CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Evening Star, Issue 14932, 19 July 1912, Page 4

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

AX ABLE ADDRESS BY MR G. R. RITCHIE. ■The annual dinner and meeting of tho Chamber of Commerce was hehf in the Waratah Tea Rooms last evening. The president (Mr G. R. Ritchie) occupied the chair, and thero was a particularly largo attendance. The. feature of tho proceedings was the address by the president. Ritchie said he had received some 76 cnelogies. They had invited Sir Joshua Williams, but as he was in Wellington he Regretted that be was unable to 'attend. Shaking- on behalf o£ the committee, he *aid they took it as a great, compliment that so many representative members of the City should have turned out on such n cold night. He had to apologise for the absence of the Mayor, who had a meeting at the Town Hall. His Worship turned up In moving the adoption of the annual report (which has already been published) the pres*>mt delivered tho following speech .- !F** membership of the chamber is at present 172, an increase of 50 during the past- year. This increase is very gratifying, and we now have a larger number of members than ever before in the history of •the chamber. Our revenue, however, has no: increased in proportion to the increase in membership. Although the committee j has power to fix the annual subscription, | and, further, has had tho advantage of a j full discussion on this question at the last nrmnal meeting, we tame to the conclusion that it would not be in the interests of the I chamber to alter the present subscription. We agreed, however, to reduce the' subscription from £2 2s to £1 Is in the case of more than one member from the same i firm, which accounts for tho above dis- I crepancy. Early in the year the necessary I steps were taken to alter the rules, so as j to enable- the membership of the committee. I to be increased, and at the same time to j revise the articles of association generally, j and the thanks of the chamber are due to Mr J. M. Gallaway for the trouble and I time he gave to the" work. As a result of I these amendments it is now possible to in- ) urease the number on the committee to 21, j but up to the present we have not exceeded 16, divided into four sub-commit- | tees. This hat; enabled more attention to be given to matter.- affecting the commercial community, and also to undertake work which we hope will be productive of iiocd to the district generally and the city in particular. May I venture to express the hope that the work of the past, year will commend itself to you, and that the increased membership a sign that our commercial community recognises that the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce! has its sphere of -usefulness. (Applause.) —Finance.— Our finances continue in a satisfactory state. You will notice unusual items of £-xpendit>u-e in the balance-sheet, such as those incurred in connection with the visitto the Otago Central, etc., to which I will refer later ; but I feel sure vcu will' agree that the money has been well spent. The thanks of the chamber are clue to those members who privately contributed towards the expenses of the visit in question. You will also notice an increaso in the secretary's salary. The work of our secretary has grown very considerably during recent years, and the committee. unanimousJy agreed that tho increase in I salary was amply warranted by the more arduous nature of the work. I leferred ]as-t, year to our —Mail Services.— Vt'e have now had almost a year's experience, and are reaping the advantages of quicker communication and carriage of mails between the Dominion and Vancouver and San Ftanciscoy. in addition to the acquirement of these*" new markets available for our produce—markets with possibly no limit to- their requirements. It is fitting that we should acquire a strong hold on this Pacific trade, which I think must continue to grow, and which has great pcssihilities. more especially once the Panama Canal becomes an accomplished fact. In addition to the above, and also our direct, services with the United Kingdom, wd have now a regular direct service from the eastern wast of Canada to Xew Zealand—the trade of which, it is satisfactory to report, is growing in volume. —Defence.T make r:o apology for again mentioning the question of defence. iu"\vhich we have so vital an interest, and which is of such paramount, importance. (Applause.) We cave now completed the first year under the new Territorial system, and I think, yentlcmen, you will agree with me that an ?xcellent beginning has been made. Tho »nnual c;unpK, or seven days of continuous training, have in every case passed off successfully, and the behaviour of all attending them has been highly creditable. Moreover. I do not think employers generally have suffered to any "xteiit through the absence of their employees during the periods of training. There"has been opposition to the movement by some misguided individuals, who, although only too eager to accept the rights and privileges of liritish citizenship, are not prep.vred to do their share towards maintaining the flag which givsg them freedom and security. f-V-riunately, such are in a very small minority, but they aro a minority the comGKiiiity could well do without. (Applause.) The process of xeasoning by which they seek to justify their opposition to tho fccheme is so ludicrous and illogical that it fan never seriously engage the attention of the public. It is a significant fact that while certain, anti-pntriofs who call themselves Revolutionary Socialists" denounce tho scheme as a new form of militarism the