BETTER ACCESS TO SEA.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16856, 9 June 1920, Page 9

BETTER ACCESS TO SEA.

CAXTEIICrr.Y ? ECONOMIC POSITION. CANAL v. TTNNEL. Till-: QUKSTIOX DISCUSSED. -WTi.at -shall ( aiitcrhury do to he, is suggested by a study j ~f ihi- " figures af[eeting the economic , c.n.lai.m ">i the provinc-p. 1 matter or population. In 1 ; '"U till- |:o'iv.]:iiinn of C antcrbury of i he t'.ifil population of the iv.ir.inion. At enob mccecding cen?v - *h." proportion has boon reduced. \t ih<- W.t Dominion census taken in !')!•', Canterbur;'- percentage hail fallen t" 10.1. 1:i the sarw period tho n! ; n n ct Auckland's population to iliw Dominion vopuiation had increased from 'JO to 2S-1. . In IS3I population fonn- <-./;* 0 f 'Dominion population; at tin- lust census it was 20.-3. Diirin"" the onsfc seventeen years the population of' Nov.- Zealand has incrca«.'d 1/f t*2 per cent. —that of Cantcrb'urv Ijv br.lv '22 per cent. A review of the statistical da .a reto otir industries .shows a similar de.::ino. fXDCSTRIES GOING BACK. 1001 the. industries ham been "oinir back. In that year industrial employment- wa« provided for one worker to each 1-1..V.1 per cent, of the population. fu Hif)o the proportion was ono worker employed to 10.14 per eciit. of the population. .At the following census in 1911 the proportion had <!>onoed to one worker in I-j.03-1 per ccni * of population. In 1910 there was a slight improvement, the ratio being one t0'10.27. Jt is fair to state, however. that as against this tho capital invested in industries per unit of population increased from £10.11 ■ per worker employed to £21.9 per worker ;. t jfiici—the last census yenr—:-o that •l "Tenter use of machinery may in >-.oino degree account for tho reduction in tho proportion of workers employed. Still tho figures afTord no evidence of progress. LAXD AGGREGATION. In the matter of holdings in land, Canterbury instead of proceeding to a greater subdivision, is on the. backward track. J.n 1907-8 the average acrcage per holding was 553 acres. Ten years latrr —KJI7-1S —the acreage per holding had increased to 017. In tho Xorth Island tho tendency lias been more wholesome, tho average acreage, per holding having been Teduecd in tho same period from 421 acrcs to 357. In the South Island, during that period, there was an increase in _thc acreage per holding-from 6-12 to 747. SMALLER FLOCKS ANT> HERDS. Although subdivision of farm lands has been proceeding slowly in tho Sijnih. there had hppn no proportionate increase in the numbers of liyc stock — sheep, cattle, etc. —maintained. In 10! if) the North Island supported 51 per cent, of the Dominion's iloeks of sheep and lambs, and the South Island 49 per cent. In 191S the Xorth Island' proportion had increased to 50 per cent, while tho South Island proportion liad fallen to 41 per "cent. In regard to cattle, the North Island had 73 per cent, in 1900. and the South Island 27 per cent. In 191S the North had increased tho proportion to 80 per cent., leaving the South Island 20 per cent. , Nor can a pleam of comfort be extracted front tho story of our commercial development. During tho past twenty years the total trade that passed inward and outward through tTio ports of "Wellington and Auckland increased by 209 per cont. The increase in. tlicV trado of Lyttclton was 91 per ccnt. WHY THIS DECLINE? "What is tho explanation of this persistent decline? It is clear that Canterbury is not now holding its own in the economic life of the country; that it is receding in importance; that a new energy on the part of the people is required if tho province is not to Ixi permanently relegated. to a position of minor importance. To counter this decline the Canterbury Progress League lias been called into existence, and it has already done much good work. Another useful development has been the formation of the Canterbury Members of Parliament . Committee, which mobilises the elected and appointed legislators from the provinco "behind tho "Advance Canterbury" movement. It is not our lousiness in this article to cover the whole ground concerning Canterbury's requirements, if the condition of things outlined above is to be remedied. "Wo will confine the discussion to tho subject of that • which is the most urgent need of the province, namely, -tho need for better* access to tho sea. An open road to tic sea is vital to tho economic prosperitv of any country. Production can only "proceed satisfactorily if raw materials and finished products fan move in and out of factory and farm freely, -without impediment or obstruction of any kind. If there bo such obstruction, necessary supplies of raw materials arc either cut off or partially cut off, and finished products cannot be got awav from farm and factory, and thus they clog tho place-of production. ; i

