The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1882.

Temuka Leader, Issue 906, 19 January 1882, Page 2

The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1882.

At a meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce b,eW last Tuesday, a resolution was carried pledging the Chamber to support the P. and O. Company should they run a line of steamers between, this colony and Australia. The resolution read as fplLows :—“Thia Chamber having heard with satisfaction the probability of the Peninsular and Oriental Company commencing a steam service between Sydney and New Zealand, with an English line, cordially support the movement, and pledge themselves to do all in their power to support the service.’ - The supporters of this resolution stated that their reasons for taking tnis step was that the Union Steamship Company centralised all the trade in Dunedin, that it was not a colonial, but a provincial institution, and that it disregarded the requirements of other ports. Evidently the old provincial jealousy did not die with the abolition of the provinces. In the eyes of some people no institution which is not in the province in which they live is colonial, and therfore it is not worthy of patronage. This is evidently the spirit which the Auckland Chamber of Commerce in its efforts to bring a foreigq, line of steamers into competition with a colonial one, and therefore it is not worthy of much sympathy from the public. How can it be said that the Union Company neglects all the ports in New Zealand except Dunedin, when its steamers run along the coast as often,and perhaps more often than the trips can profitably be made. We believe, they run three or four times, and sometimes more, every week along the coast, and the steamers which the Union Company have put into the trade between this colony and Australia, have been provided with, every accommodation necessary,, to the comfort and convenience of the travelling public, while their carrying capacity is more than the demand made upon it. Not long since the Union Company bought Messrs McMeckin, and Co.’s line of steamers to which, they added the Hot omahana, and othtr,large vessels, and we believe that there are new vessels built, or- being.built, to, their, order They did this to keep the trade in the colony, and their enterprise was hailed with great satisfaction then. Since then we have heard very little complaints against the way they have icarried ou ■ busi ness. They are monopolists to a certain extent, but they have not evidently presupied upon their position for the present fault found with them is not that the freight they charge is too high, but that the company is a Dunedin one. It is simply humiliating to anyone who can- see beyond his own proboeies to find such a spirit of jealousy still in existence amongst us, but, we sincerely trust that it does not extend beyond the province Of Auckland That province was once the seat of Government, and since this, was removed to Wellington it has almost alienated itself from the rest of New Zealand. It stands aloof to a,great extent in commercial matters, and its politicians are a party in themselves, in the House. In fact Auckland we are afraid,can. never forget its imaginary wrongs in the.seat of Parliament haying been-, removed to W ellington which was done for no other reason than that Wellington was the. mpre convenient and central place. This, last action of its most enlightened body, the Chamber of Commerce, shows its feelings top plainly and it is to be hoped that it is a feeling which, few throughout the colony will share. We have very few colonial enterprises in our midst, and it is a bad encouragement for ou.r capitalists to start new nduatri.es, to, find the colonists, inviting foreign enterprise into competition with them,. W.e havenopbjeetinn to competition in any way whatsoever. If the Union Company has been found wanting in its duty to the pubjic, by all means let there be a line of steainers started to compete with them, but let them be owned by New Zealand capitalists. Too much of our money is already going to foreign capitalists, and

it in time,that weopened our eyesand tried to keep as much us we could ofitat home

in future. We hope the Auckland Chamber of Commerce will see their way clear to stare steamers on their own account, then they shall have our good wishes, but we do not think that anyone who wishes this colony well will approve of bringing foreign enterprise to compete with colonial industry. To be sine, it would not matter much to th colony at large what steamers wou'd work thetn.de, but there is a principle involved in the matter that ought not to he lost sight of, and we hope the colony will take the matter up in that light.