most brilliant French .Socialist in politics to-day, M. James, has earnestly edvocated a similar scheme to our own as the best protection against, and the only substitute for, a, military caste and a staffing army. In a book which competent, critics rank among the most original and brilliant contributions to military litera•iure, he has proclaimed the duty of the froleitariat to defend the soil of the. atherland and the heritage of a national culture against aggression and invasion. It is entirely in the interests of employers ■to support the defence scheme, if for no other reason than that of immediate selfinterest, for it cannot fail to have a beneficial effect on the commerce and industries of the Dominion. It will teach our youth )to be orderly, precise, prompt, careful. respectful, and thorough ; and these are all q-naliScations particularly needed in trade ■nd commerce. But there is another and Snore vital -reason why we should make preparation to defend our count ry—a reason •which affects Labor even more than Capital. 1 refer to the danger of invasion. So apparent is this danger that the Commonwealth—perhaps the most democratic Country in the world—has enacted universal jerrvice, and has deliberately set itself to secure a citizen army. And what con- j oerns Australia concerns us equally vitally. (We have great and varied resources, and our genial climate cotdd maintain several million white inhabitants in a high state of comfort, yet our population is scarcely more than 1,000,000. The question that Is beginning to exercise the minds of all thoughtful people is whether we are going 'to.' "be left in peaceful possession of our heritage. If the black, yellow, or brown man is to he debarred entrance to New Zealand, we must be prepared to maintain the- principle, not merely by paper laws, but also by force of arms, should the occasion arise. We have the recent agitation to prevent the Chinese entering into competition in the furniture trade in New Zealand ; we ha\*e also the remarks of the Chinese Consul-General in Melbourne, describing the national developments' in China, and that she would take her place in the world's affairs—that China haddaeen Jarced to open her gates to_other nations, and that she protested against the exclusion of Chinese by other countries. At the f resent moment the shelter of the British 'lag alone enables the New Zealand Government to take any such steps, and we may still hope for the protection «f that flag, surely we, in this Dominion, must do our share towards maintaining the fcanor of that- Hag; further, although there may be small prospect of such invasion in ottr time, we have the future to consider, %nd those-that come after vs. We are not without our hopes and aspirations, {or,

after all, ire hare aH the national reerarremeKts wberewith to build up a great nation. It* is otir duty, then, "to see to it that we make this Dominion, -worthy, not only of what Providence has endowed ns with; hut also of the beet traditions of tho race to -which we belong. (Applause.) —Prosperity of tho Dominion.— "Ft i* gratifying to be able to record another prosperous vear for tho Dominion as a. -whole. Prices for all our commodities, in spite of the continued labor troubles in England, have heei: unusually high, and have, indeed, probably reached a higher level all round than an any previous occasion. It was freely anticipated by many hu<inees men that the great and unprecedented strikes which have been so unfortunate a feature of British industrial life during the current year would seriously j affect." the purchasing power of the Home consumers, and react upon our export trade with considerable severity. However, this result has not eventuated, and there seems good reason to hope that the demand for our exports is now so firmly established that it would require a very protracted and widespread industrial depression in Britain to affect our financial stability seriously. At the same time, the more widely we can extend the area of demand the more eifectv.ally shall we minimise the effects of a, local depression in any part of our markets. I hope, therefore, that the- efforts which the various High Commissioners in England have recently made to obtain a freer entry for our foodstuffs into Europe will meet with success. They have atready been partially successful, and it is obvious that as the" various countries of Europe turn their attention more and more to industrial and manufacturing pursuits, they will become increasingly dependant on outside sources of food supply. It is said that not many years will elapse before even the vast territories of th© United States will be confined to producing food for its local population, and will have none for export. Having regard to these facts, it is of supreme importance that we should concen- j trato our efforts on lifting ourselves to I compete in the ;iew and growing markets i by the quality of our products, andbyj making our methods of production as ecien- j tific and well-organised a.s possible. In | this connection the foresight and generosity j of the late Sir John Logan Campbell in j bequeathing £20.000 to found an Agricul- j tur'al College- in Auckland is worthy of all | commendation, and it is to be hoped that | other benefactors will follow his splendid I example of public-spirited patriotism._ (Ap- | phuise.) Inverting again to the indicu-j tions of our trade * expansion, it is worthv of note that our marketwith ' Canada, t-hows a marked and I steady improvement. In 1910 we sent under j 3.000* boxes of butter to Canada; in 1911, 25.700—and some of this butter sold in Ottawa at Is 7d per lb, as against Is 8d demanded for the local product. Coming nearer home, we find that the Federal Government in Australia is firmly bent on improving trade relations -with New Zea- i land. The Federal Prime Minister has pub- j lierv urged a policy of reciprocity between us."amounting evert to freetrade, on quite a number of occasions since the beginning of the year. I venture tho opinion that a freer interchange with the Commonwealth would be to our mutual advantage-, and it is to be hoped that the present-proposals will meet wit-h a happier fate than have previous attempts in the same direction. It is true that our exports for the year ended March 51. 