REVIEW & PROSPECT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1101, 13 April 1911, Page 6

REVIEW & PROSPECT.

ANNUAL. MEETING OF CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. ■ CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS. THE MENACE OF LEGISLATION. PARTING OF THE WAYS. The annual meeting of tho Wellington Chamber of Commerce was held yesterday, preceded by tho usual luncheon. The president, Mr. H. C. Tewsley, presided ■over a large gathering. •Tho chairman read apologies for absence from the Acting-Prime ' Minister (tho Hon. J. Carroll), who is at Kaikohe, from the Hon. J. A. Millar, and from his Worship the Mayor, Mr. T. Wilford, M.P. In moving the adoption of the annual Teport and balance-sheet (a summary of which has already been published in The Domixiox), tho president said he would follow the usual custom, and make a-few remarks upon matters of interest that had transpired during the year. He went on to refer to the joint efforts of the chamber and tho Harbour Board early last year to get a satisfactory promise from tho Government to provide- a railway station at Wellington suitable for ,the growing requirements. ,"Sir-Joseph Ward." said the chairman, , "met us in his usual' pleasant way — Hlaughter)—and expressed himself as .being in full sympathy with the desire , of.-.the deputation, and wound up by saying that- within tho n?3.t few months he would bo able to decide as to how far ho could meet us in this mntter. This, ■ npweyor,. is tho. extent to which it has got'as far. as we know, and we are'still in as unsatisfactory a position as we were before. It is interesting to know that in February, .1908, Sir Win. Hall-Jones, then Minister for Railways, wrote.and told 113 •that tho matter was then engaging the Government's attention, and had been so for some time past. This is as far-as we have got. Seeing that in the near 'future Wellington will probably provide tho starting "point of several fast ferry services-to Lyttelton, to Picton, to Sydney, and possibly to 'Frisco and Vancouver, with all respect to Auckland— (laughter)—we should be in the forefront in making the necessary provision to see that they get tho quickest possible dispatch." ' ■

Suburban Area, The matter of increasing the suburban area had been referred to by the speaker's predecessor, and the' hope expressed that a wider area than ton miles would, ba granted. The demands of residents in Plimmerton and other outlying districts beyond Johnsonville had not. been complied with, and the authorities did not favour an extension in that direction. Ho suggested as a trial that tho area should bo extended during the summer months. This would give city residents an opportunity to take advantage of the health-giving properties of the more distant seaside resorts.

London Chamber of Commerce, The secretary of the London Chamber had desired that 'all members of this Chamber going Home should leave their addresses if possible so that if any functions took' place they would know whore to send them-invitations.' (Hear,.hear.) North Island Railway League. "The North Island Railway League," continued the chairman, "has assumed definite proportions and is endeavouring to (leal with tho question of improved Tail.way facilities for tho North Island. It is felt by ,'a : large section ■of the Wel-lir-gton community that the scheme which has for it's advancement Main Trunk corfr.ections east and west should have profer'ence over smaller lines that possibly individual members might advocate. This Chamber is represented on, the League." . . Harbour Board Representation! Under the new Act the representation tho Chamber was given on the Harbour Board was done away with. It had become, therefore, necessary for the Cham.ber in order to .try.and secure candidates for that position to cast in its ,lot in ■ endeavouring to influence the council elections and the representation of'.payers of .dues other, than ..ships, so as to eecr.ro, men that-it'- considered .would do justice to the position. . Touching on the desire of a.deputation to the Chamber; to' obtain an alteration i.i. the Johnsonviile railway time-table, tko chairman said that so far .nothing had coins of their representations to the authorities, though ho understood a review would be considered after the Easter holidays. .

