho Coast. With regard to railway ma ters, his experience of the Railway A< visory Board had shown that pubh men were wasting their time by sittiu on the Board, which was not allowed < function when opposed to any of th Railway Department's decisions. Froi his experience of the Railway Advisor Board he had little confidence in th utility of a Transport Board. With regard to the proposed alter? tions in the West Coast railway time tabic, the chairman said it would mea a great hardship to residents of th Grev district who were obliged to mak regular visits to Greymouth. In hi opinion the Christchureh express shoul leave Greymouth and arrive her earlier. Greymouth was the chief centr of the Coast, and this fact was bein ignored by the railway authorities. Mr Tennent said the Grey-Reef to: train was very slow, and could casil; be speeded up. The chairman said he thought th Eailway Department was influenced i: its action by a report that a motor ser vice was likely to run between Still •water and Westport for the conveniens of express passengers. Mr Kitchingham held it was onl; right that the Westport public shoulc receive somo consideration. It wai hardly fair to expect them to be kick ing their heels trying to keep warn on a cold day during a wait at Still water for 45 minutes. After a further discussion it was re solved to telegraph to the Minister fo Railways protesting against the pro posed alterations in the time-table. The South Island Motor Union wroti with reference to the third party policy of insurance. . Mr Greenslade remarked that moto vehicle owners were now being taxec heavily, and tho third party polic; might cause undue hardship. Mr Kitchingham said if the proposa was given effoct to it would probabl; amount to one million sterling pe annum. It would be a good win fo tho insurance companies. He movei that the letter bo referred to the Auto mobile Association for a report. Tin motion was carried. It was decided to thank the Districl Eailway Engineer for the improvement effected towards safeguarding the Spring Creek level crossing, and tc draw his attention to the matter of improving the visibility at the Twelve Mile crossing at Kamaka. The Inangahua County Couneil forwarded a report with reference to improving the. road to the Maruia hot springs, and protecting the springs from further river erosion. It was decided to support the Council in its request for assistance in having the matters attended to. A letter was received from the Waitaha Cheese Factory Company, stating that the faetory, which had been closed down for four years, had been reopened, and asking the Chamber's co-operation in doing everything possible to advance the product of the factory. Mr Greenslade said the Coast had been importing cheese from the North Island. There was a good market for Waitaha cheese provided the article ■was good, and the price right. The letter was received, and it was decided to support the eompany on condition that the cheese compares in price and quality with the imported article. Tunnel Traffic. Goods traffic sent through the Otira tunnel from the West Coast for the week ending to-morrow totals 8671 tons, Punakaiki. The proposal of the Crown Lands Department to lease land at Porari beach, Pnnakaiki, was strongly condemned by Mr F. A. Kitchingham at this evening's meeting of the Greymouth Chamber of Commerce. Mr Kitchingham said efforts ware being made to use tho beach as a resting place for cattle driven from.Westland to Westport. When the Department pot up the sections at Punakaiki for auction a glowing account of that seaside resort was given in the advertisements, which stated that Punakaiki was tbe coming seaside resort on tho West Coast, and that it would be visited by thousands of people from all parts of >"ew Zealand. The sections had brought from £IOO to £250 per acre, and the Department was now aiming at leasing the beautiful Porari beach for grazing purposes. Holiday-makers had been terrorised by wild cattle roaming about the beach. The settlers had made representations to the Crown Lands Commissioner, pointing out that another stock route was available about a mile from the beach. He then moved: "That this Chamber emphatically protests against the proposed leasing of land at Porari beach for cattle resting purposes, as this procedure will ruin the township as a seaside resort, and that tho Minister for Lands be advised that a resting place is available a mile from the beach in the Nelson Land District." Mr Kitchingham said the matter was nrgent, as applications close this month. The resolution was seconded by Mr W. B. Cunningham and carried. Copies of the resolution wore telegraphed to the Minister for Lands and the members for Westland and Buller. Coal Industry. In reply to enquiries from the Greymouth Chamber of Commerce, asking for particulars of coal importations, the following letter was read from tho Under-Secretary for the Mines Department at to-day's meeting of the Chamber:— The quantity of coal imported by the , Eailway Department during the twelve ! months ended August 30th, 1927, shows j a decrease of 75,742 tons as compared with the quantity imported during the previous twelve months, with a corres-

1 ponding decrease in cott of £l-10,-89. No other Government Department imports coal. Imports of coal by companies and private persons for the tnvelve months ended August 30th, 3927, show a decrease of 11,176 tons as compared with the twelve months oxW August .'JC'th, 1926. Mr J. W Greenslade said that the condition of the coal industry was a matter of vital importance to the West Coast and the whole of the Dominion. The State mines had been working quite a lot of broken time, with the result that the miners were suffering considerable hardships through reduced wages, and business | people were experiencing hard times. ' Lack of shipping facilities was blamed ! for the repeated stoppages at the State mines, but the real trouble was shortage of orders. The storage facilities at the State mines were apparently insufficient. Some eighteen months ago a report appeared in the Press to the effect that the Mines Department was taking steps to establish coke ovens at the State mines and to provide facilities for dealing with slack coal, but nothing further had been heard of the scheme. Privately-owned mines appeared to be able to dispose of their products, which was probably due to more energy being displayed by private than State enterprise. Private owners were not content to stand back and wait for business to come tf them