1912, only total some £19.037,000. or £2,300,000 less than for I the'previous 12 nwnths. This deficiency I is accounted for in the reduced export Frozen meat £I,CCO,C\aJ ] Wool 600,000 Gold 160,000 | Other produce /00,000 £2.460,000 As to the bull; of these reductions, it is probable that they are clue to the abnormal wet spring and summer, but 1 am pleased to say that they are. more, than j balanced by our exports since March 01. | In the month of May alone our frozen j meat export was more than twice as large ; as May, 1911. and for the quarter ended j June 30 our exports exceed those of the. ; same period last year by £l,4Co,Coo—all of I which points to a- healthy upward grade ; in our export returns and to a continu- ! anee of that prosperity which we have j come to regard with some reason as our j normal condition. Turning to our im- j ports for the vear ended March 31, we find j they total the large sum of £20,500,000. | exceeding exports -by almost £1,500,000. I j admit that, although this is significant, there is no cause for alarm. I am con- ! vinced that in the- main the Dominion is j sound and prosperous, but I venture to say j that criticism during prosperity is more , necessary than in times of stress._ It is j true that wo can go back a period of , years and find that our total exports show I a satisfactory yearly surplus over our im- i ports; if we go back fewer years that surplus is reduced: whilo if we continue along the path of the past year our average animal export surplus would disappear altogether. The principle therefore remains that it is not prudent to overimport- in any one year. We, have certain obligations to meet annually, and the only way we can fulfil these obligations is to send out of the country more than we bring into it. and this argument holds good even if it be conceded that we are improving our security with portion of our imports. I repeat that I believe tho Dominion to be in a sound position, and that its -resources are sufficient to meet any emergency; nevertheless, I hold there is much need for prudence and caution. Of i late years our Government and local bor- | rowings have increased enormously. i)ur- ■! ing tho past 20 yeans—from 1892—the average yearly increase of debt each five years has been a? follows -.— 1892-1896 ... .„ almost £1.000.000 1897-1901 „. ... almost 1,500.000 1902-1907 3,000.000 j 1908-1911 „ 4.8C0;,0C0 It should be apparent to all that we cannot continue to increase our indebtedness at the rate of recent years, for to such methods of finance there can only be one ending, despite our great natural resources. It is admitted that a new country must be developed, but there should be a "speed limit" to such developments, so that should it be necessary at some future period to call a temporary halt, we may be able to do so gradually and in a busi-ness-like way, which would not hamper trade and commerce to anything liko the samo extent as in the case of sudden cessation of heavy borrowing. We should then be in a better position to fare anything in the nature of a commercial depression, with its concomitant—a shrunken revenue —should we experience such, although I trust the day may bo far distant. There is no doubt that of late years a much j higher standard of living has obtained in all classes of society; the advent of the motor oar alone must be a considerable factor in our imports. A "Royal Commission into the cost of living is at present taking evidence, and its report will be awaited with interest. Meantime, it would seem that the principal imported necessities of life are very little, if a.ny, dearer than they were 20 years ago, find even if rentals and other items are considerably increased, the rise in wages helps to balance these. It would seem, therefore, that the increased cost of living in the fireeent day is due to some extent to more uxurious and extravagant methods. It is ' impossible, to raise objection to any improvement in the conditions of living, but undue extravagance will find its own level should the need for economy become apparent. The banking returns for the lastlew months are a significant factor. At the same time they clearly show that the people do not as yet feel the necessity for economy, or, if it is felt, they are unable to economise. The fixed deposit rate is now 4 per cent., which is a, higher level than has been the case this past 20 years. The outlook for the current year is satisfactory, notwithstanding the unfortunate continuance of industrial unrest in the Mother Country. Prices for wool, frown meat, hemp, daily produce, and our other principal products continue to keep at a. satisfactory level, and there is nothin" at present to show that they will fall 'in the immediate future. Our dairy produce industry continues to show a, remarkable development, and, given a fairly average season, we can: look for a further increase in export this coining year. It is interesting to observe that the capital invested in dairy factories and.machinery u now almost .£1,000,000.

