PALMERSTON NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 713, 12 January 1910, Page 6

PALMERSTON NOTES.

LETTER ON HARBOUR MATTERS. BY ME. MAURICE COHEN. ' ' ; CBy Teleuranh.—Special CorresDondent.) ' . Palm'erston, January 11. The funeral; of., the. late Mrs. R. B. MTfenzie, which left 'Falmerston: .for. Bulls this afternoon, .was'Xvery Jila'rgely attended, by. settlers. from ali : ''o.ver . the district. "... , . At .a. meeting of. the Kai« . ranga County Council' 'to-day,; Mr. Maurice "Cohen, ' who -is. .seeking /reelection to • the Wellington Harbour Board, wrote, asking the support of the council. The following are extracts from Mr. Cohen slettor"ln a body with such ramifications as the Wellington Harbour Board,..it, is not hard; to see. that a new member, who .must.gradually:, assimilate uiider, which, the board's affairs aTe administered,. takes sorae. time to the general position, financial and .otherwise,";,: Mr. ■■ Cohen added that he had now reached! that stage, and was thoroughly conversant with the workings and principal aims which a member' for a_ country constituency should, have in vig\7; Together with Mr. Daniels, the Wairarapa representative,, he had always watched very ..keenly the interests of, prir. Mary producers, and had been successful m securing notable .'advantages for them. An important departure: by the board had been the. decision, to: erect large, and complete "wool- sale stores, the ■. contract for .which had now.,been let. 'The object was to .concentrate thc local. wool. sales in Wellington; and; give -sach convenience and opportunity: for. oversea ; buyers' as would make ; Wellington- the chief wool cen'ore of the Dominion. .The- principle, further,- hall ;,been affirmed that the Harbour Board . should, go. out of ( its-'routine as a mere "port of entry and shipment". in catering further to the interest,-and convenienco of butter and cheese producers, and :,ai-;motion: ;had' now .- been, .placed on : the . books that, in the. near future,_ cool stores,'uridef the board's own' supervision .should.be erected, for--storage, of butter and- .cheese. . awaiting shipment,'; thus -rendering it almost unnecessary 'for dairy-factories, individually; to. spend-large/sums. of : 'money securing cool store space. Further he .'had -been, personally -; successful■'• in securing' an adjustment [on charges for.. hemp . and tow. Seeing that tho country'had. been, so far,' inadequately represented; the. country: representatives, with■ the ; co-operation' . of ■ other 1 members ' of' the board, > had' succeeded in having a recommendation made that'tho 'country constituencies, of the I b°ard js'hould have; two, members each,;irii stead_of one;as was the case at present. I If r this' became 1a.w,.. the country-; districts would'have 'a much .greater 'say, as they properly should, in- the business;-of the port.' The experience of - the . past two . years, ,'iii-his - opinion;; had . shown 1 that a very "great. deal' of unnecessary. ; expenditure had; gone on, and he considered that, in . the near future, the revenue.' must *bo increased by; a' very; largo- amount 'in order to,, meet increased . fixed. charges. There were' only three sources' of income from .which -revenue; could be' : derived/ viz.;, from ships, . from importers, , and 'from''''exporters,": and it' would'require ' very; careful. consideration to make an equitable division of the / burden. on- the several; contributing sources.;'.: One v- great blunder had 'been. the .dock. '.' He had sought; every opportunity- of finding, out some way \ whereby this "huge- expenditure" could be obviated, ; but . wrthout success. . In: his • opinion ..it ■ was. unneces-: sary,,and; must .for; many: years prove a white elephant. ', ■... ... , . .;