As for the contemplated removal of ,the High Commission of the Pacific to (Sydney, it was. probable that nothing in the matter wonld bo done until after the 'Imperial Conference.

it was also hoped that the Prime Minister, while in London, would not overlook Hie matter of facilitating the entry 'into tho United States and European coun'tiies of Mew Zealand meat and produce. Restrictive Legislation. "It was hoped," continual the president, "that tlie l'nino Minister would ue able to ■ receive, a deputation to impress upon him •the necessity lor restricting industrial legislation ior a while. It has been lelt lor some considerable time that too much legislation has been indulged in, and that the country is deluged with ill-digested .laws, leading to -contusion and misunderstandings wnich might be avoided. (Applause.) In tliis connection it might be of interest to note' how Australia is suffering from restrictive' legislation through its Arbitration Court. A large firm of merchants there, Messrs. D. and \V. Murray, through'their Mr.'Roberts, said that last year tho volume of tho imports of boots and shoes into Australia was about 0:100,000 more than in 1909.. One of the principal cau&es was the increase' in wages fixed by Mr. Justice Higgins in the Arbitration, Court. This was the outcome of increased wages and consequently the imported article is coming more largely into competition with the local article. On being asked if the imports were likely to increase, Mr. Roberts said, 'I: see nothing else for it; they are steadily increasing so far this year, and I think I am well within the mark when I estimate that tho value of imported boots for 1011 will be X200,f100 more than 1910, which would mean a decrease in the wagessheet of .£60,000.' There, is no doubt that under existing circumstances it is almost impossible to persuade capitalists to invest in large labour-employing' concerns. (H«ar, hear.)

Citizens' League. "Following on tho new scheme of appointments under the extended franchise, your council thought it advisable to initiate a Citizens' League. This has been brought into lifo with a fair amount of success, and already an effort has been made to select a number of men that it is thought will give valuable service to the city entirely irrespective of party or section. The Dock, "It is satisfactory to note from the recent report of tho chairman that tho affairs of the Harbour Board are in a better condition than they were a year ago, tho expenditure also having been kept well within bounds. During tho past year an important decision has been arrived at in connection with the construction of tho present dock, namely, to cancel tho contract with Messrs. ll'L«an Bros. To those v.ho look at tho question from a dispassionate point of view it must be recognised that tho board's action has been a wise one, and tho pity of Wellington relieved of a great incubus. Whenever it is decided to construct a dock it is to be hoped that a site will be chosen where the necessary work can be carried on without in any way interfering with the expansion of the city." Other Matters, ■Referring to the exports and imports of (he past year, the president said he could not but emphasise the extreme sensibility of our local market by pointing out tho =?riuns possibility that a temporary drop in the value of our exports caused last year. Had it not bnen for a miick recovery in .market prices tha financial position would have, been disastrous. This

was a subject well worthy of consideration by our financial institutions and also by our producers. . ■>

It was satisfactory to know that after a, long period tho Jlutt duplication lias been completed, and it was' noped that a very much improved service would be tho outcome, as this railway should provide a good suburban a run tor private residences. "The unfortunate oniributors," he added, "to this outlay arc the, City Council, Hutt County Council, and the Onslow, I'ctone, and Lower Hutt Boroughs. The Act provides for these bodies contributing in ;i proportion to be decided by some comuefcne pcr.-on'appoint-ed by the Minister." 1 don't think anyone, will envy this man his job." (Laughter.) It was regretted that no steps hml :-o far been taken to improve the present Bankruptcy Act. It wns hoped that liefore long the Government will move in this direction.

. There had been a distinct tendency towards beautifying the city. Wellington unadorned could not be said to be a beautiful city. The roadway round the sea front had now been largely improved to Seatoun, and a suggestion had been made that it should bo continued round to Island Bay, thereby giving the citizens and visitors an opportunity to enjoy a beautiful and healthful track for motors or carriages right round tho city. It would be a very populnr scheme if the Government would take into consideration tne construction of this road, which went mainly through reserve land retained by the Government,

Solid Party of Moderate Men. "In political life, it appears to many thinking people that we are the parting of tlie ways. The organisation of the New Zealand Labour party indicates that a strong effort will ere long bo made to return candidates pledged to support a platform tho principal plank of which appears to be the public ownership of all means of production, distribution,.and exchange. There is no doubt that such a plant is the beginning of what is generally known as Socialism, and that such should be opposed by those whose interests are identified with the. industrial pursuits of ("he Dominion. There is undoubtedly 11 growing change in the views of political parties, and to such an extent is this evident that to those watching, the trend of events, the old lines of demarcation between Government parties are disappearing. This gradual altered condition of things leads one to think that the time h;;s come for the moderate men in Parliament to join together and form a solid party, which would command the support of a large majoritv, and would make for more stable government, the giving of a greater sense of security, thus inducing the investment of capital, which would bring about a period of prosperity unheard of previously in New Zealand." (Loud , applause.) In conclusion the president said that in his remarks ho spoko as a commercial man to commercial men. In the Chamber they knew no polities, and they would give no'political colour one way or tho other; but if they individually knew of anything likely to be injurious to their commercial life they were justified in mentioning it. (Applause.) The motion was seconded by Mr. G. Wilson. INTERESTING DISCUSSION. MUNICIPAL TRADING UNDERTAXING.