—The Labor Question. — I referred last year to our manufacturing industries, and tho difficulties employers were experiencing in obtaining skilled labor. I regret to say that these difficulties are no nearer to being removed. Orders cannot be undertaken owing to the dearth of labor, and perforce have to co elsewhere, while our own industries languish from want of support. The difficulty would be .solved to a certain extent by a* steady immigration of skilled labor, which 3 aril sure would m>t. affect our present workers in any degree, and which would, moreover, be of distinct benefit to the Dominion. I feel certain that employers desire above all to see harmonv between Capital and Labor in each trade, also to see permanency of employment., and a sense of good-will and comradeship among all those engaged in a j common business enterprise. And it is I not only in our manufacturing cities that ; wo have a dearth of labor. As I pointed out last ycu.r, tho recent census shows that the trend of population is towards the cities, and our country friends iind it equally difficult, to get iabor. There, is a constant drift from the country to the town, and farmers complain that they cannot get laborers even at times when the unemployed are asking for work in the | cities.' Ii we can only continue to tie- | v-ftlop our natural resources and our in- j dustries as- we have done in the past, <-:. nd settle our lands on the most liberal teims j possible to all those who make their homes j on them, we can look forward with hops j and confidence to this Dominion continuing j to be the most, attractive and popular por- j tion of the Empire, as it. deserves to be, j and as it ■ is. 1 think, to all ofiiswhoi have been born and brought up in it, as j well as to those who have come from afav | and made it their home. (Applause.) —Otago Hallways.— Always a matter of interest to Dunedin. and more particularly to the di.-tricts they serve, it is satisfactory to note the progress made on the 'Lawrence-Roxburgh section. Work on the section beyond Big Hill station was resumed in March, 1911. The headings in the Big Hill tunnel met on March 22 last, and the remainder of the excavation and concrete lining has since beer, in hand. Up to date the total length completed is nine chains, leaving 12^'chains to be enlarged and lined. Tho present rate of progress is about half a chain per week. The formation beyond the tunnel is in hand up to about three miles. A portion of this work has been let as a contract, but. the contractor is making slow progress. The line is peimanentlv" located up to some 1U miles, and work'on this length is being commenced. Further, a survey parly has in hand the permanent survey beyond that point, and as soon a.s a further length is dehnitely located the woik will no doubt be put in hand—all of which is satisfactory, and leads us to the hope that the opening of the line to tho Beaumont will before long be accomplished. Satisfactory progress has also been made with the Catlins-Tahu-kopa branch. Despite the usual wet; summer, which has caused numerous slips, [ thereby considerably delaying the work, j the railhead has betn carried to some dlis- j tanco past Pukeiiro Station. In addition; to this" numerous heavy embankments and j cuttings have, been prepared as far as the j M'Lennau Biver, and the necessary citation j sites have been formed. It- is eotiiklontly i expected that by the end of the present | vear the rails will be- laid as far as the j M'Lennau River, and possibly the bridge j over the river will also be completed,_thus j enabling the whole section from Houipapa j station to Papatowai. a distance of about j 15 miles, to be handed over to the Rail-; way Department. Alter the line crosses j the M'Lennan at Papatowai it proceed" ] up the Tahakopa Valley for about, five j and a-half mile.i to its present objective \ at- Ptimu. This last span presents no gieat j difficulties, and once the M'Lennan is: crossed it v.