BUSINESS MEN MEET

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3038, 27 March 1917, Page 8

BUSINESS MEN MEET

CENTRAL CHAMBER OF .COMMERCE. '

Mr. C. M. Luke presidc3 at the quarterly meeting of the Wellington Central Chamber oE Gommerco yesterday afternoon. Tho report, for _ the quarter was presented. The -president stated that it had been a stronuous quarter, aifd a great deal had been done. Tho chamber had agreed to cooperate with tlio Rotorua Chamber in urging the Government/ to secure prison labour for tho construction and maintenance of main arterial roads. The committee of. tho chamber' was very muoh in favour of this movement.

With respect to shipping,' he was glad to say that Wellington ■ was continuing ito maintain its supromaoy as tho leading port of the, Dominion, although the margin between this port and another port was not very great. The chamber also agreed to co-operate with the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce to urg£ tho Government to move in tho direction that in negotiations for peaco «iemy Governments should bo compelled to replace ton for ton all ships destroyed during the war. Mr. Luke, continuing, said international law had not been recognised by Germany, who %vas carrying out this diabolioai submarining. Tho time, howover, waa near when she would be foreed to make reparation. Tho Central Chamber had suggested that the principle of reparation should apply to lives an 3 cargo also, but had not received full support for tho proposal. The chamber had been requested to assist in requesting -the Government to organise tho producing powers of the Dominion, -but tho National Efficiency Board having been set up, action in this, direction was not now necessary.

Action had been taken by the eliamber to assist in the movement regarding liydiro-electric power for the Wellington Province. Mr. Luke commented on the great success of the Lake Coleridge works. In twelve months there had been_ a saving of 46,000 tons of coal, which meant a great deal.. The shipping necessary for tho carriage of the coal had been released, and there was the saving of the labour required for the production and handling of the coal. Tho conservation of the coal was important, as scientists had discovered other elements in coal which were more valuable than, the coal as fuel. When the enterprise was established in this district, "we would, ho urged, find that tlie_ majority of the industries'would derive the power for carrying on from this source. No further progress had been made with resnoct to the matter of goods consigned t-o- Lyttelton being cloared at Christchurch, nor with regard to the telephoning of telegrams. Tho Postal Department in the latter case had stated that it was a source of loss.