Mr. D. J. Nathan, asked by the president to speak to the report, briefly referred to one or two things covered in the report. Touching upon the' matter of bills of lading, he said there was dissatisfaction with things as they wore, especially in regard to "through" bills of lading. Under, tho present law and existing conditions, to establish a claim, was almost futile- unless it was a very large amount.;Now the subject had been taken up by the ,London Conference of Chambers of Commerce they .might hope that it would be given consideration this autumn. Referring to a resolution of the Chamber that (.-ioverninent and municipal trading undertakings should produce annual bal-ance-sheets, he said that some few years ago some of them had pointed out that dangers would arise: from, this system if carried to any extent. -In'the service of ,tho Harbour Board and the," municipality manyT',hVenVwe'rd'.' employed, the bulk .of whom had wives Jand friends. Some fifteen hundred were employed by the corporation. If these "men worked shoulder to shoulder in any. election they would have a block, vote . approaching three thousand. It was a very serious item that these men, employees of the council, should have the voice they had in.saying who their employers should be, and what rate of pay they should get, and what their hours should be. "I don't want any misunderstanding," said the speaker. "If I were a municipal employee I would do the same. (Oh! oh!) Absolutely! That is the result you get from the experiment/ . He did not think the profit was what had been anticipated. He believed it would be found tbat the undertakings' tho . corporation had gono iii'co would leave a serious loss"" instead* of a profit. In the. matter of the .tramways something like half a million of money had been invested, and the profit last year was less than half per cent. That was after lass had been allowed for depreciation than set out by the Board of Trade at Home. If the increase in wages now demanded were granted, the whole of the profit would vanish. Seeing that the city had been offered about .£20,000 for the running of the (rams, he believed most of the members would agree that Wellington had made a very sorry bargain. Regarding the dock question, ho had prophesied some ten years ago that Wellington was not ripe for a dock, and now the bulk of tho citizens, had. come round to his way of thinking. If any success at all was to be made of municipalisjitions'and Government-controlled industries, balance-sheets should be required as in every other concern, and the Board of Trade regulations should ba enforced as to the amount of depreciation to be written off. This was really of the utmost importance from a local point of view, because of the approaching elections, and there was a distinct effort on the part of the workers to control the various services. "1 don't blame them," he said; "I give them every credit for it." The people who were mad to municipalise had got their projects through with the aid of the vote of the men, and now that these men wanted to take a hand they said: "No, we are the only people to run it."

Speaking generally, he said the Dominion was developing too slowly. He criticised the policy of the Government in wanting to build every line of railway in the country. In the South Island there were from fifteen to twenty branch feeders to the main, line between Christchurch and Dunedin. Between Auckland and Wellington we had none. The Government could not borrow all tho money required to build every line, and tho branch lines should be built either by private enterprise (he knew this was not possible), or the county councils should be authorised to build such lines as would open up the conntry and feed the main arteries. A scheme of this wns proposed by Sir Julius Vogcl. Thousands more would then be able to settle on the land. If the Government persisted in its present policy, however, the country would remain as it was for many years. There was perpetual, fighting in the Government as to where money should ' Iμ spent, and advantage was not being taken of the progress of tho country. Harassing Industry, To illustrate how labour was harassing industry ho pointed to the flax-milling industry, and asked were the millers satisfied at the conditions imposed upon them with the price they had to pay for labour? They could employ another two thousand hands to push the industry, but under the present conditions many of the mills were closing down, and labour was being dispersed. A state of things could bo imagined under which this labour would not be so readily absorbed; and the New Zealand millers had to contend in tho Home markets with goods that were produced in countries where labour was not so high. In conclusion he congratulated the chairman on his able address. (Applause.) Mr. Shirtcliffc's Comments. Mr. Shirtcliffo desired to emphasise what had already been said in regard to our exports, viz., that the increase last year was very largely a "price" increase. If any argument was necessary to emphasise tho chairman's recommendation that the Government .should pursue an increased immigration policy and a liberal land policy—iiv- order to increase our productiveness—surely they had it here. Because if the country came to depend upon fluctuations in prices it would have I a bad- time of. it, The degression the