-ill ho an easy matter to cany j tlip line on to tho centre" of the Tahakopa Valley. With regard to the Thmedin-Mosgiel duplicationr the he ivy earthwork* between Burnside and Abbotsford have been completed, and the double, line is now working between these two stations. _AI! the ous works on the Dtinedin-Abbotsford section are now finished, and in consequence a large reduction in the, number of men employed has been made. A further section of double line, Abhotsfoid to Abbot's Creek, will shortly lie brought into operation. The work of piercing the new Chain Hills tunnel is now being undertaken, hut owing to tho exceptionally heavy nature of the ground met with in the north end progress has been seriously retarded, notwithstanding the fact that three shifts have kept at work for the full time, anil that the latest appliance.- in the way of pneumatic air drills and other plant are in use in the tunnel. —Otago Hat bor Hoard.— It is satisfactory to observe that the revenue for the year ended December 31 las.!. shows an increase of £4.859 over that <•' 1910. The revenue (£12,035) from rentals is £293 better than 1910. This sum^ represents the return.? from 51 acres. When ono views the large area of City lands owned by the board, the above revenue appears somewhat insignificant, but we ttiay hope that- the growth of population and. consequent increased demand for areas will in due. courso enhance the value of the board's land. Further. the eventual straightening of tho railway line will make a large area" of land accessible to the City which is cut off by the present railway line. I understand tho board has at. Dunedin some 100 aeies of reclaimed land available for leasing at low rates. The potential value of this landed; estate cannot be underrated, and it justifies the board to a great extent in the policy if is l.unsuing in completing its reclamation at- Dunedin. I have reason to believe, notwithstanding reports to, tho contrary, that the waterway between the Heads and Port Chalmers was never in a better condition, and thatample water is available to allow our largest steamers to visit this port- in comfort. Tho least depth in the Lower Harbor is! 24ft at low water off Deborah Bay, and only a little dredging is required there to give 26ft clear, or over oOft at high water on an ordinary tide. The. Victoria, channel also now gives no cause for anxiety. An inspection of the latest plans of the. .soundings shows that very iittle remains to be done to open it for the navigation of vessels drawing up to 25ft. Tho depths of water, however, at the Dunedin wharves are not commensurate with the depths in the channel, but I have, little doubt that the board will make every effort, to deepen tho basins and beilhage, so as to admit, the .-.winging and berthing of every vessel that, can negotiate the Victoria channel. Indeed, tho question of providing a further area upon which to deposit the dredgings from the wharves and approaches thereto has recently been very fully considered by the board, and apparently more money will require to bo spent on reclamation. It would appear also that the present plant is fast, becoming obsolete, and will shortly require to be replaced by more modern machinery, all of which entails much more expenditure than the present, revenue, will justify. The question of harbor finance is one of the greatest importance to Dunedin. and until a larger revenue can bs looked for from endowments and other sources it is purely a question of who is to pay. The country districts surrounding the port are now represented on the board, and a small general rate over this extended area might secure the necessary revenue and at the same timo enable certain dues to bo reduced. Meanwhile, the charges on ships seem to have reached a limit, and the board should keep in view the necessity of encouraging ships to como here regularly and frequently. Tho scheme of improving the wharves and extending the facilities for handling chips and cargo' is being steadily pursued. A very satisfactory feature also is the removal o'f the tongue wharf, which was not only inconvenient and difficult of access, but, "further, a great hindrance to the larger steamers, manoeuvring in the basin. (Applause.) The scale ot dock dues has recently been revised and extended, and, compared with other docks, tho dues are much lower, while the facilities provided bv cranes and wharves will make our dock one of the best-equipped south of the line. A comparison of the shipping trade of the current year with year ended January 30, 1911, shows that, despite the industrial unrest and trouble at Homo.ill the early days of this year, the trade of .£he i>ort has- been fairly well niajataiiied.

