DUNEDIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 88, 26 February 1862, Page 2

DUNEDIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

A meeting of the Committee of the Chamber o Commerce was held yesterday in the Atheiueuui. Mr Cargill, president of the Chamber, in the chair. The minutes of last meeting having been read, The Chairman read a series of letters which had ' passed between the Committee and the Superintendent on the subject of local postal arrangements, and of certain improvements on the present shipping pier, which, at their last meeting, the Committee had rei presented ns necessary. On the first subject the Ch'drman, on behalf of the Committee, had drawn the . attention of the Government, through his Honor the Superintendent, to the inconveniently early hour at which the mails were usually closed ' on the departure of each steamer from ' Port Otago, and to the closing also of the Southern 1 mails at an unnecessarily early hour on Monday 1 morning. To this representation, the Chairman said, i His Honor had given immediate answer, promising . to represent the views of the Committee to the Chief ; Postmaster, and subsequently transmitted a letter j from the Postmaster which implied that a breach of , courtesy had been committed by the Chamber in not j communicating direct with the Postal Department, nnd somewhat pointedly questioned the correctness of the. Chamber's statements, which the Postmaster eon- ■ sidered must have been made iv error. In the ac- > companying letter, His Honor, while waiving the ; question as to the projier channel of communication, : stated that, if the cause of complaint from the comi mittee should be unremedied, he should be glad to [ address the Government, but he did not anticipate -. any impediments would be allowed to remain in tho [ way of affording every facility, and the Chairman did ; not pursue the matter, because the alterations which had been suggested had been carried out. In refer- ' ence to the matter of addressing the Postmaster, ths ' question had been discussed by the Committee, and it : had been thought preferable to make the representa- , tion to the Government. On the subject of jetty imi provement, the Committee had proposed to His > Honor tliat a double rail should extend to the full • length of the jetty ; that a jetty-keeper should be appointed, with a gang of men specially engaged to work the trucks; that aa additional number [of trucks be put on the pier; aud that 1 timber and other heavy traffic be excluded. In his answer to this communication, his Honor enclosed a report of Mr. Langland's, Superintendent ' of AVorks, which was virtually to the effect that nothing more could be done. He (the chairman) subsequently saw the Superintendent, and his recommendation was that the Committee should continue their representations:, if they considered such to be necessary. Mr. Young suggested that such should be done, as in a variety of particulars the jetty was obviously improvable, aud the members being generally agreed on the subiect, it w:is ultimately resolved to appoint two . of the Committee to wait upon his Honor, aud sub- : mit to him, in a practicable shape, the improvements which they considered it desirable to make. THE NEW JETTY. Mr, Reynolds drew attention to the subject of the new jetty in course of erection, and proposed that steps should be taken to induce the Government to 1 carry out at once the erection of tho jetty according to the ultimate plan, instead of limiting it to half its ' breadth, as was for the present being done. It was '■ only a question of money, nnd he considered tho ■ Government to be in a sufficiently, safe position to be justified in going on with the full work at" once. , The advantage would be that, the pier would be the breadth of Jetty-street, and afford accommodation for drays going along-side the shipping. J Several merabere made suggestions on the same . subject, hut the Chairman doubted if it were not an inconvenient proceeding to propose alterations of extensive works already undertaken ; and it was subsequently agreed to refer the matter to the attention of ■ the same "Committee, to suggest, at least, the widen- . ing of tlie new pier. : Mr. Reynolds also proposed that the advantage of a jetty-ex'tensiou for the accommodation of the pas- ' senger traffic up and down the port, he represented te . Government, and showed how, at a comparatively [ small expense, a narrow pier might be run out from ' tho point of the existing one to a sufficient distance 1 to allow the small steamboats to go alongside. I Mr. Martin proposed that the Chamber should, in • preference, urge upon the Govermnsnfc the purchase - of a dredging machiute, and its early commencement ; to work, to deepen the channel and harbour. ; Mr. Rattray supported the suggestion, quoting tbe ; improvements at Geelong and Melbourne as instances . to encourage such an undertaking. At Geslong_ and , iv Melbourne dredging machines, now in disuse, ' wore obtainable, and the importance of having one in " Port Otago could not be exaggerated. ' The Chairman said he fully appreciated tho ab- [ solute necessity for dredging, but doubted if, unless ' a calculation of the probable expense were put beforo , the Government, they would ' readily undertako - the work. > Mr. Rattray thought if a private individual could ; offer to effect the whole harbour improvements, in j the event of his receiving the space saved from the sea, ['the Government had sufficiently good grounds to go ,ia considerable length in the way of expense. After some further conversation, Mr. Martin's pro- ' posal was agreed to, and Mr. Reynolds, giving it the 1 preference,'withdrew his-suggestion as to the erection '■• of a low-water passenger pier. tiie'MAlL service. i Mr. Martin said the question of .improving the present postal communication with the sister.colonies, . and through them with England, was one wliich enii- . nently deserved the attention of the Chamber of j Commerce, but particularly at the present time when it was about to be seriously dealt with by the General Government, and probably, through them.be brought under tho Committee's attention. It required their attention the more from the circumstance that, as ho believed, and believed most firmly, they should not in any way be guided in their arrangements by the General Government, but should act as for as could be done by and for themselves. The General ■ Government had from the first made a convenience of Otago—-a cat's-paw —a foot-baif—and now that it had become important they wanted to convert that fact also into a source of convenience ; and benefit to them. He did not recommend -that i they should ignore altogether the proceedings of the ; Government, but he certainly should < recommend that, in any arrangement for this desiderated, improvement of the mail service, Otago should adopt an independent course. In Otago tliere was now. a sufficient amount of business done to justify direct communication with Melbourne, irrespective of the other provinces, aud as no consideration had been shown to Otago in the past, he. did not consider they were justified" in supposing that the former policy, would 1» altered, or that this proposition to amalgamate the service was in any way intended for its benefit. By adopting an independent course, as "he recommended should be done, they had nothing,;to lose, and .would gain a great deal. Mr. Young said that in tlie event of Mr. prosbie Ward desiring an interview with the Committee,-it was necessary that they should have a distinct understanding of the terms on whicli they should meet him. Mr. ilartin assented, and thought that in being prepared, they should be well prepared. Otago was in no respect the second, but distinctly the first pro- ■ vince in the colony, and it should be a necessary : element in any arrangement that Dunedin should be • the port of receipt aud dispatch for the wholo colony. ....... Sir" Rattray thought they should adopt a general principle to which they should closely abide, and, ir respective of their first importance as a province^ it

