Page 6 Advertisements Column 2

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 270, 3 August 1918, Page 6

SPECIAL ANNUONCEMENT. BEWARE IIAKIiOI'K HOARDS (IT). BEWARI4 HAUKOUR HOARDS (17). MY PEOPLE- ~~ fIHAMPIO.VS REMIT (May U) C\R\*J .i:i Mil rN.ANJIIOIi'SLY 1!Y AUCKLAND lIARBOWI BOAUI), Juno 18/1018, as follows:— "That tlm iAhiriue Department: be in-lorin-nl that ilie Auckland Harbour Board is not in sympathy with the ■ proposil of the AVelliiißtdn llai'bour Board." I regivt that Ilie last, tinic 1 Inul to rebiiko tho HON. TIIOiMAS WlLI'OliD was on bis matured and ninvise dictum of women's minds ami licaris. Since (hen ho has been dabbling in marine matters. Of cour.se 1 havo been in .11 similar plight .ivhen anxioiis for inspiratoi-j----words of wisdom. But what T want to know is. Why should I he- Wellington Harbour Board bo making such nn effort to control the whole Dominion? You are aware tho shipping people, particularly the controlling ones, are imbued w'tth most heavenly ideals for 'peace, economy, ..efficiency, nt your cost, unci above' "all lowrates of freight! '1 foe! sure we must unknowingly be in the era when, the lion and the lamb, etc., but unfortunately the lion has had the bej'c of it to date. . Jly remit to Auckland Harbour I'Board (May 24) is appended, and is selfexplanatory:— . (To the Editor, "Star.'.') . ■ Sir,—The. Secretary of Marine has asked "the opinion ot the board upon a request by ths Wellington harbour Hoard thai tho Government be asked to amend the Harbours Act in such ;i man'iier as to employ, control, and manage all labour required in the - loading and unloading of feiiips." I contend, this isu most subtle way to introduce to this port a shipowners' .tax, which haa been strenuously opposed by the consumers'of this city! tor years.' If this tax were allowed to be imposed, under :any disguise whatever,-, it-would-be Most iniquitous to relieve wealthy shipowners residing in London of their" undertaking, and pass it on to the public. Wellington is headquarters for most ov our large shipping companies,! and it has had in vogao for years this system which it now wants Auckland;to adopt, and pass the shipping . tax on. to the consumer. j ■Quite recently our Harbour Board! imposed a. harbour improvement tax of Gd.. per .ton: on shipping. The shipping companies at once added this to their rate of freight; now they want to evade the stevedore charges, and goodness knows what next. The chairman, who was returned as one of the members to represent shipping, characterised the matter as a .very important one, and referred it to the. board in committee. Why such secrecy on such an important matter ? At any rate I have every confidence that the chairman will protect the consumers', interests, which are of more importance than those of a few shipowners residing in, London.—l am, etc., P. VIRTUE. Auckland, 21/5/18. Explanation re the present cheap system of receiving and delivery of cargo by Auckland Harbour Board. Please compare with what the Shipping Federation wants:—No. I.—The ship receives a miscellaneous cargo, say, at London, under different marks, to be delivered at Auckland wharf, and charges freight for doing so. On arrival nt Auckland it cannot leave the cargo on wharf between ship and shed, because the board's by-laws and H. 51. Customs will not allow it, which compels the ship to put the cargo into Harbour Board sheds, stacked according to class of goods, under respective marks, at its own cost; in addition to this it. has to keep a large'stall ot tally clerks to give delivery of goods. If any claims for nou-delivory or pillage, tho ship has to do the-settling of claims or give an undertaking that its agent'f-r company will bo responsible before, it can get s>. clearance. No. 2.—Under the present system the ship has to do tliis work, etc., without any cost to the consignee, but it is obvious tho Shipping federation is now making an effort to put it on to the consignee, and which is passed on to the community. No. 3.