The, registered tonnage of English and foreign vessels entered this year is less by 20,657 than last year, but this is accounted for to a great extent by the number of oversea vessels laying up at Port Chalmers during the previous winter, whereas this past year most of our surplus shipping was employed elsewhere. Tho cargo landed, however, is mere by 3,763 tons. Taking all classes of tonnage entered, there is a total increase, of I.OOS tons. Imports are less by 215 tons, while exports are better by 7,824 tons. —Ot.igo and Dunedin Trade.— At our. last annual meeting I was glad to be able to congratulate our local trading, agricultural, and pastoral community tijion the satisfactory results of the period under review. I am pleased to be in a position to do the same for the past, 12 months. I think, without exaggeration, that the past year's trading to farmers and merchants alike has been almost in the nature ot a re-jord. Obligations have been well met, and bankruptcies have been few and far -between. A considerable amount | of land continues to change hands at enhanced prices, and the season has been a •rood one throughout Otago and Southland, despite a much wetter spring and summer than has been experienced for some years past, The weather will undoubtedly affect cur harvest, both as regards quantity_and quality of the urain. but, notwithstanding, the farmers, as'a- whole, have little cause for complaint. I would like to take tins opportunity of saying that the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society should re'e-nvc much more support from the retail .section of this City. (Applause.) We can safely assume, that many thousands come in from tha country during Show Week, and at a modest estimate they must spend several pounds a, head.. You can thus see what an important factor the Agricultural and Pastoral Society is to the retail com-' mv.nitv. It is satisfactory to note that all this trading de.nartmer.ts of cur municipality have, experienced another successful vear.' and I offer the chamber's congratula--I'tioiM to tho Citv Council for their careful. administration o'f the citizens' interests. | (Applause-.) Tho permits for now buildings in the Citv represent a total value or •0181,000—;•" satisfactory increase upon previous years. Several buildings, almost completed or in course of erection, will be a solid, and, indeed, splendid, addition to the Citv, and show that those of our citizens who have most at stake are not pessimistic about our future. I am pleased to see that the Dunedin Expansion League has been safely launched, and, while 1 think we have a sufficiency of leagues, this latest addition will justify its existence, were it to do nothiug dse but advertise cur Citv and surroundings to the fullest ; extent. * We frequently hear adverse criticise on the staie of" our streets, in my opinion not altogether justified, except as to tome of the main arteries, for I think our streets compare quite favorably with thcfi.' in any of the other principal cities of the Dominion. If our main arteries could be laid down in a- more permanent fashion, and so avoid the heavy annual cost ' of maintenance, it would undoubtedly be ! advantageous. But I think) very careful j i consideration should hj" given to, and the \ be si advice .-ought on. any proposals entail- j ! -re a- big outlay of capital in the direction | I of wholesale street formation beyond a : j limited com pas.-. ! Durinn recent vcars some splendid gitts i ' have hcen made" by some of our worthy j j citizens lo colleges', orphanages, library, j I hospitals. Art Gallci-y. and other such in- j | stitutions. all a- service and a delight to the, j j citizens. Sureiy there is no better way of i I showing love and esteem for a. country or a i | citv than bv liberal benefactions to assist I i those less happilv layered in life's struggle. ! I We are indeed fortunate to have such cttt- I i /ens in our midst, and the reputation .of j ■ Dunedin for generous citizens is well main- j I tnined. . j i —Visits of Inspection. — i j Tt is iittins here to refer to the trip j I undertaken hy a number of members of j this Chamber" along with other citizens,) through the Otago ""Central district. A general meeting of the chamber was held to discuss the report submitted by your committee, and the results have been embodied in a pamphlet illustrated with views of tin- dif.iricts visited. This report deals c-o f'uiiv with the. visit- that it is unnecessary for me to add thereto, but all I need say is that- the undertaking must be pro-j diictive of good, both to the district and] lo Dunedin.' I think the policy of bring- j ing citizens into closer touch with our j country friends cannot bo urged too often. Wo see and hear for ourselves what is i being done, and what should be done, and j thus"are better able to'work together to j our mutual advantage. A considerable j amount of timo was spent in framing our j report, which I venture to say is both moderate and reasonable in its demands. We hero in Otago quite recognise that there are other parts of tho Dominion requiring development as well as our own districts, and that only a certain amount, of money is available each year for such pu:pose-" Wo think, however, that we aro 'justified in asking for a share, of what maybe available to develop our resources. We are not an