Dunedin Chamber of Commerce.

Report of the Committee of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce

For the Year ending 30th June, 1886, presented at the Annual Meeting, held on the 7th October, 1886—the President, Mr Jas. T. Mackerras, in the Chair.

The retiring Committee have the pleasure of submitting the following Report of its proceedings during the past year.

Several matters only partially dealt with by the Committee of the previous year have received careful consideration, and in some instances with beneficial results. Three General Meetings of the Chamber, and twenty-two of the Committee have been held during the year.

Steamers' Bills of Lading.—One of the first subjects brought up for discussion was the consideration of the objectionable clauses in the Bills of Lading issued by the Steamship Companies trading to these Colonies.

It was Resolved that Messrs R. Glendenning, G. L. Denniston, and A. Maxwell be a Committee to point out the objections to the Bill of Lading required by the Direct Steamers, with a view to their amendment; and that Mr John Ross be asked to represent the Chamber at the Meetings of the British and Foreign Chambers of Commerce with the London Chamber. The subject is still under consideration of the London Conference, who fully realise the importance of the subject.

Indian and Colonial Exhibition.—In October last it was decided to appoint a Committee to collect and classify the proposed Exhibits for the Indian and Colonial Exhibition, and to meet and confer with Dr Von Haast on the subject; at the same time Mr Ross was asked to represent the Chamber at the opening of and other Ceremonies connected with the Exhibition.

Customs Returns and Year-book.—For some years past the Committee have had prepared a Summary of the principal Imports and Exports of the Colony for the use of Members, which has hitherto been printed with the Annual Report. The preparation of these page 6 Returns involves a good deal of trouble, and much difficulty is found in obtaining the necessary information for their compilation. In November last therefore the following Resolutions were passed, of which a copy was addressed to the Minister of Customs, Wellington:—

(1.)	"That the Secretary be instructed to address the Commissioner of Customs, pointing out that the present Export Returns are misleading and inaccurate, owing to shipments being credited to port of departure not shipments, and requesting that any steps that are possible may be taken to correct this evil."
(2.)	"That in the opinion of this Chamber the time has arrived for the production of a New Zealand Year Book upon the lines of that of Victoria, compiled by the Registrar General, Melbourne; and further, that the statistics of the Colony should be published and circulated at as early a date as possible."

Trade with Rio Janeiro.—The Committee of 1885 addressed a series of questions to H.M. Consul-General, Rio Janeiro, relating to Customs Duties, Harbor Regulations, and other information treating of the Trade and Commerce of Brazil, and the opening to which the establishment of a Direct Line of Steamers should lead, for commercial intercourse between that country and New Zealand. A letter, dated the 3rd November, was received from the Consul-General with Annual Reports of the Brazilian Government, Consular Reports, Tariff, Brokers' Charges, Exchange, and other information of interest, a digest of which was printed and circulated for general information through the various Chambers of the Colony. As yet but very trifling interchange of products between the two countries has resulted.

South Sea Island Mail Service.—In answer to a communication from the Hon. the Postmaster General, in which the opinion of the Committee was sought upon a change proposed by the Contractors for the South Sea Island Mail Service, by which Mails and Cargo should be transhipped from the steamers of the U.S.S. Company to and from the contractors at Auckland. The Committee after due consideration did not object to the proposed alteration subject to Freight and Passage Money being the same as at present charged.

Harbor Diies.—The new scale of Import Dues proposed by the Harbor Board, by which the Import Rate would be increased from 2s to 3s per ton, and coastwise dues abolished—being in the opinion of the Committee an extreme rate—the Committee sought and obtained a conference with the Board for consideration of the proposed increase of rates. Ultimately a reduction of six pence per ton from the proposed rate was agreed to, and the present rate of 2s 6d per ton finally arranged.

Bond Warrants.—The attention of the Committee has been called to the somewhat loose form in which Bond Warrants have previously dealt with. After some discussion with the Collector of Customs and Bonded Warehouse proprietors, the Committee recommended the following means for attaining the object indicated, viz:— page 7

(1)	That the Bond Warrants be examined and compared with the warehouse-books kept at Custom-house.
(2)	That there be printed on the face of the warrants a certificate to the effect that they have been examined and compared with the warehouse-books at the Custom-house, and are in accordance with the entries therein relating to the goods mentioned in the warrant, such certificate to be signed by the landing surveyor or impressed with the stamp of H.M. Customs.
(3)	That the warrants be attached to the entries when the goods are being cleared, and retained and cancelled by the Customs authorities.