The eternal hills stand across Canterbury's commercial highway and the rr ap ' made by the pioneers through the obstruction is no longer adequate to permit tho, passage of the goods that must travel between the Plains and the seaboard if a healthy economic life is to , be maintained in the provinco. To the solution ot this problem thero-! fore, the principal energies of the province must be lent. o must, before anything else is attempted, ima a way, . throuirh. O'.'or. or around tne obstruction that bWclw our highway to tho \,a and thus secure the freo passage of i coodr, to and from farm and factory. ! the principal object of this article is to nr? r o that the orcaniplc of the Pil"rim Fathers Ixj followed, and tnat we adopt the plan of aomtr throuprn tno ■! obstruction, in preference to the nU • l Ternauve plans, of a road over the hills ; or a waterwav such as is advocated by tho Port Christchurch League. \ TITE CANAL PROPOSAL. The canal proposal is too dangerously i to warrant the- people of j I Xorth Canterbury undertaking tho: I financial responsibility involved. It is - impossible for them to obtain nny asb surance that tho canal would .fulfil its intended purpose. In t.io mind or tho > present writer, tho vital objection is tho • almost unanimous verdict of the master - mariners who have considered tno subject—against the eanal, or. to be more - accurate. Port Christchurch. It must r be borne in mind that tho sole purpose tn be attained by the construction of an artificial harbour with canal entrance is to secure tho more rapid transit be- ; tween the city and the se<i. It won!;! ': be tragic if we spent £3,000.000 or £1.000.000 in the construction of a ! canal only to discover that it took as I I long, if not n longer time, to got our ■| goods to and from the sea as it docs at ~ ■ 'present bv means of the Lvttclto:i tunI j licl. r | Yet those who know, those to whom S ' onu naturally looks for the expression of < I a competent/ opinion on this matter — - ■ the men who go down to the sea in II ships—declare emphatically that such -| would bo the case. Giving evidence be- ' i fore the Canal Commission, Captain |" I McDoupill, of the Shaw, Savill, and Alt|bion Company, ;nifl Marino Superinijtendent, was asked:— l. "Would (ho canal bo negotiable in all . ! v.-enlhrr? ?" [ Ho ::nswered: sir! I don't think ri. ,T(. is ni> bettor tliniii Timaru -.vould b?, and Ih«r<\ sornetiraes, it is r.ot negotiable iu> all v/ea thcrs." . "I vndcrsfand from you fh.it the Lyttelt tun harbour 'yon can make in any weather'.''' [ j "Yes. we can." > "And with this proposed naw harbour, with j the weather iu certain' states, you would r ' probabJv maka for Jjj-tteltoii iiistead?"' " "Yes." "Would ■n.uvigalinri be nny dLfficully once ' you were in the ranal, atid there were heavy gales bioiving outside, say across tho canal " ! "In a ivav. yes.. Tu the Hues C°rm,l there are winds that, liia.ko navigation diPßcult. I rubbed alongside a bank until the EQiiall ( went eff, and I apprehend that in going ur> this canal, with a wind from the north-west, one is bound to 5715. There "would alwavs be the anxiety of feclinj: that the ship might touch." J In replv to a further question" Capi tain McDougall said that ho had been , trading to, from, and about New Zealand for a period of between 30 and -10 ; years. | Captain T. IT. Child Icy, with twenfy-fivo years' experience of tbe New Zealand trado, I said, with regard to a channel of 34£t, that ' the draught of his ship was 2Sft, and with a north-east sea, there would 1» a 6ft risei and fall in tho caual. To take r, harbour ; like that, when there was a natural harbour such as, Lytlelton available was absurd. "You don't believe iu the canal harbour?" "Nobody would take aji artificial harbour such as that as against a natural harbour." "If you had ono and a half million of money, you think it would b<> better to spend it insido tho Lyttelton hrbour?'' "Certainly it would." Later, Captain Chudley said, "From a sailor's point of view, I think the canal i 3 j absurd." I "Would you earn to use ths canal port after dark, supposing it wero mado ' after all?' "Xo. I certainly would not." .. "Neither in -nor out at night?" "yio, I wouldn't! I don't into Bluff after dark, and that's a. natural harbour. I declined to do this recently, although vre had a beautiful moonlight night. I don't think I it's worth it." I "Would you rather go into Bluff after dark , than into the canal?" "Oh, yes! Certainly." I "What would be tha worse winds iu making i tho entrance?" I "Anywhere from tho south-east round to 1 nor'-west. As a fact, iw the canal, with a, nor'-westerly wind, 1 wouldn't core to moor j my ship.'