extravagant or wasteful community, and wc certainly do not want I money spent unless it be well spent. I would like to take this opportunity nf thanking members of the- chamber for their assistance in making the trip a success, and in this connection I would refer especially to the work done by Messrs W. Gow and A. Moritzson. Arrangements wore also completed for another similar visit through the Lower Clutha district, from Lawrence to Tuipeka, and Balclutha. S L'nfoifunat-clv. bad wcaiher prevented tho ! project being curied out, and it is meau- | time postponed until the. spring. I trust the jnconiine; committee will not lose sight of it. for the Olydcvale and Greenfield Instates alone will well repay a- visit. There all the benefits of closer settlement can be seen-—freehold settlement on one side of the river, and leasehold on the opposite bank, thus enabling the advocates of each system to argue, tho question out, lo the fullest, extent. —Empire Trade Commission. —■ A f<:vr months ago, on behalf of this chamber. I personally congratulated Sir Joseph Ward on his appointment, to this important Commission now sitting in England. I am sure you will sha.ro my regret that ho has since seen lit, to withdraw from it. Tho Prime Minister of England, when announcing this Commission, mentioned that even' endeavor would he made, so far as Great Britain was concerned, to give of her best to it. and thero is no doubt that, Sir Joseph Ward was eminently suited to represent Now Zealand, his commercial training, intimate knowledge of our trade, and ]on(T parliamentary experience being indisputable qualifications for the position; and I venture to »ay tbot, he would have served his country better had he remained on the Commission. (Applause.) Wo trust j his successor (tho Hon. J. R. Sinclair) wiltworthily till tho position. May we hope that one of the results of this Commission I will be closer union between this Dominion j and. Australia. But for the of the, British Empire, Australia and Xew Zealand would have been driven by the force of circumstances to unite, for defence, and would naturally have been led info closer relations. We are slowly awakening to the existence of ..common pressure, from without, and I repeat my previous re-marks that it behoves US to do all we can to develop to the utmost communication and trade connection with Australia, oven as we are doing with the world outside. "Wo are inseparably bound up with one another, so why should we not encourage trade to the fullest extent to our mutual satisfaction and profit, —Conclusion. — I. cannot conclude without reference to the distinguished statesman, diplomat, and leader of commerce,- the Right Hon. James Bryce, whom we lately had the pleasure of welcoming to this City. It is surely a source of prido and gratification to us that such leaders in Gieat Britain should interest themselves in our country and institutions. Such visits cannot hut result in mutual good. .! wisli to thank the vice--president and committee for their assistance during the past year, and. also tho secretary, and I congratulate him upon having this evening completed his twentyfirst year as fiecretai-y of the chamber. (Applause.) Mr D. E. Theomin, in seconding the motion, said he knew that everybody present would join with him' in expressing their sincere thanks to |hcu* prewdeutjfor th£

interesting .address he had favored them with. For his own part, he desired to tender his compliments. He thought that the chamber should be very grateful to Mr Ritchie for the,time, care, and thought he had bestowed on the address they had listened tc that evening with tho deepest intercut. (Applause.) The chamber had every reason to congratulate itself upon having had so able a president for the past two years. As an old member of the chamber he had no recollection of such warm interest being shown in tho affairs o£ the chamber as had teen the case under tho present able leadership. (Applause.) Chambers of commerce were something liko Parliaments— they were very of ten misunderstood. Motives were miphea to both, but it should be remembered that a chamber had no marvellous powers. It was merely little more tha.it. a clearinghouse Chambers of commerce aid all they could within the bounds of Htv - they -gave all the tune and, thought thW could, and. he thought, in most cases with good results. Some people thought that the chamber should do this and that, and others did not see the use a chamher • but it was only-on joining tne executive'that one saw the difficulties that lay in, the path of the executive And that was one reason why he thought tint the chamber had done a ■ good thing in increasing the executive last year. One ot the best things the chamber had none m the past had been the adoption of sectional committees. The increase in membership' also was noteworthy—something like 45 per eent —but he felt that the chamber should »row more in proportion with the growth of the town. Ho trusted that a large number of traders when they read this report would awake to their shortcomings. He thought the chamber were-to be congratulated on the persistency with whicn the executive had endeavored to get a newcable between Melbourne and Bluft. Unfortunately, this advocacy had not been successful, but he must say that he thought tho reason advanced in support ot the refusal