CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 324, 10 June 1911, Page 3

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

AXXTAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the Taranaki fliiiKihi-r (if Commcrc ■ was hold last night,. Present: .Mc-si:, E. Griffiths (president), S. W. Sliaw. I. I!. Connett, J. I'aton, C. K. Baker, IT, Burgess, .las, Morey, junr., A. 11, Glasgow, C. IT. Weston, 1). K. MorrLon, A. Mcllardy, Newton Kiiiif. Ah. Goldwater, J. 11avden, Geo. Ramson, W. Penn, T. Avery, F. iS. Johns, Mcfjuay and W. A. Colli*. Apologies were received from Messrs C. T. Mills and .1. 0. McKellar,

A telegram wishing the Chambrr a prosperous year was reail from Mr. T. C. Schnackeiiber<;.

Mr. Hay (local manager for Messrs L. I). Nathan and Co.) was elected a member. B ALAX CE-SIIE ET. The balance-sheet was read and adopted. The amount brought forward from last year was £.12 Is lOd. and members' fees produced C(i7 4<: total. £OO 5s lOd. The principal items of expenditure were: Printing annual report and rules £ll lis, rent of chamber £2(>, secretary's salary £'2.'s. Tho expenditure totalled Cfifi Is, leaving a credit balance of £2O 4s lOd. Tho president moved the adoption of the report as follows: Meetings.—Since last annual meeting three general meeting.-, have been .held. The Council has met on occasions, and various special committee meetings have been held. North Island Railway League.—This league \va.s brought into being at a meeting held at Palnierston North in June,' 1010, and attended by most, of the ChainI bors of Commerce of the North Island It had tor its chief object "The securing of a fairer allocation a.s between the two islands of moneys for expenditure on future railway construction." Your Council heartily supported this movement, but when a deputation from the League urged the Government to develop j certain .specified railways your Council considered the League had belittled itself to the status of any ordinary chamber of commerce, and at once resigned membership. Mokan Bridge.—Oil several occasions during tho year your Council brought under the notice of the Government, by letter, the desirability of erecting a good traffic bridge across the Mokau river near the. Mokau township, and deputations awaited upon the Hon. Roderick McKenr.ie (Minister for Public Works) and the Hon. Thos. McKenzie! with a view to interesting them in this matter. Both Ministers werif ihduced to vL- r. tlie proposed site for a bridge, and as both were impressed with tjlie need for thw most important work, it is confidently' hoped that the next Estimates will provide a suitable sum 'tor the cost •of erection. '■ < _ Half-Molida y.—Deputations,- from the New Plymouth Insurance Agents, and New Plymouth Employer.-} Association waited upon your Council, ajid' invited the assistance of the Chamber*in securing a uniform half-holiday whjch should apply'throughout the province 'of Tarailaki. ■ At, present different towfis adont different days, including 'Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and. Saturday. Uni fortunately the question 'larosfi too late in the year to enable any'change being made,' but, by corresponding with the borough;councils and leading local bodies throughout the province, we learn that almost i»H places are in favor a. uniform ' provincial half-holiday' .?nd it. is hoped'that t-he incoming' Council will take this matter up during, September next, and thus enable all lo.cal bodies interested to co-opeVate in Snaking the desired change. Mr. T. C. Schnackenberg.—Owing to his removal to Auckland your Cpuncil lost the services of a Cornier president and'most energetic and iiseful iyemnev, Mr. Rrfdd was elected to fill'his fiiace.. Tongaportitu-Mamjafqii Roa\l.'—A deputation waited on ihe'ltpfi, ftl'McKenzie and urged the authorisa'tiofi of the .expenditure of a sum of about £4OO, which Va.s necessary to complete the road formation on this route. Our request was granted. The opening lip of this road is of great value to the Ohura settieis, and, provides them with n good road for their fat stock to the Waitara Freezing Works. ' °

Railway Time-Table.—A sub-commit-tee has at present in liffnd'the work of endeavoring to secure an alteration in the 'time-table, which 'will result in the arrival at Mew Plymouth of a "train at between 9.15 and 9.30 a.m. daily. Vari•oits interviews have'taken place, and meetings lmvy beeh held, anj,l although the work of the sub-committee is only ' half done they are very hopeful that their efforts will fesuVt siiec&sfully. " Tourist Traffic—When the Hon. Thos. Mackenzie was in New Plymouth in April last d.'lvantage was Jaken 'of Jl'9 presence W your Council trr take hiiri and his party in motor ears to visit tlie Aorth Egmont Mountain House and the site selected for the new concrete .-tccommodation house. Mr. Mackenzie expressed himself as being surprised at the beauty of the scenery, and pointed out what a very attractive resort for tourists it would make when the new proposed accommodation house is erected. A deputation waited on the Minister and pointed out that a very proportion of the land on both sides of ,the Mokau river had recently changed hands, and it was intended that the land should be immediately opened for settlement, which, of course, would result in the felling of bush and its destruction. The deputation urged upon the Minister the advisability of taking such action as would enable the conservation of bush on the river banks, and thus prevent, the destruction of the tinequalled wealth of scenery on this most beautiful river. Mr. Mackenzie assured the deputation that ,'rt had his most hearty sympathy, and that he would do everything possible to save the 'scenery. Mr. Mackenzie was then invited by the Chamber to visit the Mokau river before leaving the district. Mr. Mackenzie altered his plans to make this possible, and a few days later a party was arranged and conveyed in four motor cars to the Mokau ferrv, where it was joined by Messrs. .Jacob. Nicholls and •Tones, and conveyed up the river by oil lajinch. Hero again Mr. Mackenzie was delighted and surprised with the beautiful scenery, anil was so much impressed with it that there is every reason to believe that in the near future one of the most attractive tourist routes in the colony will include the North Egmont Mountain House, thence by motor car service lo Mokau; (here passengers will be taken up (lie river by oil launches to a point from which they can be driven across to Te Kuiti and the Waitoma caves. Tin- thanks of the Chamber are due to Messrs. Newton King and Richard Cock for Ihe generous use of their motor cars on these two occasions.