was obviously a principle of tbe utmost importance that they should h.ive rapid communication wilh Melbourne. AV'ith this object in view, he considered; that t.liej* should insist upon tbe arrangement of the of the mail service being in the power of the Provincial Government, and that in no way should it be left to the chance of becoming subordinate to the postal service of the other provinces. Sir Slorris said, ifhe waa not mistaken, thesteamers at present on the passage made on the average four trips iv the month, and, if this was the case, why should not the communication be made weekly, and as nearly on a regular day as possible.' By such an arrangement they should always have a vessel ready to start about the day of despatching the mail from either end, and any delays might be provided for by an increased subsidy. Mr Siartin and Sh- Rattray reiterated their opinion that the matter should entirely be under tbe management of the Provincial Government. They agreed in considering that Otago had been trifled with too long, and that it should now, as far as possible, take the management of its own affairs in its own hands. Sir. Reynolds and Sir. Young took a similar view.

The Chairman said he quite agreed with the Committee as to the necessity of Dunediu being the postal focus of New Zealand, but he was not quite ready to - agree to the fullest extent with the views ofthe Committee on the subject of co-operation with the other Provinces. To act as Sir. Martin recommendedt might savor somewhat of selfishness, and it migh s be "preferable at least to ascertain the suggestion', of the General Government beforo deciding eiupha tically on a course of perfect independence. Sir. Martin looked upon the selfishness as all on the other side, for it was .certainly the interest of the other Provinces, not of this, to have an amalgamated service. lie should bo sorry to see the contract divided with the other Provinces, for he was quite sure the interests of Otago did not lie in that direction.

