The Daily News. MONDAY, MAY 4, 1903. DIRECT TRADE WITH SYDNEY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 107, 4 May 1903, Page 2

The Daily News. MONDAY, MAY 4, 1903. DIRECT TRADE WITH SYDNEY.

The letter whic'a appears in another column will doubtlesi be read will interest and no little dis>ppointmen'. Although every effort is made to ctuse it to appear that the Ui ion CompaDy is anxious to m39t the wis>r.e3 cf the peopl-i of Taranaki in the matter of a direct service to Sydney, yet, reading between the Hues, it is clear that th/re is no inttn ion of doing so. Inde'd, the whole letttr is a laboured attempt to show the unreason ablenrss of the request We do not propose todiscus-i the matter fully just now, but wou'd like to say that we never took up the position that there w;s sufficient tr-id" to justify the establishment of a dirtct line of steaa ere. Our position is this : Teat Tar-naki contains over 2,000,000 acres of the most fertile laud in the coli ny, and is inhabited by 38,000 pioplp, whose industry and enteipiise is not exceeded anywhere, and that, giveu facilities, an enormous trade can ne dtv.loptd ; that New Plymou'h, the cbi f put of Taramki, is the nearest port in New Zea'and to Australia, and is the proper pi ice tor a dirtct service, If the (Jnion Company wait till there is t> ade the service will never start, he it is the facilities that make trade. This is shoffn in the p3St histoiy of th* port, as the re: urns shows that in 189 d co less than 372 steam" rs traded i e e duriDg the year, although the toto! imports and < xporfcs were only 24,905 tons. Iq 1902 the imports and exports had to 51,220 tons, having lonsidi rably more than dcublod, whih the number of steamers was onlv 454 or 86 more thau in 1894. We do not understand what the Union Oompanj mean by saying they do not want t< enter into a controversy with tha news papers, unless they mean that the) would like the matter dropped. If so we may say we have no intention ol dropping this question. In the inter, si • of the people of Taranaki and of th« Union Oompiny, it would be wrong tc do so. We intend to refer to the mittei from time-to time, and hope to be ablt 'yet to induce the Oompiny tostirt the service, and feel sure they would soor find there is money in it.