Deeds Office.—A deputation waited on the lion. R. MeKenzie and urged the speedy erection of a suitable building to provide better accomodation than is at present available in the Deeds Office. The Minister, in reply, pointed out that a substantial sum is on the estimates for this purpose, and a communication received from his office later advises that plans are in course of preparation for a new building and that no great delay will now be experienced in this connection.

Diimer to Mr. Henry—As Mr. J. D, Henry, the well-known petroleum ex-

pert, from London, was visiting Tara-I naki with a view to inspecting the dis- ( triet and reporting upon its suitability 11 as an oil-producing area to liis prici-j pals in London, with a view In their investing capital in the interprise ii; this district, your Council considered that the importance of the probable result of Mr Henry's visit, would in the future have such an important hearing upon the future commercial interests oi the town, that it was deemed advisable to extend some small hospitality to our visitor. This took the form of :t dinner which was held at the Criterion Hotel. Many prominent members of. the Chamber of Commerce, including the Hon. 0. Samuel and Mr 11. Okey M.P., were present as hosts and several leading citizens were invited as guests in addition to Mr. Henry. Thir-ty-five in all sat down and a most enjoyable and instructive evening resulted.

It will be necessary to elect a President. vice-President and Council for the ensuing year.

The members would have noticed that some important work had been accomplished. which must in future. prove beneficial to the town .and district. A justification of the Chamber's existence would be found in the acquiring of a promise from the Hon. Tlios. Mackenzie to conserve the Mokau river scenery, and the Minister's favoralile notice of the North Egmont Mountain House. It was evidently the Minister's desire to link up the Mount Egmont scenery with the scheme of travel up the Mokau and through the heart of the Island to To Kuiti and so on. Referring to the banquet to Mr. Henry, the pcrsident urged the advisablencsS of holding an annual dinner. He thought New Plymouth was] how on the brink of a future bristling with possibilities. No town iu New Zealand could expect to have the same prospects as New Plymouth had to-day. As to the industries on which the development depended, lie said that the past season had shown but little advancement in the dairying industry, butter, exports ! showing an increase of 12 per cent, and cheese a decrease of 8 per cent., owing, of coirse, to the. long spell of drought. Taranaki was now very closely settled for dairying, and future increase of the dairying output must depend o.i better farming and the breeding of ..otter stock. He referred to the importation of Jersey stock from Jersey Island, and Mr. King's' importation of Holsteins. He regretted that the farmers had not taken up cowtesting more, for it was a sure and easy way of making more money. No one knew what oil was going to bring forth, and the ironsand industry wa.s spoken of as being certain to be established. The new mountain house would bring hundreds of visitors. The harbor development. was going to do much for New Plymouth, more than many people seemed to grasp. He pointed to Timarti as an example in this respect, that port having very quickly doubbd its population after it* hnrbor had been made suitable for direct steamer trade, lie referred, too. to the development of the Mokau district «ind its probable beneficial effect on this town and district. H« hoped some solution of the half-holi-day question would, be arrived at during the coming year, In conclusion, he thanked the. members for their co-opera-tion. the .vice-president (Mr. S. W. Shaw) and the secretary (Mr. H. Bedford) for willing serviee.s rendered. Mr. J. P., Connett seconded, and the report was adopted without discussion.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The election of officers resulted as follows:—Preiident, Mr. S. W. Shaw; vice-president. Mr, P. S. Johns; council, Messrs Newton King, R. Griffiths, C. 11. Burgess. J. B. Connett, W. J. Penn. W.. N. Ewing. Ab. Goldwater, Geo. Ramson,' and W. Amburv; auditor, Mr. Hugh Baily (re-elected). COXTIXTOUS TELEPHONY.

Mr. (Irifliths referred to the movement for the establishment of a continuous telephone service in New Plymouth, and advocated it in the interests of people residing at Mokau and other district®, who were unable at present to rin« up New Plymouth ut night. even in eases of dire necessity. lie paid a tribute to the unselfish' work done by Mr. Martin in this connection, ssnd* urged members to sign the reiiuisitiim in its support, A vote of thanks was passed to the. retiring president and-' codncil; and f the meeting cloned.