WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 5 April 1928, Page 4

WELLINGTON NEWS

FLAT FREIGHT RATE

(Special to " Guardian

WELLINGTON, April 2

The system of charging a flat rate of freight adopted by the overseas sliipowners is far from satisfactory and is causing considerable concern to some of the Harbour Hoards. It is undoubtedly an extraordinary tiling that produce shipped from a port like Wellington, which provides safe accommodation for ships and most modern facilities for the cheap, efficient and rapid handling of cargo, should be subject to the same rates of freight as produce shipped by small out of the way anil exposed ports where the delay is considerable, the working expenses high and the shipping arrangements are primitive. It is interesting to note a? an evidence of the efficiency of tin handling of cargo at the port ol \A cllington that last year 25 large vessels discharged their cargo at an average rate of 1211 tons per day. On hehall of the shipowners it was claimed iha! the matter was purely one ol policy. The country would not have reached, to its present state of development i! it had not been for the introduction o’ freezing companies throughout lh Dominion. The fat stock of the country could never have been catered for by central freezing companies. Th country was not in a position to-da\ to adopt any other policy than thn’ which existed. There was no means ol transport to feed the main ports as wa:KUggcstcd, and' even if a system <• shipping entirely from the main ports was introduced a guarantee would be required for a considerable term ol years to encourage a sufficient outlay of capital to establish necessary coastal services to feed the main ports Iron) the subsidiary ports. It would also he necessary to have holding stores at main ports to receive the whole of the meat from other ports to await shipmei:i. To « iggest suddenly altering the whole present policy would mean scrapping of a very large amount of capital aml the introduction of a great amount of capital to institute the mot policy. The policy of one harbour hoard vicing with the others and continually trying to increase its business at the expense of the others slum! not bo upheld by the Wellington Harbour Hoard. The ease for the ship owners is not very convincing. There is at present a great deal ol overlapping. waste, delay and unnecessary overhead expenses. It may not he possible to change the system suddenly hut it is a matter that should receive the attention of all concerned, and efforts should be made to devise a better scheme, for betterment is necessary. The mere fact that the subject is being discussed by responsible men must in the long run result in a change. INDUSTRIAL CONFERENCE.

The proceedings nt the National Industrial Conlcrcnee has so far been attended with excellent results, and it seems certain that there will he drastic amendments ol the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. Roth Mr \V. ,T. Poison and IT. D. Aclaud, who represent the farming interests, presented their cases in a convincing manner. The Dominion is dependent upon its export trade- and as this trade consists mainly of primary products it is necessary that every measure of fairness should he extended to the farmcis. As Air Ac land said, the farmers generally steadfastly refused to admit the soundness of the underlying principle' of the present Act, which provides for compulsory fixation of conditions in industry and costs of production by a tribunal clothed with statutory authority and under which in actual practice compulsion can he enforced on one party only. Wages and conditions should depend on mutual bargaining by both sides, thus registering the condition of supply and demand in the rates actually arrived at; The Act as it stands is beneficial only to the sheltered industries which can he bolstered up by tariff protection, and this protection reacts on the unsheltered industries until the lion-protected industries find their purchasing power greatly curtailed. 'The opinion of the economists is somewhat in favour ol deleting the compulsory clauses ol the present Act, and it is believed that the interests of all parties can he met under a system of voluntary arbitration somewhat along the lines already laid down in the Labour Disputes’ Investigation Act. According to Mr Acland’s letter after meeting in conference the paitics to any dispute could submit their case to the Conciliation Commissioner or to an umpire mutually agreed upon, and failing a decision being acceptable to either party at the Conciliation Council the dispute would he submitted either to the Arbitration Court by consent of the parties, or to the arbitrament of public opinion which would by then have been fully informed of the merits of the dispute. It is an obvious fact that no one is better able to handle questions affecting the interests of any particular trade or industry than those engaged in it, and the only’ persons competent to deal with wages and conditions in any individual business are the contracting parties themselves. There seems to he considerable justification for the belief that the conference results will be highly beneficial to the industrial and economic interests of the country.