OUR OCEAN-GOING PORT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 25, 19 June 1914, Page 6

OUR OCEAN-GOING PORT.

WHAT IT MEAN'S TO TTIK WAIMATE PLAINS.

■Speaking it Manaia on Tuesday, Mr 0. A. Wilkinson, M.P., for Egmout. dealt with the question of the transportation of goods. He said that there was every reason to believe that New Plymouth was going lo be the ocean-going port of the province. Although he knew that at present Manaia sent most of its produce through Patoa. ho believed that it would lie found in time that | it would bo economical for the tet tiers \ to ship their .proliiee at the port of Xo\v Plymouth. From Wellington to Manaia 't.io co:-,t of sending fertilisers was 23s Id per ton, and tins included rail to Hnwera and cartage from TTawcra to Manaia. "When the railway was completed, the fertilisers would he delivered from Wellington to Manaia for 18s od per ton—a considerable saving to the fanner. Supposing for sake of argument that New Piymonth was going to bo the nort of -unloading. Manaia would then be 3S miles from the i main port by rail, and the material I mentioned 'would then only u'a-t Ui I lOd per ton in place of 18a .Id, ;praetic- | ally a saving of 10s a ton. Product 1 such «is wheat, flour, oats, pollard and potatoes could be railed from >"ew Plymouth to Manaia for i)s lOd, doing away with the 7s (kl cartage from llawera. With reference to the railing of butter and cheese to Wellington the present charges were: Cartage 7s 6d, mil Patea 7s Gd, wharf aire "2s, sea freight 10s. wharfage Wellington 3s fid; a total of 30s Od per ton. Whereas if the butter and cheese were shipped at Now Plymouth it would cost: Cartage 2* Oil., railage Us. wharf as? 2s; a total ot 15s Od—practically half ot the present cost That was what the railway would do incidentally -'l''- SOTI s ,a "' ~ warm tribute to Mr. Wells and to Ma- Hughes for their services rendered to the \ T ew Plymouth Harbor Board.