The Daily News. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1912. A STRATFORD PROPOSAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 158, 21 November 1912, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1912. A STRATFORD PROPOSAL.

The Stratford Chamber of Commerce, at a meeting on Tuesday evening, set up a committee to enquire into a proposal submitted by one of its members to bring about a better shipping service from Auckland or Wellington through Waitara, thereby (the member aforesaid claimed) saving consignees at the Stratford end considerably as compared with shipping through New Plymouth. It was also decided to seek the co-operation of merchants and others in other centres interested. We believe the Chamber will on investigation find the picture not quite so alluring as painted. There is certainly a saving to be effected if railage alone is considered. Prom Moturoa the distance to Stratford is 23 miles, and from Waitara 26 miles. The cost of railage is therefore less, but only on certain linej is it at all appreciable. For example, on class E. goods, such as flour, grain, oats, etc., the difference in the railage is only lOd per ton, but if it were 10s consignees at Stratford or any other place could not, at least under present circumstances, take advantage of the service, as boats with cargoes of produce do not —and probably could not, owing to insufficiency of water on the bar, and also the weather conditions—enter the Waitara river, but unload at the Breakwater. On class A (small sundry goods) there is a difference in railage in favor of Waitara to the extent of 4s Bd, as stated by the Stratford gentleman, but other factors have to be taken into consideration when instituting a comparison of the cost of the relative routes. First of all there is the sea freight. From Wellington to New Plymouth the cost is 13s <Jd per ton; to Waitara it is 15s. Then there is the question of insurance, which in the case of New Plymouth is lower by one-half than it is for Waitara. As a matter of fact, the insurance folk do not like taking risks on cargo bound for river bar ports, and many traders refrain from taking out a cover at all. Besides this,

there are the matters of convenience and regularity of shipment to be considered. At present boats make the journey between Wellington and Waitara fortnightly, and whenever payable cargoes are offering. It might be urged that if Stratford and other places combined they might be able to offer such cargoes as would justify the owners of the boats arranging for a regular and more fvequent service. But they could not offer back cargo, and to make the service profitable back cargo would be required. There would also be the risk of failing in rough weather to eross the bar, a risk which has recently been fully realised by people using the river port of Patea. Taking everything into consideration, therefore, we have no hesitation in saying that as a business proposition the Waitara scheme would prove unprofitable to traders of Stratford and olsewhere. The Waitara harbor has in its own way done good sen ice in the past, and is still doing so; for the. enterprising spirit manifested by the Waitara folk in connection with the port we canhot withhold admiration; but where regularity and reliability are required, as they are in the conduct of any com- ; mercial business, river ports 011 this storm ridden coast of New Zealand must give way to harbors that are free and safe in all weathers to boats big or little. Every year the bar harbors are becoming more difficult and dangerous, and more expensive to maintain, and it is only a question of time when,'in our opinion, the difficulty and expense of keeping them open to shipping will be too great for the • places concerned to bear. 4 . .