Mr A. Naylor: Of course, you will never get State-owned concerns to compete with private ones. The chairman (Mr J. McLean) said ho thought the State mines should increase their storage facilities. Mr Greenslade then moved that a telegram be sent to the Minister for Mines pointing out the repeated stoppages at the State mines and the consequent loss of employment, and asking the Minister to take steps to increase the sales of the State mines' product, also to have increased storage capacity provided at the mines and the various State coal depots. The motion was carried. Copies of the resolution were telegraphed to the members for Westland and Buller. Timber Industry. Interesting particulars regarding the unemployment resulting from the prolonged slump in the timber industry were supplied to a reporter by Mr F. It. Turloy, secretary of the Westland Timber Workers' Union, who returned to-day from a visit to the various mills in the Westland district. Mr Turley said in the mills south of Hokitika the number of men employed was seventy Jess than twelve months ago. Between Greymouth and Hokitika the number had been reduced by sixty. The mills along the Otira line between Stillwater and Otira had reduced hands by one hundred, and a similar number had been put off at the mills between Stillwater and Inangahua Junction. The mills were now employing about 350 fewer hands than they were twelve months ago. ' Petrol Tax. "That the petrol tax will put the West Coast at the mercy of the Main Highways Board" was the opinion advanced by Mr J. W. Greenslade (Mayor of Greymouth) at to-day's meeting of the Chamber of Commerce. Mr Greenslade went on to say that under the conditions imposed the Borough Council would have to go down on its bended knees to get anything in return for the borough's contribution of many thousands of pounds i per annum towards payment of the j tax, for the sole reason that the population of the borough of Greymouth was under six thousand inhabitants. Ho described the tax as an iniquitous measure. After a good deal of discussion the following resolution was carried, copies of which are to be sent to the Prime Minister and) the members for Westland and Buller: "That the Greymouth Chamber of Commerce respectfully urges on the Government the desirability of a more equitable distribution of the petrol tax to boroughs under a population of six throusand inhabitants.'' The, following resolution was also carried: "That the Government be asked to exempt from the tax motor vehicles which do not use roads or streets, particularly bush and rail tractors used chiefly in connexion with the sawmilling industry.'' Personal. Mr M. J. Fogarty, secretary of the Greymouth Jockey Club, will return from Chrjstchurch to-morrow. Miss Myrtle Nankervis, of the Post and Telegraph Department, Greymouth, who leaves to-morrow on transfer to Wellington, was entertained by a large gathering of friends at the Runanga Druidte' Hall last evening, when she was presented with a solid leather suit-case. The death occurred at Grey town yesterday of Mr William Friend, third son of Mr and Mrs C. Friend, of Peel Street, Westport. Deceased suffered from war disabilities, from which he never completely recovered. He leares a widow and two young children. Armistice Day. Armistice Day was observed! at Greymouth' with the customary two minutes' silence. The firebell tolled at eleven o'clock, and simultaneously the ceremony of laying wreaths was performed at the Memorial Cenotaph, where the teacher and pupils of the Grey Main School were assembled. Among those who took part in the ceremony were the Mayor (Mr J. W. Greenslade) and Borough Councillors. A wreath from tho citizens of Greymouth was placed on the Cenotaph'by Miss A. Greenslade. Another wreath bearing the inscription "From tho Italians of tho District" was placed on the Cenotaph by Mr G. Perotti, Italian Consul.. Among the wreaths was one from the Grey Main School pupils, and several from private citizens.

Farmers' Union. ' At a meeting of the Grey Valley branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, Mr W. Clayton presided over 8 good attendance of membersException was taken to the action of the Eailway Department in refusing, within the last week, to put off truck loads of goods at Hukarere Siding, tlioroby breaking an arrangement made by the District Traffic Manager when stationed at Greymouth. It was decided to make representations to the Department to have the arrangements restored, and to interview Mr P. Pawson, Eailway Commercial Agent, regarding the matter during his next visit to the Coast. ""* was also decided to wait upon the Railway authorities regarding the practice of loading vans carrying cream with such objectionable goods as manure, sheepskins, hides, etc. The following remit was ordered to be sent on to the next Executive Council meeting to be held on November 17th : "That railway traffic on the lleof-ton-Inangahua Junction section be dealt with by motor-train, the Railway Department to be requested to give it a trial."

The anniversary of the Oxford torrace Baptist Sunday School will be celebrated on Sunday with special services, in the church, morning, afternoon, and evening. Anniversary music will lie rendered by a large choir (under Mr G. W. Drayton), an orchestra, and Mr Melville Lawry, the church organist. The evening service will be broadcast. • The concluding celebrations will take place on the Tuesday evening following.