Chamber of Commerce.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 171, 23 July 1904, Page 2

Chamber of Commerce.

ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the Taranakl Chamber of Commerce was hold last night. There were present Messrs W. Hew ley (president), J. U. C'oll- - Morrison, Mon loath, Ewing, W. Aiubury. Newton King, C, Samuel, U. ,). Shaw, Arnold, Chong, P. C. Morton, ,J.l) a yley, J. Paton, M. Eraser, C 11. Morgan, W. 1). Webster, 0. W. GoveU, L. W. Alexander, H. Bedford, 11. K. MacDiarmid, Ab. Goldwuter, W. L. Newman, W. Kerr, and E. Griffiths (secretary). Apologies) wero received (or the absence of Messrs U. Cock, J. ['Bill, W. L. Fitzheilierl, and Johns. j NEW MEMBERS. 1 Messrs Long and A. 1). Gray were [ elected members. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. ! The president, Air liewley, presented his annual address as follows : It has become aluust a stereotyped phrase in the presidential address to offer congratulations on the. prosperity of the last year, and I am pleased to lie able to continue the practice <m the present occasion, though as far as our dairy is concerned the latter part of the season has given warnings in regard to lower prices in the future, that should receive the careful attention of those directly concerned. It is (piite possible, however, that the same conditions may not occur again, of largo and increasing supplies from all quarters together with decreased purchasing power in the English manufacturing districts, chiefly on account of the phenomenal rise in the price of cotton, which had the effect of throwing many out of employment. What has liivn a cause of misfortune 'to the 'dairying induwlry, however, has assisted to bring to the pastoral interests, os the scarcity of cotton : combined with the enormous decrease in Australian merino wool, has caus!cd a demand for coarser wools, and prices have reached a level not attained for many years past. As wool is by far the largest item in our exports the riwa must gu far to maintain our coI lonial pron,,eiity, and we in Taranaki : must not think the bottom has fallen I out of everything because our staple product has suffered a decline. More- ' over, with respect to our particular ! industry of (tnirying, it will bo seen from the returns that, stimulated no doubt by the high prices of recent years and ussisk'd by what has been generally acknowledged to be perhaps the most favourable season for agricultural pursuits that has been klnown in the district, the production of butter for tho period ending May 31st has iiicrtasxNl from 131,185 boxes to 1(>2,378 boxes, or aibout 23-J per ant, while tho value has only decreased about 9 per cent., the total value pawing through tho Moturoa works being £70,000 in excess of the previous year, and the increase, at Patea has been even greater proportionately. Tho cheese market has been own 4)iore unsatisfactory, tho price having fallen from the extreme of 70s to about 42n |x>r cwt, but as comparatively few Taranaki factories go in for cheese making, this district has not been so much affected as other parts of tho colony.

Tho trade of the district as evidenced by (he Harbour Board returns continues to show the same rapid expansion as in recent years, the exports and imports exceeding those of the l.rovious year by some 7,235 tons, or am inrrouro of rather over 14 per cent, Thy remit hus been that the traffic is carried on uivder such crammed condition: at Ihe port as to necessitate the improvements to the wharf which are now in hand, and if the traffic con tinuos to expand at the same rate, further radical improvements will be absolutely esu.nlial to deal with it. Since, our last meeting a bill was introduced into the House with the object of obtaining borrowing powers subject of course to the taking of a poll of the ratepayers, for the extension of the harbour on the lines of Mr Marchunt's scheme, but owing to the action of a section of the ratepayers the bill was not proceeded with and I am confident that the time will whoi'tly come when the ratepayers ns a body will regret the action take* Owing, however, to the stringency of the money market it is very doubtful if the proposed loan would have been possible at a reasonable rate. While touching on this question of harbour extension- 1 am strongly of opinion that the Chamber should'invostigato the question of the construction of the outer harbour, as if good shelter can be obtained, »s staled by the advocates of this scheme, for u. sum practically equal to that proposed to lx> expended under Mr Mai-chant's scheme, then] believe many opponents ot extension of the. present breakwater would bo found supporting tho proposal. The investigation, whatever its results, would do much good, as if it showed the proposal to be beyond our means, the supporters ■ of extension would be united in their I support of the present scheme, but if on the other hand the inquiry proved the outer harbour to be within our reach wo should h a vo a harbour scheme which would command general support and which, when completed, would provide accommodation hardly siuond to any in the colony and whicii would be of incalculable valuo to tho district. As u practical way of dealing with the matter 1 would suggest ! that tho Chamber should take in hand the formation of a fund to employ the Ixist man obtainable to report fully on tho matter and to Mich an uppeal I feel sure there would be a satisfactory resiwnse. It i s a matter I consider in which we should help ourselves and not appeal to tho Board to act for us, us, if the expert's opinion was a favourable one, wo should be in a position to ask the Board with confidence to go further in tho matter, and if unfavourable wo should have dealt with the matter promptly and removed an obstacle, to united effort on tho present lint*. I have dealt with this matter at some length a s there is no other question of such importance to the district, and the ratepayers Hhould realise that it would probably take Bomo five, years from its initiative before any scheme could bo completed, and if the trade goes on increasing at the present rate, any thinkpng man will see the congestion that must shortly arise, and tho disadvantages that will accruo' to the trade of the province. In connection with the trade of tho province tho Chamber has recently devoted a good deal of attention to the opening up of communication with the > newly-settled Ohura district, and it has hem pointed out that a road connection of only about twelve miles from a navigable point t,n the Mokau River would place New Plymouth within 80 miles of the Ohura. With tho above object in view, a deputation from the. Chamber waited on the Chief Commissioner of Crown Lands, and received the gratifying assurance that the matter of flying surveys for t.l\o proposed road wns-nlreadv in hand and would be pushed on vigorously as' soon as the weather was favourable. The value of.the Mokau as a waterway will be realised when it is slated that vessels dawing 6'ft can bo taken up at any time to the point of tho proposed road connection It is not anticipated that the road will present any serious dlfllculty. j During tho Inst session the State Fire Insurance scheme became law and the matter has now so far pro-, grossed that we are told the Department will commence operations in September, and its workings will be watched with groat interest, ns there are many difficulties to be met. Tho new railway time-table, which was inid'ated at (he end of last year, has given the greatest satisfaction, and judging fioiii appearances the financial result should be entirely satisfactory t.i tho Department. Tho question of the metric system continues to make progress, and from recent advices there is every probability of tho ret being passed to bring it, into force which has so long been before the House of Parliament. Tho development of our local oil industry h \s been again commenced, but as tho lacings have boon only recently stai fjnd'a sufficient depth has not yot beer- Toadied to afford any re- j iiablo indication of tho prospects o! ' success, but all will wish well to the\ efforts of M» Fair and those associat,

