TRADE COMMISSIONERS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 253, 15 March 1913, Page 5

TRADE COMMISSIONERS.

SITTING IN AUCKLAND. By Telegraph.—Per Press Association. Auckland, Friday. Giving evidence before the Imperial Trade Commission, Mr. Hamor, engineer to the Harbor Board, discussed port requirements and the requirements of modern marine development. He mentioned that a new steamer building by the Hamburg-America u Line was over 000 feet in length. Sir William White, late president of the Institute of Civil Engineers had set down 40 feet as the maximum depth of water required for berthing. They could not hope to get 'that depth here for some little time; the Port of London did not have it. Mr. T. W. Leys, editor of the Star, dealing with cable charges, quoted recent reductions, and said it was quite certain that more than ten per cent, of the messages came from the general public. The deferred rate had been responsible, no doubt, for increased business, but the ordinary 3s rate was not low enough to make the cable popular with the general public. He believed that if the 18s limit were removed from the week-end cable this form of cable must be more extensively used. In his opinion an all tariff of a shilling a word would be much more satisfactory and probably attract a larger amount of non-coded messages from the general public. According to fhe financial statement the Pacific Cable Board thought a uniform shilling rate would pay. If a cheap cable rate could be assured across the Atlantic by a. Stateowned cable a shilling a word for ordinary and sixpence for press messages did not 1 appear at all unfair.