The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 1882.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 622, 30 June 1882, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 1882.

OUR HARBOR AND THE GRAIN SHIPMENT.

Wβ have before us a copy of a " Carte de la Presqu' He do Banks," tak»n by the officers of the Le Rhin, the Freucli corvi-tt i-of-war, in 1818. It is a chart of the whole Peninsula, but the principal poiut about it is th it it contains correct sounding-} of the depth of Akuma Harboi. The measurements are in the French metre, which is about 89| English inches, and it shows dearly that the harbor is of an exceptional depth, At the Heads the measurement is from 21 metres to 28, and off Onnku it is 18 metres, or 59ft, and a very short distance from the reef, just under Mr Tosswill's windows, it is 9 metres, or 29ft 6in. Opposite the town, a few yards from the wharf, it varies from 7 to 8 metres, that is, from 23ft to 27ft, in round numbers. The immense advantage of having such an anchorage for vessels that may come here to load need hardly be pointed out to tiny man who has any practical knowledge of such matters The mere fact that vessels can lie within a few yards of the shore, and load down to 24ft at bw-water without'touching the ground, and at the same time be sheltered completely from the force of the wind and sea, when in other less-favored localities there is a job to ride out the fury of the gales with both anchors down, speaks for tself, and any comment on our part is worse than useless. The mere fact shows the Harbor must be utilised, and the when and the wherefore are merely qnestions of time, that will be solved sooner or later by the energy of the inhabitants or the wants of the Canterbury public. We are of opinion, as before stated, that in a few years the Timaru Breakwater will bo so advanced as to shelter large vessels, and when that time comes, there is no doubt that all the grain Ejrown in South Canterbury will be dripped there. A year or two, bow ever, must elupse before this happens, and in the interim our harbor may lie itilised to advantag'. It is trim that t is in contemplation, if not already ..n established fact, to make a special low ate for grain from Timaru to Christ-

church, but, as we all know, land carriage can never compete with water carriage, more especially when the heavy harbor dues of Lyttelton can be avoided by the shipment of the grain into the foreign-going bottoms at Akaroa. We see by our Timaru contemporary fchac a Colliery Steamship Company has boon formed there, and that all the shares have b en taken up, and a steadier is to he built capable of carrying 500 tons of coal, to trade between Timaru and the Wt-st Coast. Now, such a vessel would be the very one for the purpose before referred to, of carrying grain from Timaru to this port, and transshipping it here aboard large Home sailing vessels. It would delay such a vessel little to bring a load of grain here on her way to the West Const collieries, and it must prove a profitable trade to her owners. The more the schume is thought out, the more favorable it appears, and it is to be hoped that before next grain season matters of detail will hive been arranged, and our magnificent harbor more fully utilised than it is at present.