A BLOCK IN FRUIT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 667, 18 November 1909, Page 7

A BLOCK IN FRUIT.

WHOLESALE MERCHANTS COMPLAIN. HARBOTR BOARD'S CHAIRMAN EXPLAINS. ' ' Several representatives of the wholesale Socery - houSes interviewed the Harbour lards wharfinger tilr. Munro) yesterday morning in egaid to the handling and delivery of th very largo shipments of new season's driel fruits' which aimed by the Warrimoo a week ago. For facilitating the delivery of the fruit the Wauimoo was berthed at Jie Taranaki Street Wharf, and the fruit—between 20,000 and 30,000 cases—was stored in Yjhed on that wharf. It is stated that a very) largo nunibei of cases were smashed, anl a proportion of their contents lost, and, ftfthor, that the "marks" were al- . m ? s K nppelefsly' ffllI « d > m consequence of which delivery had been very slow, and ever since yesterfay—a week -alter the' steamer's armal—rhehhed was still well filled with the undelivered Fruit. After the [ieputation had seen Mr. Munro a Dominion rjporrer visited Y shed, and found matters to to as stated. Mr. Munro, on being consulted, stated tjat, the bieakages did not occur pa th) wharf. A good deal of damage, ho thought]was done in the transhipment at - Mdney, ail i Y Vie steamer in which they were , -brought to {Wellington had no .'tween decks, which put more weight on the cases Mlow than they Md bear. As to the delivery, he stated that there uas not sufficient shed accommodal on on the Taranaki Street Wharf to separate the marks as , he would have ' {> k<Kl > an ',, to put more men on the 10b ivo Id only lead to further confusion. Pretty wel the same thing happened every year when the first big shipment of the new seasons frit arnved-it was not peculiar to this year. The Aarman of the- Wellington Harbour Board <MrfT. l MW,!,onl, M.P.) was also consulted witl regaid to the .complaint. He stated that on fearing the complaint of the merin company with Mr. J. Q. Harkloa.llof P fr y il °n th s wharf outside. «,„ i, l\ P n0 , 1,0n I bt '" said Mr. WUford, "that' vi »/nt construction of the boxos is answer-1 tf.tZ IwS! L fff llor of the breakages, and £™ cJ* he N V?"™oo worked twenty-six «Cw« fIS fiT'S* tonna B fl ol MM ton. Cr \} i dl » hllr B« averaged about 5i 5m v P * '^S rkln ° nour - wh icn w consider--TLvK - h ? ftTCr s ga lato of discharge. The wl' 3 ? ad(i a neral Bta "k of the %lL CT , a 'ar§e .Proportion of the fruit vnrgo ips broken on the slip, and many were «o squazed and crushed that they Sum nEE Wl^S, 1 P «t of the s£ed accomZ takon up X b ">ken cases, which yeoessiuted a geneial stack being made on V,L o, i? ark V lreßd ,' sorted - In the shipment £?5 iM. 01 . * i o * m . ost of the importers had lLes of currants, raisins, dates, figs, alttHX"! m ? sca v tel6 ' mostly consigned under the sahe mark, it really meant 800 marks to snake leparate stacks of out of, the 21.170 paokafs Under these conditions, quick defcOT^+iT 1 a mn * l "Berßhed. Besides this 600 tds, there wero 600 tons of general cargo, inching Sydney green fruit and Chinfse 1 bad cond ', tl(m under several ?i j l*i n? mi JS the dellTer y on the,llth, l n ,'H^i oa ,o 9 0, 0f 21 , u Packages, on the tt \Bl if 9P?«° £ P aoka ßM; on the 15th, ft £5 n,„w P ttck , a S M i L fn tho 16th, 32 loads «f-210 packages; altogether 111 load ß of 9025 Fhffe i,M, thß t boa .™ not aW« to deliver f / £ i Jt ? o h «acteristie promptitude, l lj£w S at morchants willnot be Two questions that will probably have to be thm^Wfi?i Ut f U K e 7* Wl , tn «» "orchants tntasolvos-fiisl, tho class of cases used, and mmd, the work of transhipment m Australia His expected that as far as Y shed is conctned. there is a prospect of all W be," A-ivered to-morrow (Thursday). In regard tibroken fruit cases, -l do not Velieve th a ?the ™tZ f™! 7 T'PWHe for the same, and, roreoyer, from inquiries porsonallv made tpcial care was exercised by the board's em