RUSHED!

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 625, 30 September 1909, Page 4

RUSHED!

EMPIRE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE , CONFERENCE. ! . STATISTICS WANTED. \- "There was only a' three days' sitting," 6aid Mr. Samuel-Carroll, secretary of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce (who returned' from Sydney yesterday), in referring to the Empire Congress,of Chambers of Commerce, "and out of that one and a half days were spent in discussing preferential trade. I quite agree with the critics who said that the business, of tho congress had been rushed. It seems rather remarkable that these gentlemen; should come -from the pther side of the world.to talk for threo days only Under such circumstances, I 'Si « < * o,v x, th 7 <: otlld G've adequate consideration to tho business which appeared on the.order paper. w» e (. con £f re ? s ™uld only listen to the briefest remarks upon a subject outside the K,^ e ° tlal , tra <le. question. Mr - Marriner, of CUrlstohurch, made an heroic attempt to quote ■w 7t. st ? t , lstlc , s i? Ward to some question,' but tho delegates 'booed' him down, and-said they d]dn t want to hear any statistics. nLtn C °T ctl ?H preferential trade question, S lr Albert Spicer, of the. London unamber, voted for,.prcference as a representative.of his chamber, .and cast his personal vote against it. There were several did likewise, which showed that, there is still a big difference of opinion on the question, "even in thosp chambers who had instructed their delegates to voto for preference." ..Mr. Carroll,; who. was given a card of admission to.the congrqfl's, states that tho delegates wore treated with lavish hospitality. Ho read trom the official programrao tho list of functions and junketings which wore crammed into tho days spent" in Sydney, and stated that wherever they went in the country they wero ■Smf-i ?™ *!ie samo brodieral hospitality. Whilo in Sydney Mr. Carroll pursued to some purpose his pet hobby-statistics. For some tunc, past he has written of the inadequacy of the commercial' statistics supplied by ,tho Customs authorities in New Zealand. Mr. Carroll says that a monthly leaflet of onr exports is issued.% the .Government, but even . that is unreliable, owing to the lax system of passing entries.. Exporters are given sis days in which to pass entries, on goods, exported, but ■it ■scorned..that it. was not, a.matter of serious' moment; i£;th«y w«m not passed for six weeks.' One would -think that in. tie ordinary course a -similarj-Jeaffet; would bo issued monthly'giving imports. -Tho only -import, ■statistic.*issued by the.,.Government'are'contamed in. ,the-annual volume, which'] is ipublished some five or six months after the year SLrtw i T Hr do A Wn B?, differently in New South .Wales, Mr. Carroll was delighted :to hnd.. .Mr. Montgomery/the agonfof New Zealand,- had. informed him that if goods were •shipped one day tho shipper received a notice the following day calling attention to the fact that for the sanie. had not been passed; that there was a penalty .for any delay, and that the matter' must be attended to at;once.-. A shipper in Wellington might get a reminder _ten days after he had shipped goods, .but nothing serious came of it if neglected a little longer. In New. South Wales they published the imports with'as much regard to detajl as in the case of exports,, and gavo a .lot of other vahiablo information besides.^ -.Mr.- Carroll thinks that New- Zealand might-follow suitUs far as the imports are concerned.; Ho .is >to report to the oonncilJo! tho Wellington 'Chamber of Commerce in this regard.; ■>. ■ -.. ..... .. It is only .four.years'since .Mr.. Carroll, was' in bydney, yet he conld see a wonderful improvement ;in .the city. Everything seemed very prosperous and busy, and largo-And. hand--some buildings had been .erected in 'every direction.' ~.?J; .■■,•■■ '-.'. :,..'■ '■< "■ , ->"'s>" > ;;Y'. i As to the trin—well, he never missed a meal and-took. good._caro that one never missed mm' v . T - '- .' -■ .■■. •■^•'^"-■^••w-;**--:* .-