The Daily News. MONDAY, JUNE 9, 1913. THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 7, 9 June 1913, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, JUNE 9, 1913. THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

The annual report of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce shows that the Chamber has been alive to its responsibilities during the past year, and has done useful work on behalf of the community. True, nothing of a very important character has happened to engage its attention, but several matters making for the improvement of conditions in, the district have been dealt with capably and whole-heartedly by the Chamber. For instance, it has taken its full share in having the -attractions of Mbunt Egmont advertised in the New Zealand Tourist publications, which hitherto have paid scant attention to th» Mountain, and, indeed, to the other attractions of Taranaki. It took the initiative in the formation of the Opu-nake-New Plymouth Railway League, and has done much to bring before the Government the necessity for either building the line itself or permitting the district-; to build it. There is still a

great deal to be done in this connection, and we hope that tlie. Chamber "will exert all th 6 influence it possesses upon the Government to introduce, during the coming session of Parliament, a District Railways Bill, under which work of this kind may be undertaken. The Government, as a matter of fact, lias practically committed itself to passing this Bill, but in the stress oi work of a particularly busy and trying session, as the coming one promises to be, we know how a matter like this, unimportant as it may be regarded by the Government, but vitally important as it is to the-district, can be side-tracked, unless pressure is persistently applied. Of course, there is the chance of the Government selecting this territory for experimenting with the light railway lines, in favor of the building of which the Government has declared, in' which case the necessity for the immediate pushing of such > a Bill as proposed does not exist, so far as this district is concerned. But, for ' ourselves, we are not building on the possibility, In any case, it is in the best interests pf the country, which is crying with a loud voice for better transit facilities, that a District Railways Bill should be placed on the Statute Book, enabling, as it would, districts like that between here and Opunake, where the roads fail to meet requirements, to form themselves into a railway district and, subject to proper safeguards, # raise I money, build, equip and operate light lines. But to return to the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber was responsible for - the visit of several of the members of the' British Trade Commission to Taranaki, a visit which can hardly fail to be of material service to the district, for the commissioners were able to obtain first-hand information of our harbor and our industries and potentialities. TheCChamberr r also rendered good service in bringing many matters bearing on the development of the district and the preservation of' the Mokau river scenery before tha Prime Minister and the Hon. Mr. Fraser, and in other ways lias thoroughly justified its existence. Mr. F. S. Johns has made' a zealous and able president, and associated with him have been men with the interests of the town and district close at heart, who have been unsparing in both time and labor. In ills address, Mr. Johns had a cheerful story to unfold of the progress of the district during, the past twelve months. Our dairy produce showed an increase in value of no less than £320,054, the total value of butter and cheese exports now being £1,379,058, representing nearly half of the total, dairy produce exports of the Dominion. Then we exported wool, frozen meat, skins, etc., to the total value of £355,251, giving us a total of £1,736,309, without taking into consideration the produce forwarded to Wanganui, Wellington and other places by rail, or what we have consumed locally. Taranaki must, on a population basis, be exporting more than any other part of New Zealand. On last year's basis, Taranaki exported per capitum approximately £33, whilst the average for the whole of New Zealand was approximately £23. It is certainly a very satisfactory and enviable position to be in. Still, we cannot afford to rest on our oars and complacently view the situation. We must go forward and make our fertile lands produce more and more. This can be done without great difficulty, as has been demonstrated by farmers in different parts of the district who have got out of the old rut, adopted new and scientific methods, and have not been afraid to spend a little money. If modern methods are generally employed, Taranaki will produce double and treble what she is now doing, and will carry a population correspondingly larger. That is not taking into consideration its oil resources, which are now being developed in a way they never have before, and which give every promise of being successful. If the results are equal to expectations, Taranaki will progress by leaps and bounds, as lias every other district in the world where a successful oil strike lias been made. Wo will not luivc to wait long now to know what is in store for us in this respect. A note was struck at the Chamber of Commerce maeting by Mr. C. W. (iovctt. which, we KJe sure, has given a good deal of satisfaction in the district and raised that gentleman still higher in the esteem of the people. That was his appeal to investors hereabouts not to call in their capital at a time like the present, when there is an extraordinary scarcity of money, Lut, on the maturity of loans, to meet borrowers reasonably. This is excellent advice, especially coining from one in Mr. Govett's position; and we trr.st it will be generally followed.

THE BRITANNIA.. « The gift of an airship to New Zealand by the Imperial Air Fleet Committee is a 1 graceful recognition of the loyalty of j the Dominion, and we ought certainly ( to be proud of the distinction of being 1 the first' of the oversea colonies to be 1 thus honored, Lord Desborough having ( intimated that the presentation is only the forerunner to similar gifts to other ] dependencies of the Empire. We do not ' quite know what practical use we can make of this latest addition to our , defensive appliances, and it promises in the meantime to be more picturesque than practical. Still, the cost of its up- . keep cannot amount to much, and it would be to look the gift horse in the mouth. Certainly the arrival will mark a new epoch in our history, and it points emphatically to a revolution -at no distant date in our methods of transit. The conquest of the air is proceeding apace, although, of course, the art of flying is still in its infancy, and the modern airship is probably just as much like what its successor will be in ten years' time as George Stevenson's first engine is to the mammoth locomotive of to-day. The hand of science cannot be held back, and while the toll of life where the airship is concerned has so far been a terrible one, enthusiasts will not allow this- to stop them in experimenting until they have devised a machine that will defy the lir as our modern steamers defy the oceai.'s Very few years ago we should have laughed at the notion of the possibility of travelling from place to place through the air, but this method of transition is now quite within the bounds of prac- , tical science. When Jules Verne wrote his fantastic story of a voyage of fifty j . thousand miles under the sea, it was i accepted as the fictional product of a vivid imagination, but whilst our sub- ! marines can hardly take voyages of this i , length they are at leasfc. capable of mastering the depths of the ocean for fairly , extended periods. With land and sea j and air at our command, there seem to . be but few worlds for new Alexanders to conquer, unless somebody essays a , voyage to the stars or cuts a tunnel r through the earth. We have captured r the North Pole and the South Pole, and , tied the Equator in a knot, and it is s really hard to see what our next exi plorers and scientists are to devote their j. attention to, unless it is the discovery j of the elixir of life or the philosopher's stone which will transmute dross to gold. (. Meantime our new acquisition will be quite as interesting to the general puTlj lie as our Dreadnought is, and we can certainly appreciate the gift, if only as e a tangible evidence of the appreciation j. of our kinsmen at Home of our loyalty t to .the Motherland.