SHIPPING FREIGHTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 192, 12 February 1912, Page 3

SHIPPING FREIGHTS.

AND HOW TO REDUCE THEM. DEVELOPING MOTUROA PORT. Speaking at the Eltham Retainers' Association on the subject of freights, Mr. C, A. Wilkinson (says the Argus) said that a little while ago the freights to Patea and New Plymouth had been increased from 10s to 12s 6d per ton, and on January 1 the shipping companies trading to Patea brought down a new schedule increasing the freights considerably, with the result that heavy goods would ,have to bear increased prices. He' quoted, evidence given at, Wellington, the other day by the secretary of the Patea Shipping Company, who said that owing j to the recent strike the company had! lost £4OO, but the secretary forgot toi tell the Court that the company was 1 going to recoup the loss by means of a .considerable increase', in the , ferights. Then there was the matter of. discrimina- [ tion in charges. The freight on goods from Patea to Hawera was 17s 6d per ton, instead of 10s, as formerly, on goods to Eltham it was reduced to 15s, and on. goods to Stratford to 12s «d. The further the goods went the less was charged, until Patea came into competition with New Plymouth. That.kind of discrimination ought to be made illegal. Benzine had gone, up 3d and ke,rosene by 2d a case, and carbide from 25s to 35s a ton. This was a big tax on many people. Kerosene shipped to New Plymouth cost 6y 2 d a case, as against Od shipped to Patea. The whole thing was framed so as to get the utmost of freight that could be got without going into : competition with another port. The Union Company spoke of increasing the freight, but only by Is or Is <6d per ton. He did not think that the shipping companies could reasonably say that the extra charges for labor, etc., would run into 50 per cent., as was being charged by the Patea companies. A dairy company had financed one of the. shipping companies to buy a new boat, and it was rather funny to do so and then have the freights increased in such a way. Such increases, he held, were quite unwarranted, and a protest should be made. He mentioned that, taking sea and rail, it cost 5s B%d to bring a 2cwt. drum of carbide from Wellington to Eltham, Is 7y 2 d to bring a case of kerosene and 2s 4y 4 d bo bring a case of benzine. Direct shipping to New Plymouth would be a cure for that sort of thing. They should try to develop the port of New Plymouth, which would result in great savings.