MR. CALBRAITH'S VIEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 883, 1 August 1910, Page 5

MR. CALBRAITH'S VIEWS.

:. REPLY TO MR..■'FLETCHER.' . "As Mr." Fletcher has* given a .flat .contradiction to the statement made i by me,, as reported- in your issue of the 29th (says Mr. Neil Galbraitb, act-ing-manager of the New Zealand Shipping Company), and oven goes so far as to state that it teems with inaccuracies, and although his defence is palpably weak, he has opened fresh ground, . and made such a blunder' (admitted by the. secretary . of the board) in respect to transhipment charges that I feel compelled to again take up the cudgels- ;.;"■ ..•■'. ■ Case of the. Rlmutaka. '•"Mr. Fletcher says that the harbourmaster has absolutely at heart the interests of the shippers and the board. .Quite, so. Bui ;we will assume that

ho also meant to include the ships. Tho by-laws of trie board relegates to the harbourmaster.'tlio matter of the safety,of vessels, and rightly so. The by-laws also provide that the wharfinger is. ; responsible for tho control of tho traffic, and handling of. the cargo.; Tho harbourmaster has apparently partly absorbed tho duties of the wharhnger. Will tho, chairman ' explain why tho wharfinger . was. ignored in this, as'in other instances? Herein lies tho cause of the trouble, and explanation. We readily admit that until proper facilities'were provided at the King's Wharf the berth at No. 1 was much sought after by' those ships ■which had trouble in '■ obtaining it. Tho fact of thousands of /tons of : rails having been discharged there is not proof ■against; tho King's Wharf being more convenient. In'tho same,way, it may bo argiied that if No. 1 Queen's Wharf • has been sufficient for tho requhemeuts of 'the lonic in the past, it should suffice on the present occasion, assuming that the King's Wharf would not bo clear after the Rimutaka finished there, which we are not prepared to .admit. . Surely. Mr. Fletcher is not serious in asking us to believe that both sides of the King s Wharf, in addition to two, enormous sheds anil railway wagons, are required for- the lonic's cargo? Seeing that our company is contributing a fair proportion of the revenue, required for the cost hud,upkeep of the Kings Wharf as, a part of the board's concerns, I think that we aro entitled to a share of the'facilities according to priority of arrival. Tho Harbours Act provides for this' as a general principle to; be observed, and, in ,some cases, particularly pilotage, fixes a penalty ■ if preference is shown. Is at right that we should be -penalised when; we arrive within-ten or eleven days of.a_»hite Star steamer?.. As..a matter._of. fact, the' Rimutaka will complete discharge, and sail for .Lyttelton, about a. week prior to the arrival of the lomc,. and it will be interesting. to'; see how • the • sheds look in respect tot-he Rinrutaka s' oarn-o .when .the lonic .berths.. I hope Mr. Fletcher will keep an eye on this. I. intend-, to:

Transhipment Charges. ; "If the other figures contained in the statement are as reliable as the Is. 4d. charge referred'to.by Mr. Fletcher, the sooner they'receive attention the. better.' Mr. Fletcher says: 'As' to Mr. Galbraith's statement that Ins firm had transhipped 1000 tons of cargo, it Lyt-telton-at a'cost of 6d. per;tan,,the same could be done in Wellington if _a similar special arrangement were,made to have-the coastal vessel meet the Homo boat. By sending vessels to the Railway " : Wharf at .Wellington goods could be handled at a cost of Is. 4d.per ton,.2d. per-.ton; less than the figures"quoted by Mr. Galbraith,as;ap-. plying to Lyttelton!' " In the first place I ask Mr.,'Fletcher 'if the ' harbourmaster, or .wharfinger has placed more than, say, one ship a year .for, the last 25 years at the Railway.Wharf for. this purpose.' Even, so,' let, me' -tell Mr. Fletcher, as chairman of the board that it only increases the ; burden instead of, .as' he alleges, providing' a cheap rate.' The cost of transhipping as: he ■suggests would':be.. 3s. 4d. -per ton, !not Is. 4d.,' made up -as follows:—Wharfage,, .Is. ;4d.;! haulage Is., tallying' at discharging steamer 6d., tallying!,at loading steamer 6d. (I find, that we are: charged 6d..per ton for tallying .ta'.low into . Harbour' Board shed and assume that'this will bo'the same) /'making 'a' total of 3s-. id., to. which must be added cost of, labour; receiving into and:; delivering from trucks,"' which is ••included in the charge of- Is., 6d. for-.the same_ service at Lyttelton. : Will Mr. Fletcher say' that;!th'is!.is teeming with inaccuracy? In view,of these figures my .facts as to 1000 tons of'- 1 cargo > costing ; '£7s to.tranship at Lyttelton and £200 _at Wellington still remain .intact.' Which lis the.cheaper por'trW-wi-lm'' -. !' ,'■.;.'•.'■', Challenge, Answered! ■ ...'. ■ •' ."Answering Mr. challenge,, from the figures that I have before me,: I unhesitatingly say-Lyttelton. • I quote the .'following.,, comparisons:—Tran-shipments,-steamer to' steamer, .over,, sides:,,' Wellington, -'6d:; Lyttelton, nil; steamer to: steamer, -over wharf,; 'Wellington.: 3s! -, to 45.; Lyttelton,' Is. 6d. ; over, wharf, including seven-days', storage,- Wellington, 3s. to '45.; Lyttelton, 35., with niuo days''storage;-Welling-, ton 3s. 9d. to 4s. 9d.; Lyttelton, 3s. Over ''nine; days' storage .'at Wellington is 3s! Gd.. '.per tbn'per week; at Lyt-. 6d. These charges at Lyttelton are based oii rates paid to Railway Department,' If for/any reason ;general cargo is, stored in the Harbour Board's sheds at Lyttelton a receiving and delivery charge of 2s'. per ton, and a charge- for-,storage' of. 4d. per. ton' for fine, and''2d. per. ton per week for rough, g<jods is incurred; Compare the. 2d., per, ton per -week at- Lyttelton with. 3s. 6d. at'AVellington. 'Needless to say wo generally take the.Railway Department's rates. as . most.'. favourable' for our work. I,.might also, say that free! 'wharfage obtains -at Lyttelton for 28 days. If Mr. Fletcher w-ill refer to the statement he ..presented !-.to .the board, since corrected, in respect tothe Is. 4d. charge,. he, will findthat the extra'ls.'.9d. for wharfage is only en'forced, after, the expiry of 28 days,.and consequently.does not come .into the argument... By reason of the harbour improvement rate steamers also save 6d. per.ton on transhipments'. landed at Lyttelton. : "In conclusion Mr.Fleteher states that he has been'congratulated. by merchants ■. interested in shipping on his concise' statement,... since corrected, which I am quite prepared to believe for various reasons, and I might also' say that ratepayers have complimented me_ in the same way, one gentleman going so far as to remark that he was i amazed to find that such a' state of ■things was ' allowed to exist in regard to the King's l .Wharf." " ■>