country hml not long ago experienced was almost entirely the consequence of :\ great drop in the prices of primary produels. .And therefore, while we could congratulate ourselves on the increase in price? last year, we should be warned that lean years might come and bring a collap.-e. llr. •Shirtcliffo touched upon the disabilities the mercantile) community were suffering under the Bankruptcy laws as they were and regretted I he. Chamber had not been more aggressive in their attitude. Wellington Trams. Replying to Mr. Nathan's remarks regarding the Wellington trams he slid the undertaking was not nearly to bad as Mr. '.Nathan had .suggested. Mr. Nathan apparently lost sight of tho fact that during Hi» very few years in which the service had boon running at its fullest extent they lnwl accumulated .£77,000, which had bson expended in increasing the rolling-stock and plant, which was profit-earning; and they also had a sinking fund of =£27,000 invested separately, and n balance to credit of profit ami loss account nl' 4:7090, making a total of .£lll,OOO. The same thins hatl taken place in the electric lighting department. Some ,£14,000 had accumulated. Ho thought the position in this respect one for congratulation. Mr. Nathan: It is downright Socialism.

Mr. Shirtcliffo continued that he was only refuting statements that the trains had only paid one per cent. The Diction for the adoption of the report and balance-sheet was then carvied. The Coming Exhibition. Mr. A. A. G'orrigan referred to the forthcoming Industrial .Exhibition, and said no comment thereon had been made in the address on the annual report. He moved:— • '

That this Chamber notes with satisfaction that, an Industrial Exhibition is to bo opened, and tho venture has its best wishes for success. The motion was seconded by Mr. Shirtcliff*. The chairman expressed regret at the oversight. It was on this account ho had asked Mr. Corrigan to propose the resolution. Mr. Ballinger. as chairman of the Industrial Association, expressed pleasure at the resolution. He also reiterated tho statements he had made at the Industrial Association regarding the almost prohibitive rates of insurance the insurance companies wore -charging on the proposed exhibits. (Hear, hear.) School Prizes, Mr. W. G. Duthie moved:— That the council be authorised to offer prizes for arithmetic, handwriting, and composition in tho city and suburban State schools v on tho same basis as last year. Mr. Duthie said the offering of tho prizes bad resulted in . extremely good work being done. Seconded by Mr. E. G. Pilcher, and carried. Votes of Thanks. Votes of thanks were passed to the honorary auditors, Messrs. C. P. Powles and F. \V. Haybittl?, who were reappointed, In_ moving a vote of thanks to the president, Mr. J. M'Lollan said that onlya very small portion of tho work of that gentleman could be seen. Mr. Tewsley had been a very active president, and he had devoted more attention to tho affairs of the Chamber than many who had gone before, especially in revivifying the body. The Chamber was not <o defunct as some would have, people believe. It did a lot of good in a quiet way, and not necessarily in the orthodox methods of the.day. The orthodox way was by "log rolling." This Chamber, however, had' not adopted this or other similar means of doing good,, and he hoped it would be. a long, time before it ■i. (Applause.) The Auckland. Chamber sometimes "beat the big drum," and were very noisy fellows, but that, was not the method of the Wellington Chamber. (Laughter.) He proposed a hearty vote of thanks to the president. This was carried unanimously. Council Elected. The following - council,was elected for the ensuing year:—Messrs. W. .T. Bridson, A. A. Corrigan, W. G. Duthie, A. G. Donne. A. Leigh Hunt, C. AV. Jones. J. M'L-sllan, J. Macintosh. A. E. Mabin, K. G. rilchcr, H. C. Tewsley, and G. Wilson.