Sir. Reynolds said, there could be no doubt that both the object and the result of any arrangement would be to make Otago pay the lion's share. Sir. Slartiu said, taking a further view of the case, the time might come when they would be separate from the other Provinces.

Sir. Rattray saw nothing wrong, but rather great propriety, in facilitating the communication with the other Provinces, but let them make tlieir own arrangements. The chairman cotildnotaltogether agree with that idea. It might be all very well to have steamers specially subsidised as a last resort, but he scarcely thought it was the right arrangement. The intention of the Imperial Government in its arrangement with the Government of Australia was, that the surrounding colonies should share in the benefits of regular mail communication, Nevv Zealand among the rest ; and if their intention were properly carried out, the mails should be carried from the nearest point in Australia to the nearest point in New Zealand, and thence over the colony generally. Going against this understanding, by a separate movement, was assuming rather an oversetting manner, and, although they might have been so treated in the past, he did not recommend such a style of retaliation. There was one thing which was undoubted, and that was that tlie transmission of the mails by Sydney was altof ether a mistake. The proper point of departure was lelbourne, and the proper route by the south of New Zealand. It was still questionable, however, if it would not be'a mistake to resist co-operation. Mr Slartin explained that, in recommending independent action, he did not mean to imply a spirit of retaliation, but simply that Otago should take the course due to its position.

Sir Rattray considered Sir Slartin's proposal to be gimply that," in consequence of the lessons of experience they had had, they should act for themselves. He had no objection to co-operation so far, but let them retain the reins of communication with Sfelbourne in their own hands. A coast service to the other provinces might be organised, but it was recommendable that a matter so important to Otago should not be left in the hands of tbe Auckland Government.

A lengthy conversation ensued, in the course of whicli the Chairman urged the propriety of unity of service as far as was attainable, while Mr Slartin and the other members favored the idea of sen-ice exclusively at the command of the Provincial Government. Tho discussion concluded by Sir. Martin proposing a resolution which was to the effect that, seeing it was contemplated to bring the postal service under the management of the General Government, the Committee was of opinionthatnoarrangementbiitoneon an independent tooting would be advantageous to Otago.' Sir. Young proposed that, as one securing more perfect unanimity, thoir resolution should be, that in the opinion of the Committee, two fast steamers are requisite to perform effectively the postal service with Melbourne ; that two such steamers should be subsidized bumediately by the Provincial Government; and that in the event of the General Government desiring to frame a scheme for accommodating the other Provinces, the Provincial Government should i afford every facility in their power for the transmission of mails to and from this terminus. Mr. Slartin gave the preference to this resolution over his own, and it was agreed to by the members tiem din. tiie tariff. The Chairman read a communication from the Lyttelton Chamber of Commerce, requesting the cooperation of the Dunedin Chamber ia representing to tlie Government the propriety of a modification ofthe tariff. The letter was referred for consideration to a Bpecial sub-committee. telegraphic commukicatiox. Sir. Rattray suggested that the Committee should take steps speedily and effectually to make known their opinions on the subject of telegraphic communication throughout the Province, but especially in the first place to Port Chalmers. Tenders for a line of telegraph to Port Chalmers had been solicited by Government, but their limitations'were so numerous and absurd that no contract had been entered upon, those who had given iv tenders and had come to Otago with the view of engaging in the work having been informed, with an amusing coolness of manner, that Government only wanted to collect information. There was no possibility of exaggerating the importance of telegraphic communication with Port Chalmers, and he would propose that the Govern-, ment be urged either to undertake tho work themselves, or allow it to bo contracted for on sufficiently advantageous terms. ' The Chairman and other members agreed with the remarks of Mr. Rattray, and Sir. Slartin quoted some figures showing that the work might be done for £70 a mile, with £40 or £50 i'or each set of instruments, salaries, and cost of buildings to be added. He did not believe the whole would cost more than £1;600 or £1,700.

Sir. Rattray having agreed to frame a resolution on the subject, the meeting separated."