R.M. Court.—A letter from Mr W. Henderson was received, pointing out a very serious defect in the R.M. Court Act, which did not authorise the attorney or agent of a plaintiff to make the affidavit of jurisdiction required where it was proposed to summon a defendant who resided outside the jurisdiction of the Court. The Parliament being then in session, it was resolved to forward the letter to Mr Wm. Downie Stewart, M.H.R., who brought the matter before the Minister of Justice, but, owing apparently to the pressure of other work, the Local Courts Bill was not proceeded with, so that nothing can be done till next session.

Cable Charges.—Several communications during the present year have passed between the Committee and other Chambers, and also with Melbourne, urging co-operation in obtaining a reduction in the existing rates from the Cable Company on messages passing over the New Zealand Cable. The subject was brought up in the General Assembly by the Colonial Treasurer, without eliciting any satisfactory out-come from the discussion. The Committee are of opinion that it is not desirable to lay a new Cable as has been proposed by the Treasurer, and that Government should be urged to co-operate with the Australasian Colonies in pressing for a reduction of the present rates for ordinary messages to 6d and Press messages to 3d per word; and that a minimum of five words should be established. Such a reduction it is confidently expected would greatly facilitate the interchange of business between New Zealand and the Australasian Colonies without diminishing the existing income of the Cable Company.

Railway Extension.—This subject was dealt with at a quarterly meeting held in January, and the following resolution passed:—"That in the opinion of this Chamber it would in the present circumstances, be inexpedient to initiate or undertake any New Railway, but that the lines now in progress should be completed."

Rates of Freight.—The following resolution was carried at a general meeting of the Chamber:—"That in the opinion of this Chamber the ruling rates of freight from London to this port are higher than is necessary, comparing them with rates ruling to the chief page 8 Australian ports; and that it be an especial instruction to the Committee to deal exhaustively with this question, and report to the next meeting of the Chamber."

In considering this report the Committee have found themselves confronted with many difficulties which are apparent to every member. Nothing is so difficult as to disturb and successfully encounter a strong monopoly, and it can only be done by concerted and vigorous action both here and in London. The Committee have made representations in the matter to Mr John Ross in London, who has acted for this Chamber on so many occasions, and no reply has had time to reach us yet; meantime much could be done by united and persistent representations to English correspondents, instructing them to give business whenever possible to outside ships and shipping firms while freights continue so high.

Bankruptcy Act.—Nothing has occurred during the past year to bring the present Bankruptcy Act prominently under the notice of the Committee, and no efforts have, therefore, been made to correct its acknowledged imperfections. Each year's experience, however, discloses defects that require amendment, and suggest possible improvements which should receive the careful consideration of the Legislature.

The Annual Statistics referring to the trade of the Colony—compiled chiefly from reports of the Registrar-General, the Department of Trade and Customs, and other official sources—will be found in the appendix to this report.

In conclusion the Committee would direct the attention of the Chamber to its very unsatisfactory financial position, and the necessity for immediate action being taken to obtain a more general support to the institution. The Sub-Committee's report on this subject will be found attached.

Address of the Chairman.

Proceedings at Annual Meeting.

With the permission of the Chamber I will avail myself of the opportunity which our annual meeting affords of referring very briefly to our commercial position, and to the prospects of the year.

At our last annual meeting, in September, 1885, we had to deplore that our two main industries, the agricultural and pastoral, showed no signs of amelioration; and to this circumstance we attributed, in a large measure, the great commercial depression under which the Colony then laboured. This depression, so severe and so prolonged, has not been confined to New Zealand, but has prevailed all over the world, and has led to much consideration being given to the subject, with a view, if possible, to trace the cause and suggest a remedy, in New Zealand much attention has also been given to the subject, which has resulted in revealing to us the gratifying fact that, notwithstanding the depression, this Colony continues to make substantial progress.

Our Secretary for some years past has been in the habit of compiling from authentic sources, and appending to our annual reports, valuable statistics having reference to the various industries, as well as the trade generally, of the Colony; which are well worthy the attention of all interested in our material advancement.

It may be a surprise to some members to learn that during the last ten years the land under cultivation in New Zealand has increased from 2,377,402 acres in 1876, to 6,729,911 acres in 1886. And here I may remark that of the latter area a little over two million acres are land under grass, not previously ploughed and cropped, chiefly in the North Island, where the practice of preparing the land for English grasses is by burning off' the fern, a process in many instances as expensive and effectual as ploughing I hold, therefore, that this area can fairly be held to be land under cultivation.

It is at the same time worthy of remark that the return for agricultural labour in New Zealand exceeds that of any of the Australasian Colonies or the United States of America. The mean average of South Australian wheat crops is barely 8 bushels per acre; that of Victoria, about 12½ bushels; New South Wales, nearly 15 bushels; while the average product of land in the United States is from 18 to 20 bushels. The statistics of New Zealand show an average yield of nearly 27 bushels to the acre.

