The Ashburaton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 1888. ANOTHER HARBOR WORKS FAILURE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1812, 11 April 1888, Page 2

The Ashburaton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 1888. ANOTHER HARBOR WORKS FAILURE.

We fear that an enormous amount of money has been and is being thrown away m abortive efforts to construot harbors on our coasts where Nature has failed to supply us with shipping facilities, and already some very awkward financial complications are looming m the near future. As we have shown m recent articles, New Plymouth, is m bad case and is contemplating, relief at the hands of the colony, while at Westport there appears to have been such reckless mismanagement that the Government has sent the Harbor Board about its business and taken the conduct of affairs i into its own hands. At Dunedin heap 3 of money have been thrown away, and Port Chalmers- is just about to enter upon the construction of a costly dock which will never pay interest upon the i loan raised for that puppose. Lyttelton harbor works are the only ones which, so far, have been m every respect a complete success (we include of course the financial aspect of the case), and next to these, and m the order named, the works at Timaru and Oamaru have justified themselves. As for all the other harbor works m the colony they are either yet m the experimental stage, or so far. as results have been ascertained have proved either engineering or financial failures. And now we hear of another case m which failure seems to threaten m both directions, we mean that of Gisborne. Here is what Captain Fairchild (of the Government steamer Hinemoa) says about if, speaking to a reporter of the " Poverty Bay Independent " : — " lam compelled to say that all the men who have had anything to do with that job deserve to be put into a lunatic asylum. Why, the thing is one of the greatest pieces of foolery I ever saw m my life 1 I am not an engineer exactly, but I have passed my examination m engineering. I know where I can take a ship to and where I cannot If they are not altogether mad they will not throw away another penny on the work. It will only block up the river. lam speaking strongly to you, but I have spoken stronger to the Hon Mr Mitchelson. I was invited to go down and see the work with them, but declined as I have seen quite enough of it from the water. No sailor would dream of bringing his vessel m there. The bar will only follow the wall as it goes out. I cant possibly think what tho people have been about to allow their money to be thrown away like it has been, Even if they had not enough money to do all they wanted they ought to have begun a harbor which would have been some good to our children, and gone on so far as they could. Now they will never get out beyond the reef, and are working against Nature instead of with it. I don't believe it is Blackett's fault, as he is too; competent a man to have made such a ! fool of himself. But then the wisest men sometimes do foolish things. One thing is certain — the present work is a madman's act. I am sorry tn see any' place so murdered. They might have done a lot of good with the money, but now you will have to pay for years for nothing. It's a great pity." If Captain Fairchild is right, and we suppose he is, then it is not only a pity that money should have been thus thrown away, it is a shame, and it is high time that all the works at Gisborne, and elsewhere, should be reported upon by competent authority, and such of them as can ouly end m failure put a stop to.