OUR TWO CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE,

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2160, 28 May 1914, Page 8

OUR TWO CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE,

ARE THEY ADVANTAGEOUS?

A STRONG PLEA FOR UNITY.' PLAIN SPEAKING. :".-, . :■*■■;!'■ At the annual meeting of tlie Wellington Chamber of -.Commerce yester-day,-the president Jones) mr.ue reference to i./e n'eTiiiigtwu Central Chamber of Commerce. "I would like," ho saui, "to inako some relerence to another chamber of commerce, which has set itself up iu our midst, and has ad-opted the titlo of the Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce, i'rom which I infer that it wishes the outside world to wok upon it as the leading orsal.iisa.tion <>-f the kind in Wellington, ami that fuss chamber is rather a suburban body."

The Hon. C. JM. l-nRo (presitlf-nt of •ho Central Chamber): Not .at ali.

Central Chamber—Why Formedf Proceeding, Mr. Jones said: "Now, il this lias been a natural and legitimate outcome of ■ the growth of our city and surroundings, it might be welcomed as a sign of healthy interest in public affairs on the pait of _ the commercial community, i&rt this caw-0-v fairly bo claimed on its behalf. It arose through the failure of a minority to secure -the support of this chamber towards the extension of the To Are Railway' Station. It may be freely admitted'that that is a question on which there is room tor honest tlifferenee of opinion, but it was fully discussed, and si decided majority was against it. Now, I think it much* to be deplored if a difference of opinion of this kind leads to the setting up of a rival body. It hampers this chamber bi the work that it has to do, and. it weakens 'tVdlington in the eyes of tlits Dominion if it speaks, with a divided , voice. (Applause.)

"The Cave or AdUllam." "This is the fiftieth-.animal meetiwg —ihe jubilee meeting of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. .K yrttt Wok | round the walls of tins chamber, yots | will see names and i'a«us that ar» i stamped on' the history of Wellington —a gallery in which any man may he proud to iind a place, and I would appeal to the Wellington .Central-Cham-ber to come cut of that cave of A<Mlam and join in making tins ci'iartiber even more worthy of Wellington than it has been in tiio past. (Apnknse.) 1 haveno personal feeling in Hits matter. Any body of citizens \m a vijjht to form an organisation if'it thinks good, but I do feel that it is not going to be for the good of Wellington in the future to have two rival institutions of ilio- kiiitl in its niklst."

Not Without Hops, The Hon. C. 11. Ln\&. said that he appreciated the invitation to attend the meeting. He also appreciated the criticism levelled at the now , chamber. The new chamber, however, wfts in accord j with the parent body in any ■proposal j making for the interest of the city. j Other objects and purposes than the T-β ' Aro H-ailway Station had actuated mom" \ bers in forming the new body. One of ( the factors was the opening up of tho j lauds in the eastern wamu-ajw, wlucti j !iad been dormant too kmg. Another I factor was the deviation, which ib was hoped would do away with thc'Bimu-. laka incline, lie was not without hope that the time would come when , tlie two bodies could work in double harness. Ho would say that the suppart of tile Central Chamber will always be forthcoming in any proposal for the wßbeing of the community as a wrote. , (Applause.) ~ The Olive Blanch.. Later, Mr. A. A. Carrigan mowh "That the incoming council of this Chamber of Commerce bo .requested to communicate with the Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce, with a view to bringing about an amalgamation ot. ■the two chambers." He thought that there were many members >A the other i-hamuer who would be <l»ito preparcrl to see their chamber tecome a seetien. of the parent body. Mr. C. 11. Smith f,ec»itled the proP Tlr'. G. ShirtclifiV. I tuijik it would be better to make it a roconunendatlon to the council. Mr. Corrigjn: Cei't.ainly; I will »g«o to that. -. The motion was then earned.