While on the subject of land under cultivation, I may state that I was induced to look into the statistics on this point, by reading the page 10 report of Sir Charles Clifford's speech at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Trust and Loan Company in London. Refering to Mr Froude's remarks about the lack of cultivated land in New Zealand, Sir Charles said:—"If Mr Froude had taken the trouble to look into official statistics, he would have found that the cultivated land in New Zealand was 300,000 acres more than—not one of the colonies of Australia, but the whole of Australia put together" This statement of Sir Charles Clifford I have found to be absolutely correct, as is demonstrated by the following figures taken from the Victorian Year Book, 1884-5:—

Land under Cultivation in Victoria	2,323,493 acres
Land under Cultivation in New South Wales	552,027 acres
Land under Cultivation in Queensland	199,580 acres
Land under Cultivation in South Australia	2,785,490 acres
Land under Cultivation in Western Australia	79,669 acres
Land under Cultivation in Tasmania	425,845 acres
Total (including Tasmania)	6,666,104 acres

As against 6,729,110 acres under Cultivation in New Zealand.

While the value of our exports for the year shows a falling off of £147,867, this deficiency would be converted into a surplus if account is taken of the increased price obtained in London for the wool shipped during the past season.

This diminution in yield is entirely on account of the large areas thrown out of grain cultivation caused by the low prices ruling of late years; our farmers having directed more attention to Dairy Produce and Frozen Meat, two industries which show a decided increase in our list of exports.

The value of Butter and Cheese exported for the year amounts to £138,129, against £97,705 last year.

Attention is only now being given in earnest by our settlers to the production of Dairy Produce, and the necessity for improvement in the manufacture by the aid of Dairy Factories; and in consequence several new factories have been added during the year to the number page 11 previously at work, while numerous others are in course of construction throughout the Province. We may reasonably expect therefore, that the export of Butter and Cheese will be largely increased from year to year.

Our principal market, hitherto, has been Australia, involving only a short sea voyage; but in view of the production being greatly increased next year, and reaching a point possibly beyond what can be taken off in that market, it would be well for those controlling our Factories to aim at producing an article capable of standing the voyage to Europe, and of being placed on the market there. This is the more needful as a favorable season in Australia might enable those colonies to produce sufficient for their own requirements, and thus deprive us of the outlet upon which we have hitherto been depending.

A large proportion of which would participate in the advance in prices at the June-July, and September Sales.

In the list of exports from Otago I notice two which have begun to assume large proportions. I refer to the export of Cattle and Horses. Of Cattle we exported during the year 706 head of the value of £11,075, and 3,020 Horses of the value of, £75,150.

While the active prosecution of public works in New South Wales occasioned a demand for Draught Horses in that Colony, and accounts to some extent for the large export of these, I think that this does not account altogether for the magnitude which that export has reached. Our neighbours over the water have come to realise our superior breed of Cattle, and will no doubt continue to improve their stock from Otago herds.

The prize lists of the recent National Cattle Shows of Victoria and New South Wales conclusively prove the very superior quality of New Zealand bred stock, particularly Clydesdale Horses, Ayrshire and Polled Angus Cattle.

Our industries and manufactures continue in full operation, and employ an increasing number of hands.

The woollen mills in Otago alone have worked 4,130 bales of wool, of the value of £43,365, and employ 600 hands.

The total output of coal in the Colony for the year amounts to 511,063 tons, against 480,831 tons last year, being an increase of 89,299 tons—the number of miners employed being 1,483.

In the midst of the depression that has so long prevailed, it must be gratifying to observe from the Savings Banks Returns that a large increase has taken place both in the number of depositors and in the amounts on deposit, affording evidence of a large and frugal population of what may be termed the working-class.

The deposits at the end of the year amounted to £2,142,729 being an increase of £216,119 for the year.

The falling off in the Colonial Revenue has been a source of uneasiness to most of us, and on account of the contradictory statements on this subject which have lately appeared in the public prints, I wired to Sir Julius Vogel to furnish me with correct information, and with the prompt courtesy which characterises that gentleman, I received a reply from him to the following effect:—That the Revenue receipts for the first six months are £57,000 (omitting smaller figures) less than the amount estimated, and while this fact cannot be gainsaid, the large amount may be in part accounted for by the fact that the Treasurer gave no notice this year of the Budget, and in consequence the commercial community did not take out of bond large quantities of goods, which they had been in the habit of doing. When a course like this is pursued, it leads to so much more being taken out of bond in succeeding months; the Treasurer therefore hopes that the natural course of trade not being interfered with, the last six months of the financial year, so far as Customs are concerned, will show better. The Treasurer also adds, that Stamps, Pastoral Revenue, and Passenger Traffic by Railway keep up well to his estimate. Altogether, the Treasurer is confident the year will wind up better than present appearances indicate; let us hope his anticipations will prove correct.