* I ''Have you ever had any difficulty in getting- in or out if Lyttclton " " "None at nil. ... "We can get in and out in all eorts of "weather." j In the courso of his evidence, Captain Bone, of tho New Zealand Shipping Company, answered the following questions : — "Is this proposed artificial harbour, with entrance at Sumner Head, as good as tho natural harbour at Lyttclton?' | "Certainly not To run over • the Stunner bar instead of into the Lyttelton harbour? "Why, it's too absurd to answer such a question. No one would ever drea.m of running on over a sandy beach liko that, compared with Lyttelton h-arbour. "Assuming there were no Lyttelton harbour, no doubt you would negotiate the canal harbour?" "That is rather an odd way to put it. If there were no Lyttclton harbour thero would bo ,:o C 1 Lristciuirch probably—it was ! d. very small town before we had communi- | catiou with Lyttelton." "Would you safely navigate the canal with ! a heavy nor'-wester blowing?" I "1 should be very sorry to attempt it. I In fact, if I wore, in charge of the ship I I would rot attempt it. There would bo too much risk of sagging over and scraping the bank, and with a stony face it would bo pos- . siblu to do a considerable amount of damage J to the ship."

CAXAL COMMISSION REPORT. These extracts about summarise the opinions of tho master mariners, and with suck evidence before them it is little wonder that the Lyttelton Harbour Board, Messrs Coode, Son, and Matthews, the. eminent engineers, and the Canal Commission of ISO 3, which reviewed Messrs Coode, Son, and MatthewsV; report and the question gener-. ally, have reported advising against tho adoption of the canal 'proposal. Tho Canal Commission reported as followsl © have already cleati\* stated that, iu j our opinion, the capita! outlay involved iu tho constructions of' ar; .artificial harbour would not be justified 'or the results l.kely to be obtained. We point out \fir.t at pr - fml Chri=.tcinirch has at its ono o 5 tho 1 natural harbours in N-?v,- Z' rjlnnci, easily accessibl?, even in '•ho vor=t v.v.ither, to vca'-jlj of nr.y sizp. with an between the hends over a mile wido. r.r.d \~th deep water md good anchorage. outside and within the hoa-Js: tli.it Lyttclton :,t preenjoys tho Topntation of , V- of the cheapest ports—it not the cheaper-', port —ill tho Don)inion. a reputation v.-hi''h in ".tsc»f is, vre veriurc to tliin!;. valuable a'-sot to the wholo community; and that tho Haioour Bosrd i.- at nreseut in a r>n.rti'*'ti.ar.y strong ar.d'sound finnricial positio", with a comparatively small debt ar.d n buoyant revenue, which enar.les it to proMcute t-x----tensive nev. T work-s for perfecting tho ecr.ip-m--ut of tho pert, and to "provide"* for the cost oi tbe same out of the surplus revenue, v.il;:cut having to incur further dfbt—au almost unique position so far a? the-Har-bours of New Zealand are conc^rncd. A SECOND-CLASS POUT. i' UTther, we point out that, it the proposal to corifruct an artificial harbour -= proceeded with, it involves an eiioriiiouss burden of debt, with cor;:ec|ueut heavy charge for interest and sinking fund, necccsitating inevitably the imposition of a much higher ■f'ealo of charges 011 good? and ships, and exchanging the present reputation of Lyttclton as one of tho cheapest ports in Xew Zoalaud for that of one of tha dearest — an exchange which, in itself, would almost certainly J>rove to ho a jcriou? impediment to the progress of the city and district. Again, it might well prove that tho heavy charges that would require to be levied on goods would far more than counterbalance the benefits that merchants and manufacturers would gain by having direct access to the sea, without the intervention of tho railway, and that the unenviable reputation o* a dear . port wruld drivo much trade away from the city and district. "Vvlien. in addition to all this, it is Tcmenibered that, after incurring all th--;e heavy obligations, and facing these risks, Christchurch rrtght—and probably would—find that it had got- only a 6ecoud-clas<i port for its money, and that it we?j saddled for all time with the cost of running two poris, instead of one, we are emphatically of opinion that it is Juuch the wiser cour.'o to cot to work to get proper and adequate facilities, provided for efficiently and expeditiously handling tho trade through the port of Lyttelton; und v.e new propose to offer our suggestion as to how this can best, bo achieved. iuoro will bo -said in future articles concorning tho difficulties- inhcTont in the ca-nal proposition, but the weighty opinions liero expressed by tho.