CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 308, 7 June 1915, Page 6

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

NNUAL MEETING,

'l'llE I'uESIDENT'S ADDRESS.

The Miniiiiil meeting of the Taranaki•' "liiim'v'' ill' Commerce was held oil I'ii!,iv evening, when there were present: Messrs .1. I,'aton (president), C. 11. Burgees. W. -I. i'enu, R. 0. Hughes, ,|. Sole, A. Mel lardy, A. 11. Steeds, G. Eraser, ,s Tivil, A. Goldwater, T. Avery, 1). "v. 'ibinistiii, S. \V. Shaw, C. N. Firth, and K. S. ,Mins. Apologies for absence were

received Irani Messrs .1. E. Wilson, X King, .1. 15. C'onnett, and E. I.'. Webster. The president then read the 2(ith an nii.il report and balance sheet as l'ol-

REPORT AND BALANCE-SHEET.

11, a I birds me very great pleasure to present to you the report of your council , ii" the work done during the past

Wa'.'.-Owing to the unfortunate out-' l.rciik of war in Europe, trade conditions have been somewhat disorganised, alI hough in this fortunate Dominion so far reiiened frum the scene of strife we have scarcely been able to realise that the Vrit.ish Empire is fighting for its very existence, and it behoves every citizen to do his utmost to assist in some practical way. j l'"niauce.+-Thc balance at credit at jKt .Murcli last amounted to lis Id, with outstanding assets amounting to £'B Ss, and liabilities £4 (Is lid, leaving a net balance of £4 12s 2d, which 1 regret to sav. is far from satisfactory, as the Chamber is frequently called upon to liml funds to finance various matters that are of vital importance to the welfare of the town and district.

Membership.—The membership is practically the same, as last year.

Meetings.—The usual quarterly meetings and fifteen council meetings have l.'en held; the attendance at the latter h .ve been very good, but I regret to any 111 it 1 cannot" congratulate members on tli" way they attend the quarterly meetings. iut. Trade Commissioner. —A very large amount of correspondence has been received from this gentleman, asking for a more general support of British manufactures. It must be very apparent that colonial encouragement of foreign-mad* goods has aided largely in bolstering up the nations now at war with us, ami will make the task all the more formid-

islil.'. Tlie. question could be easily ,-ettled if the consumers would alwayf. make an effort to obtain British-made goods. Customs Department.—Owing to representations made to the Minister, ths Comptroller of Customs visited New Plymouth in December last, and conferred with our council. The result of his visit, I am glad to say, is that this port is again credited with all the exports Railways.—rYour Council, in conjunction with the Employers' Association, have made various su™i",:,i. ns to tl.o Department, but without a"V r< suit it was very disappointing to 'ind that iiu> time taken {>y the mail train was only reduced -by ten minutes at this end.

Police Department.—As the head of tlio police for this district was about to retire, the Chamber moved in the direction of having a sub-inspector appointed, (#ie. appointment having since been made. Mt. Messenger.—The urgent necessity of having this road put into good order was again brought before the Minister and many improvements have been effected during the jtost summer. In this matter the Waitara Chamber (•!" Commerce have rendered valuable service.

Canadian Trade Commissioner. —I am glad to report that Mr. Beddoe was able to accept the Chamber's invitation to come, to New 'Plymouth to address the business people of this town, which he did in October last, and gave jan exceedingly interesting address upon Canada and her resources. Although his stay was very limited, time was found to take him up to the Mountain House, and I trust that he will be able to pay us another visit at an early date.

Ohura Visitors.—One of the most pleasing duties that befel my lot during the year was the visit of our friends from the Ohura. Accompanied by Major Lovcdav, Messrs Williams, Meredith and W. J. Penn, I journeyed to Kotarc and met the rest of the party. On our way back we stopped at Waitara and were shown over the Freezing Works, in •which our friends were greatly interested. Tn the evening they were met by the Mayor and others in this room. On Tuesday they were, entertained at dinner. Their stay lasted five days, which proved far too short to enable us to show them all that is to be seen around our favored seaside town. I am sure their visit will be equally as instructive to them as was the visit of the New Plymouth members to the Ohifra district.

i Technical College.—l have had the honor of representing the Chamber upon the Advisory Board. The question of subscribing to this College will have to he decided, otherwise this Chamber cannot have a representative under tlic new conditions. Slot Telephone.— lour Council moved in the matter of obtaining a slot telephone for the town. The consent of the Department and of the Borough Council has been obtained, and it is proposed to have it erected in Brougham street, near the National IBank. Personal.—Since our last annual meeting this Chamber has sustained a loss in the death of Mr. C. W. flovett, ail ex-president, and a very regular attendant at our meetings. Owing to his offering his services to his country, I lost the services of my able vice-president, who is still in eamp at Treiitham. T hope sincerely to sec him back before long. (Jenera'.—Various matters have heen dealt with during the vear, including local railway matters, Taranaki education district, toll gates, native land leases, and general trade eonditons, which, owing to the war have been very numerous. THE PRESIDENT'S REMARKS. In moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, Mr. Paton said:— Tll these anxious times, when the British Empire and her 'Allies are engaged in the greatest war known to history, a ■war that in these civilised times seemed impossible, we are indeed fortunate that