I have not referred to any of the numerous matters which have been dealt with by the Chamber of Commerce during the past year, as the Annual Report now in the hands of members render this in a great measure unnecessary. I now content myself by simply moving the adoption of the Report and Balance-sheet as printed and circulated.

Mr G. L. Denniston seconded the adoption of the report.

After some discussion, and one amendment, the report as printed was adopted.

Dunedin Chamber of Commerce.

Cash Account, from 1st July, 1885, To 30th June, 1886.

Extracts from New Zealand Statistics.

page 15

Comparative Table of Imports and Exports for the Port of Dunedin for the years ending June 30th, 1884, 1885, and 1886, respectively.

page 16

Intercolonial Trade for the Year ending 31st March, 1886.

	Exports.	Imports.
Queensland	£59,270	£21,528
New South Wales	722,779	541,046
Victoria	466,029	578,400
South Australia	60,623	28,302
Western Australia	4,322	7,875
Tasmania	37,135	77,757
	£1,350,158	£1,254,908

page 17

Coal Industry.

Output for the year 1884	480,831 tons
Output for the year 1885	511,063 tons
Being an increase of	89,299 tons

Number of Mines	95
Number of men employed	1,483

Total output of coal to the 31st December, 1885

3,518,261 tons

Imported—1886.

Great Britain	2,525 tons
New South Wales	128,787 tons

page 18

Property Tax Returns.

Total value of Real Estate in the Colony, exclusive of Native Lands situated five miles beyond a road suitable for horse traffic

£112,000,000

This valuation is also exclusive of Government Railways, Telegraphs, and other Public Works.

The above value is estimated as follows:—

Crown Lands	£11,300,000
Native Crown Lands, within five miles of roads suitable forhorse traffic	1,750,000
Other Real Estate, including Church, Municipal, and other Reserves	98,950,000
	£112,000,000

Showing that the value of Real Estate in the Colony has increased from £100,000,000, in 1882, to £112,000,000, in 1885

The total amount of Personal Property has not yet been ascertained.

page 19

Estimated Number Of Live Stock on March 31st, 1886.

Sheep	16,564,595
Horses	187,382
Pigs	277,901
Cattle	853,358

Exclusive of Stock belonging to Natives.

page 20

Export of Frozen Meat.

Return showing the total number of Sheep exported from New Zealand its commencement in February, 1882, to the 31st August, 1886, with ports of shipment.

1882 Dunedin		23,109
1883—Dunedin	60,218
Canterbury	55,563
		115,781
1884—From all N.Z. Ports		270,332
1885—From all N.Z. Ports		507,428

Shipped from the following Provinces, from 31st August, 1885, to 31st August, 1886.

Auckland		27,500
Hawke's Bay		150,000
Wellington		121,432
Canterbury		155,540
Timaru		37,185
Otago—
Dunedin	73,651
Oamaru	55,463
Bluff	7,785
		136,899
Total		628,556

In addition to the above 97,579 Sheep have been used at Preserving Works, 69,214 boiled down; making a Total Export of 795,349 Sheep for the year.

page 21

The National Debt of New Zealand.

Gross Public Debt, 31st March, 1884	£34,965,222
Less Sinking Fund Accrued	3,276,873
	£31,688,349
Cash Balance in hand 31st March, 1886	£112,858
Remaining to be expended out of Loan	768,780

From which, deducting cost of construction of Railways, £13,726,166, and expenditure on Immigration, £2,072,831, from the total indebtedness of £31,688,349, leaves £15,798,997 as the National Debt of the Colony at the present time.

Amount of Public Debt per head, less Sinking Fund accrued, £54 15s. 11d.

page 22

Dunedin Harbour Improvements.

Total amount expended on Harbour improvements to 30th June, 1886	£599 500
From Loan	£580,000
From Revenue	19,500

Present Annual Income of the Board.

From Endowments	£7,000
From Harbour Dues	37,000
	£44,000

Vessels drawing 19ft. of water now discharge at Dunedin wharves.

Comparative Provincial Expenditure.

page 23

Taking the Revenue contributed during the six years given above as the basis of computation, the amounts contributed during the sixteen years from 1870 to 1886 would be shown approximately to be as follows:—

Auckland	£7,360,986
Taranaki	1,210,450
Wellington	6,556,797
Hawke's Bay	1,458,693
Nelson	1,478,848
Marlborough	416,693
Canterbury	7,535,536
Westland	931,993
Otago	12,651,277

Annual Production of Butter and Cheese, the Number of Agricultural Machines, and the Quantity of Grain in hand, in Provincial Districts.

page 24

Amounts contributed by each Provncial District to the Colonial Revenue for the Financial Year ending 31st March 1886.