-Tlic Shipping "Monition may say its bills of lading stipulate delivery from ship's slings but it has never been able to enforce it, because if it were tried it would take about three months to deliver an ordinary cargo from London. The H.M. Customs wouldn't allow it, as all cargo has to be landed into sheds for examination and tocollect Customs duties; neither could the Harbour Board permit, for want of wharf accommodation, and last, but not least, tho berthage dues ami time would nearly absorb the freight, if not more. This the Shipping Federation is fully aware of; hence its reason for not enforcing delivery from ship's slings. No. 4.—Farmers and Citizens are not aware what an iniquitous receiving tax of 2s. 6d. per ton would be on lowpriced goods of bulky and heavy tonnage, such as manures, salt, fencing wire, kerosene, benzine, .fruit, timber, cement, bricks, lime, chaff, potatoes; in fact, produce of all kinds, and coal, without mentioning wool, mutton, butter, etc., and flax, as the same charges would be made for shipping goods. Farmers in the Waikato and Northern parts may think tho proposed charge wouldn't affect the price of coal from local mines. Most certainly it would, as tin- price would be increased to correspond with the selling price of the imported article, as the coal vendors never miss an opportunity. The fanners were delighted with 11 reduction of sixpence per ton on manure wharfages, and it «'ns proudly stated that this concession "would cause barren land to blossom like the rose." Tf sixpence per ton is going to work such wonders, what would an extra charge of &. Gd. per ton do? It is obvious it would cause desolation, simply, to enrich the Shipping Federation and relieve it of its legitimate undertaking. Are you going to allow it? No'. s.—The Wellington Harbour Hoard many years ago was controlled by shipping companies,-and adopted the iniquitous receiving and delivery tax -which our Shipping Federation is anxious to force upon this community. In AVelliiißton the receiving and delivery charge is collected from nny wharf or landing place under the control of the Board. Several attempts have been made by Wellington consignees to adopt tho Auckland system, which has been staled by ii manager of 'one,, of our largest shipping companies to be the cheapest and niost expeditious.in the Dominion for the consignee, and consequently tho public. About six years ago the Wellington Harliour Board increased its rates. What, for? .Probably clue to its costly system, as it is a well-known fact that ■•there are nearly as many brass-bound officials about its "sheds ajid wharves as there arc workmen. To support my assertion, the AVcllington charges on a 3000. tons steamer are .£2Ol 17s. fid.; on the same tonnage, Auckland .£lOl 17s. 6t1.. Are you anxious to emulate Wellington? My d'esiro. h'tis always been to make Auckland as near a free port as possible, bill evidently it is, not eo with the, Shipping Federation. . ■ , G-FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES A TON OF DRAPERY IS A'ALVED AT ;ElflOO-AND THE 2s. lid. CHARGE WOULD HARDLY ISK PERCEPTIBLE. HUT TITH ATA ME OF DRAPERY IS EQUAL TO WOO TONS OF COAL. AND IF THE CTIAR-GF, OF 2s. (id. IS FIXED IT IS .£125. 7—\ LONDON STHAMRR BRINGING IN 10,000 TONS OP GENERAL.-11141?-CHAN'mSK WOULD W, SAVK'D .Eiasfi, ■\ND PASSED ON TO THE C'ONSHMKU.'ARE ynir GOING TO AU/IW' IT'WHEN YOU HAVE THE I'OWER TO PREVENT I.T? B.—[ will assume a number of importers are quilo indifferent, and their reply is: "We will pass it on to the consumers and they will never nnlice it." ft.—The Shipping Federation can, do \te own legitimate work much eheauer than flic Hoard, because it has to do so at a profit.

S'J'IIJ, CHAMI'ION K)K MY PEOI'U:. V AUCKLAND. FIAT JUSTITIA HtJAT COELUM • (Let justice be done tlioiißn Did heavens rilioiilil fall.) I*.S.—T don't. know «h|i(. my boys tuny do when away 'from lioruc.