SHIPPING CHARGES.

Hokitika Guardian, 29 March 1922, Page 3

SHIPPING CHARGES.

ACTION OF COMPANIES. i , AUCKLAND, March 23. Inquiries have been instituted here, as to the Auckland attitude in connection with the discussion at the last meeting the Wellington Harbour Hoard, when it was suggested that j . the shipping companies, by imposing I flat-rate charges for the handling of produce, were encouraging the deve- ■ lopment of small and inefficient har-, hors, this doing an injustice 'to the large ports possessed' of ample and j. c.stiv facilities. ; Mr H. B. Burnett, secretary of the Auckland' Harbour Board, expressed himself as entirely in accordance with the Wellington attitude, particularly with the reference of Mr Thomas Moss, a producers’ representative, ; when he said that anything that could he done to tiling the ships to the four main ports would be "To the advantage of the farming interests. That was very apparent, he said, and he agreed also with the statement that a ; good deal of money was being dumped into the sea in an attempt to make ports where they were practically useless. The tendency was to , establish ports here, there and everywhere, and in that connection lAuek- j land was in exactly the same position ; as Wellington. 1 “You see, it is like this,” lie proceeded. “Under this arrangement ships are hanging around the coast for sometimes four or five weeks, loading at several ports along the coast Then perhaps they will go up as far as Napier or Gisborne, then down again to Wellington, or perhaps to Lyttelton for final loading.” He believed that some system of centralisation was es- j sential, or else there could not be any j appreciable reduction in freights. Auckland had ample facilities for ship-? ping along the coast, and it was the ,} same with Wellington. The fastest : time recorded by Auckland for loading • was ten to twelve days. “We have no costly machinery or facilities idle,” lie concluded, “as during the last two years we have had about as much as we could handle. When you think of a ship hanging around the coast for perhaps six weeks and assess, the cost at about £SOO per day, you will g p t some idea of what it means by way of - expense. Yes we are in exactly the same position os Wellington, but of course it is a matter for the chairman to speak upon, hut I happen to know that lie lias given the matter a good deal of thought.” The deputy-chairman of the Harbour Board (Mr H. R. Mackenzie), in i connection with the same matter, stated that it was absolutely neces- . sary for some system of centralisation if freights were to he reduced to any extent. Some new scheme which would enable meat, butter and cheese to he shipped without being subjected to treatment that caused deterioration was also necessary.