The Daily News SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 1903. THE DAILY STEAMER SERVICE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 190, 13 June 1903, Page 2

The Daily News SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 1903. THE DAILY STEAMER SERVICE.

When referring to the meeting of tfce Chamber of Oommercaon the morning of the meeting, wa suggested the Chamber should move In the matter of the daily steamer service to Onehunga, and in connec ion thTowith we said: "The daily steitner service is of the u'most importance, acd should ba insisted upoD, besides bringing moe [revenue to the harbour, if cnarges are slightly reduced, it would giva New Plymouth, the command of tha whole trade r.s far south as Wnnganui. Passenger and freight charges shou'd, however, be brought down to the very lowest possiVe point." Unfortunately, probably owing to want of lime, bo action was taken by tho Chamber regarding this nutttr. On savero.l Decisions tha Auckland Chamber has passed resolutions dealing with this rmtter, and urging that the steamers should run daily throughout tho year. The New Plymouth however, does not appear to re tlise the importance of dealing seriously with this matter. Until this is done, and die Chamber and the people of New P.ymouth se iou.-ly rou?e themselves to the necessi y of having a s-.y in th running of sbeameis aud freights, they muss be consent to remiin, as Mr Burgess very tersely put it, the " back door" of Wellington, and ho might have added tbe "side d.or" of Auckland, We look upon this question of shipping as of mrficien*; importance to jus'ify a special meeting of tha Chamber, or even a public maeting. With thelarge steamers of 1000 to 1200 tons running to the B.eakwater, we should be able to csrry passengers at muah lower rates than now obtained, and cirgo from Wellington or Au kland at 7s 6d to 8s a ton. If this was done the which now run half fuli wouli double their passeogeis ard cargo without a proportionate increase in running expensis. This would enable us to distribu'e along the railway and throughout the province at pi ices that would defy competition. In some lices goods are b ing delivered by way of Patea, as far north as Icg'ewood, and as much as 7s 6d a ton in saved on some goods sent to Stratford through Waitara, as against New Plymouth, and this is dono by boits of 75 to 80 toes, whose working expenses musi be much greater per ton than in the case of a etehmer of 1000 tors. Yet we see the Mam, the Kapiti, tha Aotea, and the Aorere rum'ng to Patea and Waitara, delivering goods thfre from Wellington at 10s per ton. Not satisfied wi'h this tho Patei peop'e, who are larg ly interested in these boa f p, a'e now moving to gtt a *hare of the Auokland trade. At the last meeting of the Patea Chamber of Commerce, the matter was discufs d, and New Plymouth merchints will perhaps ba inti-res'ed in the following extracts from a ht'er by the Secretary of tha Patea Chamber of Commerce to the Auokland Ueralcl, bearing on the potentialities of trade for Aucklind merchants between Stratford and Waitotara: - " For eom i years past this Chamber has had the matter under consideration from various standpoints, and considering the easy distance froji port to poif, the country to ba draited and supplied, the absence ■of Ocok Strait from the journey, and the ports all along the route to be supplied, we have considered that wi'h our output of grain, potato??, hay, bone■iust, cattle, sheep (and, we have reason to hope, shortly lime and concrete), aud such other commodities ds the ordinary vicissitudes of trade constantly p-esent, a fir return freight is obtainable. A large expnt hade is not required from here to make the steamers pay, as the time occupied in discharging wou'd not iuvolve any substantial cxpatiS3 on the owners; until such tima as producers' acquire the habit of shipping to Auckland via Patea the boats could coma twl'' go on tha eame tide (-w the Wellington 1 steamers frequently do), landing a fairly

large cugo of fugar, flour, and genfra) merchandise, and proceed on VVanginui cr the West Coaet, as the case may be. For ordinary goods there doe? not appinr to be any eound reason why they should not be htd d on Pat<a Wbatf from Onehuoga at preoiFely Ihe fame rate as they are froai Wellington -10 a end 12; 61. . Sou'h if Pi'ea, as far as Wai'o'ara township, wharfage charg s are in favour of Patea to an appreciable im u it as against Wanganui, enabling your m rchants t3 compe'e on at least pqnal (errns with Wellington for thi trideas farsuithaa Wai'o'ara, Regarding the cipacity (f the P*tea river for coastal tiade, I would ask your exporte/s not to rely on a reporS made s ima 12 or 15 months ago by the a».pt&in of ihe Kmieri on his return from inspsctiog tha as it was not in ace rd with the views pub'icly expressed ia Patea by biro. I need only point out in thu connection that since his report t'.ie Kapiti and Aotaa have become wgul'.r traders between hero, r.nd (he Wfst Ocas'; cf the So ith Island. A boat not exceeding 100 ft in length, and drawing about Bffc «ffij can s.fely trade here. Concretely puH, tha Patta river opens to the Auckland merchants on equal teims the trade of 56 mihs of th.9 richest co'S'line and country in New Zealand." The-e is nothing but the apathy < f cur business psople to prevent the whole of the trade, as far sou h es Wanganu', "ting done through New Plymouth, as no o her port can compete as regards the size cf s'cam r?, and thit should mean cheap freight".