THE HARBOUR BOARD.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 100, 21 January 1908, Page 6

THE HARBOUR BOARD.

The lengthy report of - the Secretary of the Harbour Board upon the working of the past year, a summary of which appears in v another part of this issue, does not call for much in the way of general comment. The figures relating to the increase of the port's trade are very much, along the.lines of figures of previous-years. They show, that is to say, the steady progress of Wellington towards unrivalled supremacy as the chief- ceiitre of trade -in New Zealand. -With the growth of trade arid population, the importance of the-Harbour Board has grown also, and it is .It present one of the largest of the local, administrative bodies in the Dominion, while there are still before it- many works of a highly important,' and cosily character. 'IKo most notable portion of tlifi report, 111 "1 the one that will be read with'' most- interest in shipping and commercial'circles,/ is that in which the Secretary sums up tlie financial position of the Board. During the last financial year the revenue was £156,531., or .£14,333 in excess of the, revenue during the year preceding. , The. working expenditure, however, increased by £10,331, and Mr. Ferguson is of opinion , that the .-margin to credit is -too small for such Inrge financial operations. Accordingly, in view of the large expenditure of capital'that niust be made during the next few years on works that will either be wholly or partially uuremunerative, the Secretary thiuks that the Board must, bei'ori; long, consider the question of enlarging its revenue, and this had best be done, he believes, by increasing the harbour improvement rate and the port charges. Nothing is so unpopular as an increase in port charges, unless it be an increase in the income tax, but it is evident that some increase must be made before long. We expect that any scheme of financial revision will raise anew the old controversy upon the proportion of revenue that should be contributed by ships, but for the present the actual allocation of the new levies that must be made is not a pressing subject for dispute. -At yesterday's meeting of the Board.it was decided to postpone any action in connection with the much-talked-of reclamation at Evans Bay, owing to the high prices which the holders of land fronting on the Bay have placed upon their properties. We do not understand that the decision of the Board necessarily involves the abandonment of the proposal to take over the Patent Slip property. In the face of the narrowing_ margin between receipts and expenditure, the postponement of the reclamation scheme is a wise one. Until it-has revised its finances so as to increase the margin, the Board will be -well-advised to refrain from treating as urgent any of its future projects but those which present inconvenience and actual embarrassment are calling for.