The Press FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1903. LYTTELTON HARBOUR BOARD.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11501, 6 February 1903, Page 6

The Press FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1903. LYTTELTON HARBOUR BOARD.

TSiere i 3 undoubtedly much in the annual addiresa by the Chairman of the Lyttelton Harbour Board upon which, the members of the Board are to be congratulated. The record of -work don* during the past, twelve months is a good one, so far ac it goes, and several improvement cannot fail to add to the convenience of <paseengera, especially the •wtidening and , lengthening of "So. 2

wfcarf, iO that trains can now run on to the whferf on the arrival and departure of steamers. The extension* to the various wharvee and jetties will not only benefit

travellers, but will afford much needed additional aocomoßodaition for ocean steamers, and by the time all are finished Lyttelton will (be able to boaat of some 11,555 feet of wharf ifrtmtage, against Wellington's 10,267 feet. Tie wharfage charg** at Lytteltoa already bear favourable comparison with those of the other harbour boarde, and everything should be done, coawstent with sound finance, to reduce them as far fis possible, especially in the direction of lightening the charges on our exports. But extended .wharf accommodation, tven when accompanied by low rates, will count for little, if the huge liners thalt now bear away our prodoiee cannot get up to the whnrvfs, nor into the harbour except ut certain states of the tide. A great deal Jjas been dome in the way of dredging out <he inner harbour in tlhe last year or two, but much, remains to be done, and one of the most preseiag subjects for tfbe eonaidemMon of the new engineer is ■whether wteut is being done is done in tihe (best way. It has been stated time after time that by the system of dredging earned on a* Lyttelton the mud ie simply taken out of the harbour end dumped down in a fcvnn which, wifrh the action of tifoe tide, it drifts back into the harbour. If thae i§ co, it i« a waeteM andl futile eysibem, and should be altered' without deilaytv We notice that this is one of the matters which Mr Kaye has brought under the notice of the engineer, and as Q^

future prosperity of tihe port depends largely upon a proper depth being maintained, we trust there will be no unnecessary delay an arriving at a aolutton of tie #rob Jem. There is ample evidence, by the way, in the mere Jist of questions- -which the engineer has been invited to consider, that J it was high time the appointment wae made. It is, indeed, a portentous programme, and; opens a vi»ta of improvement* to the port which, as eevtral of the epeakm at yeeterday'a meeting remarked, should make it the best in New Zealand. Before that position m achieved, however, the question of "dual controP' muet be put on a, more satisfactory footing than at present. The fact that tiie Railway Department have control of the working of the wharves and jettie* is practically put forward again, as it wae when we drew attention to the matter eighteen months ago, as an excuse for the retention of various antiquated method* which eeriouely afTect the credit of Lytfeeltbn aa an up-to-date port. It Is certainly a disability, but it k equally certain that it cannot be allowed to retard the progres* of the port, and if tihe Harbour Board cannot get ite grievances removed, the'Oanterbury membere must exert tiheir influence in this direction. It ie noforiotw that Lyttelton Buffers for lack of proper craneage facilities, but though the Board have applied for more powerful cranai to be supplied, the.Railway Department cannot see their way to accede to the request. Now .that the wharves have been widened and extended/ Jt would be possible to have cranes like those in Wellington, wiliich answer every requirement, and the Board should not rest contented until

lt nas got them. The system of dealing with cargo in Wellington, by which the goods are removed direct from the ship's eide into sheds, is much mow convenient than that which obteine in Lyitedton, where all tie goods have to be put into trucks and railed to Obrurtohuroh. But the inconvenience of the local eyetem would be reduced to some extent were the supply of trucks anything like equal to the demand. At present it is sometimes shockingly inadequate, and quite recently, in what may be termed the slack season,"several vessels were delayed simply for want of trucks. Aβ this may become a much more serious matter a few weeks hence, there ie urgent necessity | for an increased number of trucks being available. There are several other points in toe Chairman's address to which we may refer on another occasion. In the meantime it is gratifying to see that the Board recognise ■ome of the port's shortcomings.