Untitled

Manawatu Herald, Volume I, Issue 70, 29 April 1879, Page 2

In another column, vro reprint an article from the Wanganui Herald of a recent date upon the shipping advantages of the Port of Foxton, as compared with Wanganui. The

ndraiasioila therein contained aro sufficient to pi'ovo to the ulo^t sceptical that tit present tho iWfcori port is for liung-itikei, as well as Upper Manawatu, tlio cheaper and more expeditious channel through which to obtain goods. It is cheaper, because at Foxton the charge for wharfage (wMeli covers removal to tho railway truck) is 2s Gd, whilst at Wanganui the charges amount to 3s, with iho probability of extra charges for storage or agent's conlmission j it is more expedirioiis, because the railway being in, closo proximity to the wharf,the goods aro placed in the trucks for tho Upper District wi'.h tho utmost despatch, and consequently shippers know exactly " When their goods will arrive," which in many cases is a most important consideration. But whilst it is very gratifying to know that our superiority in these respects is thus acknowledged by dwv rival, several serious questions suggest themselves. Why have we, com-paratxvely-speakiug, no export irade? Time was, when it was a common thing to see several vessels lying at Foxton loading with timber. Eecentiy such occurrences have been rare. One reason for this is that in many cases vessels trade to Wangauui with merchandise, produce, &c, and the owners take cargoes of timber at a rate suni> ciently low 'o balance tho extra railway charges; It is very doubtful if Wanganui would have the export trade it has in timber, wero it uot for the constant fLow of iaiporis ; as shipmasters are glad to fill up with timber at. a low rate in preference to Dallast. Every stick of timber exported from Manawatu should pass through Foxton. If it does not, there surely must be a defect in our* commercial arrangements. From x^eilding to Wangauui is 51 miles; from Feilding to Foxton 35 miles ; nearly all tho imports for Feilding pass through Foxton, as it is cheaper and more expeditions ; why do uot its exports? But thera is another matter related to this. The mere fact of being the place for emptying aad filling v few vessels will neither cause Foxton to expand and grow, nor confer upon it permanent prosperity. Our shipping trade will not for many years be sufficiently large to materially influence the progress of the town, for the reason that in its present conditiou it affoids employment for comparatively few persons. The vessels that visit the port circulate only a few pounds in the place, and being owned in other parts of the Colony,the profis of each voyage go away from t:ns district. If three times the present number of vessels traded to Foxton, how manymore residents would it bring into the town? Probably not more than a dozen. Tho real position Fox'on should aspire to. is not merely to be a place for goods to b« lifted from a steamer to the railway, which helps tho place almost nothing. Foxton should aim ao being tho place at which the settlers and storekeepers of Manawatu will obtain their goods, instead of at Wellington. It will undoubtedly attain that position in the future, at some time or other. Its excellent river and commanding position c infer upon it aivautagoa for a wholesale trade that must iv time be recognised aud acted upon. If the merchan's of Foxton fail to employ rightly their talents, some men who possess sufficient enterprise will undoubtedly enter into cjinpe* tition with them, and deprive them of that prosperity which shoull bo theirs. " There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." The features of tho port question we have ventilated, are 01l vital importance to the whole district.