this province is so prosperous, partly, no doubt, to our having hiul a plentiful supply of rain during the past season. Regarding our exports, the production of cheese is rapidly increasing, and is to | a large extent taking the place of butter. Frozen meat, woo!, .--kins and hides arc rapidly increasing. Although ! the YYaitara Freezing Works have been greatly increased in size, there appears | to lie ample room for another freezing j works, especially when we consider what vast areas have vet.to be brought into cultivation, in what, owing to the want of good metalled roads, we call the backblocks of 'i'aranaki. The area of this province is 2,412,1100 acres, and we have over 50,."00 inhabitants (estimated in 1!)14), Naturally when speaking our our products we look for an outlet. ~?vTy predecessor mentioned that the harbor at Moturon, would be ready for any .class of steamer by the coming spring, and I feel sure that what he said will prove to be almost, if not quite, correct, and that the Home boats will be calling here at an early date. An excellent start has been made with the Te Eoti-Opunake railway, the Motu-roa-Opunake line has been surveyed, and I trust that our Railway League will push matters ahead directly the war is over. Telephones ar« greatly used all over Taranaki, and a number of the lines appear to lie over-loaded. The Government will require to seriously consider the advisability of doubling a number of the. present lines. Though not, so far advanced as hoped, the oil industry is still being pushed on as fast as circumstances allow. At Moturoa experiments are now being carried on by YV. Hoskett, who is understood to be sanguine of ultimate success in connection with the iron industry. I think tlmt it would be for the good of the community if the Government;' declared ; a universal half-holiday. At present j three different days arc kept in this | provincial district. Kegarding this town, the population of which is over 8000, ' many improvements are now in progress. 'I lie tram service should be running before, the end of the year, and that, with the splendid work that is >ming done on the foreshore and other places, should greatly assist in making this town, which has been so greatly endowed by Nature, a favorite residential resort. This Chamber should always !>c. endeavoring to do something to push the town ahead, and also be ready to help all .other organisations in any scheme tliat is for the welfare of the , country or town. TIIE BALANCE-SHEET.

Tho balance-sheet showed receipts at £S4 13s "d (members' subscriptions £72 9s) and the expenditure .€B4 4s (id (rent £32 10s and secretary's salary £3l os), leaving a credit balance of lis Id.

. The motion was seconded by Mr. Shaw and carried unanimously.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS.

Officers for the. ensuing year were then elected as follows:—President, Mr. W. J. Penn; vice-president,. Mr. J. I). Sole; council, .Messrs J. Puton, X. King, C. 11. Burgess, A. Mellardy, I). K. Morrison, 0. X. Firth, S. W." Shaw, J. 13. Connett, K. P. NVeostcr, S. .Tolins, A. Coldwatcr and S. Teed; auditor Mr. H." Baily.

The retiring president was accorded thanks for the good work they had done during the year.

COXFEREXCE SUGGESTED.

The Wellington Chamber of Commerce wrote stating that a conference of Chambers of Commerce would be convened in July or August of this year, and asking if the Taranaki Chamber would send delegates. The Canterbury.Chamber of Commerce wrote stating that preferential trade was an important question which had been given much attention. Many interests -were involved and the matter required careful consideration. The Chamber suggested that a conference of Chambers of Commerce be held at Wellington during tlie coming Parliamentary session for the purpose of fully discussing the subject, and, if necessary, placing the views of the conference before the Premier. Mr. Penn said that at the, conclusion of the war there would be international adjustments of trading policy. He therefore considered that the date would be somewhat premature to discuss the matter. The Chamber, however, should support the suggestion that a conference be held during the ensuing session of Parliament. He moved in that direction, and proposed that the appointment of delegates be left to the Council. Mr. Gold water, seconded.

Mr. Hughes suggested that in the event of such a conference being held the Chamber forward a remit suggesting a universal half-holiday. He thought it would receive general support, and a move by them would receive respect from the Government. The motion was carried. RAILWAY MATTERS. ' Mr. Firth complained of the unsatisfactory manner in which coal was weighed in the local railway yard and moved that the matter be referred to the incoming council.—Carried. Mr. Sole referred to the poor despatch of goods from the local railway station. They had complained .of this before, but there was still room for complaint. Mr. Avery referred to the darkness at the ticket oilice, ami Mr. Paton to the delay in obtaining tickets. BOARD OF TRADE. The Canterbury Chamber of Commerce the Taranaki Chamber's support of the following motion:—"ln the event of a Board of Trade being formed it is desirous in the interests of the 'Commerce of this Dominion that all commercial interests should he fully represented on the council of"the proposed Board of Trade and Industry."—Received. SHIPPING RING. The Auckland Chamber of Commerce sent the following resolution, tor which they requested the Chamber's support: —That this council asks for the co-oper-ation of the other Chambers and Farmers' Unions in New Zealand to inaugurate a movement so that when the present war is over steps may be taken to prevent shippers being entirely at the mercy of the shipping rings."—Received.