savored largely of "bluff '. (Laughter ) It was pleasing to notice how the chambers throughout tho Dominion ban supported the defence scheme originated bv Lord Kitchener. In the late Minister of Defence they had had a very strong supporter, and they all knew that that attitude would be maintained by the Hon. James Allen—(applause)—than whom there was no one in- the Dominion beter htted or better suited for the post of Minister ot Defence. , , Mr Fea said that what the chamber and Par 1 iament should work for was greater population. The present population could only scratch the surface of the resources ol the" country. As an American had said, wealth is population, and population wealth 8o that one of their objects .should be to induce people to come to New Zealand. Mr J. Loudon complimented tho president on his speech, and also on the success of the chamber's operations during his term of office. The. passages dealing with defence and oversea, trade, to his (the speaker's) mind, were able and forcible 1 epitomes of the position. Tt was alsogratii tying to know that Mr Ritchie, although i retiring from the presidency, would still I continue to be, an active member of the 'executive. The membeis of the executive j were much impressed with tho. interest and I thoroughness ho had put into the office, | and it had teen a pleasure to sit under i and work with him. 'The increa.se in the I membership during the- past two years was I a matter for congratulation, and it was ! to be hoped tlwreVould bo a further augi mentation during the- coming year. Ho I was only going to touch upon one matter i which was referred to in the- the report I and also in the president's address, and | that was the Otago Harbor Board. _ Now, j it was generally conceded that during re- | cent vears our harbor had been much improved a,s to the depth of prater at tho • entrance, widening of the A'ictoria, ChanI nel, and lighting' and buoying, but they j were face to face'with the proposition that : in order to permit, the vessels of steadily incieasing size now entering the port to come w Dunedin, they required a few extra feet in the waterway from the Heads to Dunedin. This meant the expenditure in up-to-date plant and works of a considerable wsum of money, and that was their trouble. It was held, and be believed j rightly so, .that a. further .increase of dues I oil ships or cargo would have a dctri- ! mental effect on tho port, and they were j forced back to the necessity of a harbor rating area, in order to-make the port a j first-class one. He was awaro that there j would probably be serious objection if j that area were made responsible for the : whole of our past indebtedness and nrosj pective expenditure. But, he. believed that if the situation was put clearly the people they would be willing to submit to a. rato for'a further loan, provided that it was specifically earmarked for the purpose of deepening the channel and giving deepwater berthage at Dunedin. Dunedin must be the terminal port. Country people and consumers found it hard to believe that they got the benefit of any saving that might be made in bringing the steamers to Dunedin ; but competition was so keen that if 2s or 3s a ton could be saved by doing this in preference to traiiI shipping at, Port Chalmers, people would soon get the benefit of it. Ho hoped tho chamber would continue to take a keen interest in the work of the harbor, and as sist the. board as far as possible to make Dunedin a. first-class port of tho Dominion. Tho motion for tho adoption of the re port and balance-sheet was then put and carried. The officers for the ensuing jear are as follow: —President, Mr John Loudon; vice-president. Mr A. S. Pater-son; new members of committee (live of 15 retire annually)— Messrs H. W. Airoy, G. W. MTntosh, K. »S. Ramsav, J. A, Roberts, and G. 11. Ritchie. The Chairman announced that there was every prospect that the new vice-president (Mr'Paterson) would be able to represent the chamber at the world's conference of Chambers of Commerce, to be held in Boston shortly. Mr Loudon briefly returned thanks for his election, and the official meeting terminated. Subsequently. Mr Walter Gow, following up tho chairman's referenco to Mr Peter Barr having reached his twenty-first anniversary in the secretaryship of the chamber, proposed Mr Parr's health. He said that it would be impossible to iind anyone who could bo more diligent in the performance of his duties than Mr Bnrr had been. Mr Barr, amongst other things, had shown .personal initiative in bringing matters under tho attention of the chamber that should bo dealt with by it-. Ever since he .took charge of the, work of the chamber it had been in an advancing condition. Mr Barr, in reply, expressed his appreciation of the terms in which Mr Gow had spoken of his work and of the. way in which the, chamber had received tho toast. He mentioned that tho oldest official of the chamber was Mr John Da.vie, who had been hon. auditor for 26 years. On the motion of Mr \V. L'. Reynolds, seconded by Mr J. A. Roberts, a, special vote cf thajiks was passer! to Mr Davie for his services as honorary auditor for the time mentioned, aaid at the instance of the Hon. T. Fergus, who referred hi eulogistic terms to the speech which the I chairman delivered from the chair, the ■ health of Mr Ritchie was honored.