LEVUKA'S TRADE

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 32, 2 November 1920, Page 8

LEVUKA'S TRADE

NO NEW ZEALAND BOAT, FOR • FOUR MONTHS.

At the monthly meeting o! the .council of the Wellington Chamber of; Commerce hold yesterday afternoon, « com--1 muiiication was received from the Levukft Chamber of Commerce on the subject of the Union Company's action in cutting out Levuka as n. trading, poat m .the Piii-New Zealand service. Up till the middle of'the current year, the letter stated, it had always been the practice for the Navua to call at Levuka as well as Suva, but that practice had been discontinued since June 4, and for nearly four months Levuka had not been visited 1 )V a boat from New Zealand. The chamber believed that the merchants of Wellington were nlivo to the growing importance of Fiji as a market for No\v Zealand merchandise, and the progress thoy may linvo made in establishing connections here is liable to suffer a serious set-back if the local merchants continue to bo disappointed by the New Zealand boat not calling at Levuka, When goods wore landed at Suva for transhipment to Jjevuka additional expense is always incurred, and it was notorious that every time poods were transhipped there was a bipger chance of them arriving nt. their destination in a damaged condilion. If merchants in Levuka could not rely on cargo being delivered by the ilokoia or the Nnvna in Levuka, but were compelled to submit to the loss and damage to goods caused by transhipment at Suva, together with transhipment freight, it was inevitable that they would discriminate in favour of Australian merchants, and very rigntlv so. Mr J. Martin suggested that they should write to tho Auckland Chamber to see what action it intended to take, us tlio Auckland merchants were more immediately interested in the Island trade than thoy were in Wellington. This was agreed to.