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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4439, 11 June 1875, Page 2

The Chamber of Commerce did a veryuseful work yesterday, in discussing the excessive light, port, and harbor dues, and the want of wharf accommodation. The President of the Chamber stated the , case with remarkable distinctness, and ; pointed out the obvious consequence of maintaining the existing tariff of charges. With a harbor unsurpassed ' in the ! Southern hemisphere for commercial purposos, with practically limitless scope for j quay extension and wharves, with any j number of sites for docks, wq find our shipping trade dwarfed by the imposition s

of excessive dues, and our import trade itself menaced. This is a state of things « which' should not continue, and the Chamber of Commerce would do ..well to bring the utmost possible, pressure to g .bear to have it altered. "We have.fre- t quently written upon this subject, and shall refrain from enlarging upon it at j present. Suffice it to say, that it is of the utmost importance to this city, and c indeed to the colony at large. We f need hardly add, that we differ from < Mr. DrjLNSField, in the view he t appears to take. Whether "there " has been a great deal of nonsense i " talked about free ports" or not, one ; thing is pretty clear, that the trade of i Wellington has increased in times past in ( spite of the heavy charges upon shipping : and merchandise ; but now that competition has become so keen, a corresponding increase cannot bo anticipated in the future unless very considerable reductions are made on the port and harbor tariff and light dues. By all means, let the harbor establishment be self supporting, but on the other hand let the establishment be conducted with due regard to economy and efficiency.