Ed with him to develop the oil deposits of tho district. In accordance, with a wish oxprossed in the past that the presidential address should touch on the leading features of our trade, I will now briefly refer to some of the principal items with the object of arresting the attention of those who have not the time to wade through the columns of statistics. The Aral and perhaps the most important matter is the largely licensed trade ol the port, 58,445 tons havlog being handled as against 51 2-0 ast year, which was again a very large increase on the previous year Ihe main items of our exports which have contributed to this increase are 1000 tons of butter and cheese 400 tons o,f general merchandise, aiid lons of hides and tallow. Wool shows a small increase and Cannot be expected to show any material improvement until shed accommodation is provided at or near the wharf Willi the enormous extent of grazing country now being opened up in our hackblocks the wool trade alone should provide a very large amount of revenue. Other items such as tinilwr, fungus, flax, and grass seed were stationary, while Itacon and potatoes the demand in Australia having ceased, fell off. Four hundred and eightytwo vessels visited our port as against 454 the year before, and the harbour ' revenue increased £llsl, the largest increase yet recorded. Thy value of wool exported from Wnitara is about the same, but the lirsl six months of ! he present year show a large in-

crease, The value of frozen meat exhibits a falling off. but this is no doubt accounted for by the high prices that ruled in our local markets causing 1332 head of cattle to be shipped from New Plymouth us ugninst 58 in the previous year. Hor-

<>es also increased from 51 to 359. 1 have no doubt that when the statistics of the present year are before us ix similar record of progress will be shown.

The total Crown land disposed of bus been rather less than in the preceding' period. The land taken up on lease with right of purchase has been practically the same, via,' 14,'287 acres against 14,98(1 acres, but the area occupied under lense-in-per-petuity was only 7349 u cres as compared with 16,153 acres, which is in accord with the movement in favour of the right of purchase, the demand for which has been a marked feature amongst Crown and other leaseholders during the past year. It is with great regret that' I h a ve to chronicle the recent fire by which tho Moturoa. works were destroyed, itnd had it happened during the busy season the effects would have been disastrous to the dairy farmers of the province. The Chamber will, lam sure, join with us In congratulating tho shareholders on their decision to rebuild in brick, mid I trust the works may he in readiness for the coming season, as their value to the dairy Industry is only fully realised now that they are not at present available.

I have-lo congratulate the Chamber jn a largely increased membership, making It much more representative than it has hitherto been, increased interest has 'been taken in the meetings of the Chamber, which have been well attended, and matters brought before it have elicited thorough and jseful discussion.

For tho figures contained In the returns I have to express my thanks i.o the nx-retaries of the New I'lymnuth and Patea Harbour I'-oards and the local Land and Customs Departments.

A lengthy discussion followed, and a vote of thanks was accorded! the president for his ably compiled statement.

In reference to Ihe " outer hnr>our " scheme, the president, at the suggestion of the chamber, added the remark " I have made the foregoing remarks as being solely my own opinion, end not representing the chamber in any way." BALANCE-SHEET.

The balance-sheet to May 31wt, 1904 was adopted as follows : Receipts : Credit balance. £ll 7s 8d ; subscriptions, £4. r ) 3s ; total, £SO 10s Bd. Expenditure : Printing and advertising, £7 13s9d; stationery and stamps, £ii 8s fid ; lliank charge 10s ; ;«retnry, £25 ; bulance, £l9 18s Sd. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. Mr Newton King proposed and Mr Connett seconded, that Mr M. Frasei" be president for the year,the proposers) speaking highly of Mr Eraser's qualifications for the offices The motion was carried by acclamation, and Mr Eraser briefly returned tlianks,

On the motion of Messrs J. C. George and Rowley, Mr W. Ambury was elected vice-president. The following committee was ap-nti-inted : Messrs Samuel, Ewing, CI. H. Morgan, C. W. Govett, J. C. (ieorge, Paul, Goldwater, and Connett. Messrs Cook, Kerr, and Monteath also went to tho ballot. Tho chamber endorsed the action of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce to Induce the Government to remove certain rocks that interfere with the navigation of coastal steamers in Manukau Harbour ; and a motion was also passed urging on the Government the necessity for making road-making of primary importance in developing tho country, to send 8 deputation to Wellington on the matter, and to coramunicato with various public bodies in Taranaki on the samo subject. The executive mot subsequently, and the president and Mr Samuel, King, and Connett were appointed to wait on the Premier In regard to the roading policy.