Untitled

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 324, 10 June 1911, Page 4

THE CGASTAL SHIPPING. There is another matter, and a very important one, that should be considered without delay by the business community of this (lis- , trict. It must be clear that if we < hope for the important development of 1 the port, we must look to the concentration of the waterborne coastal trade. At ] present all this trade south of Cape Eg- ' mont either goes to Wellington or Wa- , lignnui, and all north of New P'ymouth goes to Onchunga. But with the improvement of the harbor New Plymouth will be —and that in the near futuretile only port on the West Coast of the North Island capable of admitting and safely berthing in all weathers ocean boats, the largest trading to New Zealand, if required. Therefore New Plymouth should be the concentrating port for all ocean-borne trade (inward or outward) affecting any district served by ports from Wanganui in the south to the North Cape. With regard to the northern part, at first sight it might bo thought that New Plymouth could not compete with Auckland or Wellington, but we feel sure that it can be proved that goods could be oarried cheaper direct by water from, say, Hokianga to (he ocean boat at New Plymouth, or vice versa, than from Hokianga to Onchunga and railed to Auckland, or vice versa. Again, there is the trade of the West Coast of the South Island, nearly all of which at present goes through Wellington. As was pointed out by the editor of the New Zealand Shinping and Commerce when he was in Taranaki some months ago, New Plymouth would be in an incomparably better position to deal with the. transhipment trade of the West Coast than any other port, because it is the nearest and the cheapest, and because tlic boats come here already with coal and could take back cargo at a very cheap rate. Cheapness of harbor charges is a material advantage, and must tell grsatly in our favor not only in respect to the West Coast trade, but with the trade as far south as Foxton. It seems to us that our business in the interests of the district, the town, and the port above all, is to secure this trade while we can. The way to do it is to start a local coastal steamship company at once. Tne capital required need not be very great. Two small boats costing, Bay, £3OOO to C4OOO each would be required for trading to Opunake, Patea, Wanganui, Fox-1 ton, Waitara, Tongaporutu and Mokau, j and. say, £BOOO to £IO,OOO for a boat trading to ICawhia, Raglan, Kaip&fa and Hokianga and the West Coast of the , f South Island. It may not be necessary j I to purchase the boats; they might be I leased or worked on ft partnership basis, j which is not unusual with small floats, j Opunake could be worked from New Plymouth in a manner not possible from the other ports. The bay can be relied upon, according to particular weather, for from 12 to 48 hours. New Plymouth could be rung up when conditions were favorable, and a full load of general goods, manures, coal, etc., could be ship-) pod at New Plymouth, taken down, discharged and outward stuff loaded before a change of weather. By this means the whole district from Warea to Manaia could be served through Opunake cheaper than any other way. The company should be started and the stock chiefly held by all the merchants and traders of New Plymouth, Inglcwood, • Stratford, Eltham, Hawcra, and perhaps i Kaponga and Manaia, and, if possible, by j ; those of the various ports to be served.' 1 ■ If so started and held it does not seem i possible that it could be other than a : i complete success so far as the objects - desired are concerned, and it should be s financially made profitable, for the lead- - ing merchants and traders, being the f chief holders of shares and also the chief 3 users, the company could defy opposition. - Leaving out the question of petroleum r and ironsand and the trade that must ;, follow the opening of the hinterland of 1 the province, including the Mokau dis- ,- trict and the development, of its great '• coal measures, wo feel sure that if the i. project of a local steamship company is s carried out it will lead to raising New Plyt mouth and port to a position of importe ance that could scarcely by other means r be attained. We consider that the prcf sent time, just at once, is the time to h start, it, so that it may be well on the o way before the first of a regular service t of ocean boats ever leaves for hero. We n earnestly commend the proposal to the commercial community and hope that s they will make an early move in tile s matter.