The duty of moving the adoption of the Committee's Annual Report now devolves upon me according to precedent, and I consider the duty a pleasant one, for I know that the Committee during their year of office have held many meetings, and have devoted much time and care to the numerous questions referred to in their report. I have also the satisfaction of knowing that they have assisted in many ways in promoting local and foreign trade, that their recommendations on the majority of questions which came before them have been given effect to by the Government or other public bodies with whom the Committee have communicated, and I shall thus be spared from making further reference to these subjects than has already been done in the report. I regret that, in attempting to review those other subjects which may, in some way, have had a bearing on the commercial prosperity of this port during our year of office, I shall, as compared with those men of talent and experience who held this position in bygone years, fall very far short in my ability to deal with them. Fortunately, with the assistance of our Acting Secretary, Mr. Menzies, the Committee's report lays before you a concise account of the business of the Chamber during the past twelve months, and I commend it to your careful perusal, along with the tables of statistics to 31st March, which will accompany the report when printed.