The Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 1878.

Oamaru Mail, Volume III, Issue 738, 21 August 1878, Page 2

The Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 1878.

That Oamaru should have remained so long without a Chamber of Commerce is surprising, seeing that the energy of her commercial men is s» great as to have become proverbial. Nor can we attribute the non-existence of a Ciamber to the absence of necessity for it. In a newcountry more particularly large questions affecting its commerce are constantly arising. Of this we have lately had continuation in the proposal of the Government to relieve foreign liour and grain of the duty which was imposed upon it with the idea, of pror»c r tng our principal industry. Then tliere is the regulating of railway tariffs, tho providing of shipping facilities, and numerous other matters that crop up from time to time. Such questions require the earnest and concerted action of all the intelligence and influence of a community, and this cannot be properly secured except by association. The importance of Chambers of Commerce cannot be over estimated. Governments of countries esteem thun as the highest authorities ir. commercial matters, and seek their opinion. In e:isa of urgency, there is no time lost in organisation. A grievance may need resistance or it may be desirable to foster some branch of commerce, in which cases there is no dangerous delay in taking action such as frequently occurs when forces have to be aggregated before they can be marshalled ready for action. Only the other day one of the largest grain-dealing firms of Oamara received a proposal to ship direct from Oamaru a line of about 15.000 bags of good milling wheat, at a price equal to 4s per bushels f.o.b. to the farmer. Much against its wish, this tirm was compelled to decline the offer, because, although there was plenty of grain to fill several ships if it had been mime- i diately accessible, it felt that it would not; be judicious to undertake the respoiisi- I bility which would be incurred under the , circumstances. It would have been ne- j evsaary to communicate with the farmers. ] and large as the district is, and scattered j as the farmers are, considerable time must have elapsed before anything d finite could have been done, with the probability of an unsatisfactory issue. Farmers have a decided aversion to arriving at what they deem hasty conclusion*. A. will not state his price until he z-.:~i H.. and ascertains what ho is obtaining v<t his grain, ami this is the prevalent feeling amongst farmers, who. of course, are anxious to czzare the highest prices ruling in the miriu:. An arrangement might eventually be aniv.,i at in thi.< manner, whereby the required a.uoii;:' <>: grain could be procured at the priue stipulated, but in tiie meantime tho changes in the market -nay have.iff- c edt.it transaction iu such ft ;.iu.uner that the agent has either to .ship at a loss ot not at all. It should be our aim. not to seini away one or two ships, but several during "the season. The difficulty could be overcome by establishing a Chamber of Commerce, which would, of course, issue an authoritative tariff. There is no standard price at present ; at le.'tot, ;; there is nobody knows anything about it. The present system has a tendency to ac injuriously to growers. A farmer may Inoffered 3s. Od. per hushe! for wheat wort!: 45., and, in the absence of an authoritative tariff he accepts the offer. Dealers have facilities for keeping themselves posted up with regard to prices ; farmers are dependent entirely upon dealers who each obtain the best terms they can. seeing that there is no recognised ruling rates. One of the advantages of an authoritative tariff such as we have indicated is thai it would prevent over sprcu-hi-ton and its inevitable consequent 1 -, .■•.t:;iCT::it:!.i'i of trad.-. -*nnfher ini:>orfan r consideration is that dining next harvest Oamaru wdi be visited by vrrain speculators from Dunedin ami elsewhere, who will view it as a necessary portion of their business to trap the unwary grower. probably by misrepresentation, and. taking business out of tiio hands of our merchants will take thenpurchases direct to Dunedin. If a farmer has no reliable data as to prices, wiii>jh are constantly changing—and many farmers are so isolated that it is almost impossible for them tJ get it, except through the papers, which, in the absence of a Cfiamber of Commerce, are often :-s much at sea as the farm- rs—he will often be robbed of ins dues. Had we a Chamber of Commerce this could not occur. No sooner did prices change in any important part of Australia and New Zealand than telegrams would be received of the circumstance by the Chamber, which would be open to the perusal of all interested by being posted in a conspicuous place. This district will always work at a : disadvantage until this is done. We have pointed out that we have lost the >.i!vhutasre derivable from the sale of" 15,000 basis of wheat, b cause we are in alertness behind other places, and how man}' more benefits have we lost from the same cause f Tim t stablishnient of a Chamber : of Commerce is aa immediate necessity,! and, in connection with £f, it would be advantageous to have a Corn Exchange auch as that proposed by the Hon. M.

Holmes. There would be no difficulty in establishing a Chamber of Commerce, an institution that would bn so valuable to all. Fifty subscribers at three guineas each would be a sufficient number to set the affair afloat. This is a matter in which His Worship the Mayor might make a move with a certainty of being succ. ssful.