~o competent to judge are themselves sufficient to justify the examination of the ■ alternative ptoposal of a motor road through tho hills to tho port. THE FINANCIAL BURDEN. I:", it fair on the- part of the advocates of Port Cliristchurcli to ask tlio people of North Canterbury to saddle themselves with the financial burden oi constructing a "waterway from Christchurch to the sea until they have proved that Messrs ('ocde. Son, and Matthews,, the Canal Commission, and the ship captains are all wrong in the view that they have taken? Is is fair? The writer thinks not, and feels sure that those who will have to pay tho piper will agree with liim. Yet something must bo done: it is imperative that steps bo taken to improve tho means of communication between Christchurch and tho sea. DELAYS AT LYTTELTON. Several of this newspaper could bo filled with illustrations of tho delays'occasioned in the transport of goods to and from Lyttelton by liavinqr to rely on a single line of railway through tho tunnel. The community is, at the present time, entirely in tho hands of the Railway Department. Oftiimee days elapse between the arrival of a shi,p with goods at Lyttclton and tlio delivery of those goods at the warehouse in Christchurch. There have l>een cases in which two weeks', and even threo weeks' . delay has taken place. Steamers from Sydney and Melbourne have left poods at Lyttclton, and have been back again at Melbourne <ind Sydney be-fore the goods deposited at Lyttclton reached tho warehouse at Christchurch. This delay, occasioned by congestion on the railway line between Christchurch • and Lyttelton, paralyses business and production. These end other difficulties that new beset the provinco could all the eliminated if there were a motor traffic road through tho hills to tho port, as it would then bo open to merchants and manufacturers to send their waggons to the port and transport their own goods, wliich they could do at less coat, and with greater dispatch, than is the case at present. It will be necessary, of course, to secure from tho Government tho control of the wharves by the Lyttelton Harbour Board so that vehicles will • have free access to the wharves. PROPOSED TUNNEL RdAJX The scheme put forward by the Chri&tchurch-Lyttclton Tunnel Road League proposes the construction of, a traffic road through the liills ono milo 49 chains in lencth, 40 feet wide, and 30 feet high. The tunnel will be approached from the Christchurch side by a concretc road 100 feet wide, the river Heathcote being spanned—at a point near the, old Heathcote "Wharf— by a ferro-concrete bridge. The,traffic from tho city would, therefore, pass down the Ferry roaa —which would' need to be widened —across the proposed bridge, along the new concrete road to the tunnel,, which would enter the hills near the culvert on the Bridle Path , road and emerge on tho Lyttelton sido between Anderson's foundry and tho Loan and Mercantile Agency's stores. The tunnel would be lit by electric light, and a firm offer has been made by a large Australian contracting farm to do the work at a £osb of £6o(),000. Given tho construction of a tunnel road and the securing from the Government of the right to take vehicular traffic on to the wharves, together with the carrying out of improvements at Lyttelton itself in the matter of wharf accommodation, tho great problem will be effectively solved. Let Canterbury, therefore, put its shoulder to the wheel and press on with the carrying out of this great scheme, and remove the terrible bar to our economic development that now exists. If we have the enterprise and courage to do this we will : bo emulating the spirit of the great pilgrim fathers who founded the I provinco: wo will give it a chance to take its proper place as the fairest and most prosperous provinco in tho land, and for this future generations of our community will call us blessed. 23