GREYMOUTH HARBOUR.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 908, 30 August 1910, Page 6

GREYMOUTH HARBOUR.

PEESS ; STATEMBNTSIEESENTED.. ': ■' - ..' ■ -.'" .' I ■ ',"•"*'"' "' ' ; i ._-.■' ' At the last meeting of .the Greymouth rfarbour. Board (says our local correspondent) . a "strong.. , protest was unani-mously."-entered by the.', members of that body 'against-the-action of the evening journal in belittling the.port. : The. chairman said'that, 'having >read nn article-m the ■ evening- paper, -.; giving so-called "facts" .about , : the blockade'.of. shipping at the port he at once instituted inquiries, and found that the 'newspaper'report was entirely misleading, and that thereupon he instrncted the' secretary ■ ! to' forward the following letter ;tothe- directors of tho Star" Company, objecting to the. dain/igihg report:--^.-"The Chairihan' of Directors, " , '"Evening Star , .Company, ,Xitd., .;■'.. !'. '. ■■' ■.. .. • '■..' . •'•'.Greymouth. '■ "Sir;—l am' directed -by'the chairman of the" board'.'to:;:dra<.-ypirr attention to an article'appearing in last eveningg issue of yonr paper. The-articlo is-headed •Greymouth Harbour-The Unworkable Bar-What'.'it Means to the Shipping Companies;' and ■ purports ■tn show the delays that-have.taken place to certain vessels. The article is- corrtict m so far as tiie'date of arrival 'n.nd tir"e in port of V the vessels ,l mentioned is concerned, -but it "is absoliitbly ihebrrec-j' in its statement of the : delay that has taken place thronghthe shoaling iof the bar. The-facts are as follow:— '".•:. . '■ ■ Time ■■/ : . ; Delayed : ,■ '.. . •". : .'-• Completed to Vessels. ;-';r Arrival... . Loading.. 'Aug. 16.: Ennerdale July 31 Aug. 9 •-7 days Kouiati. ■ Aug. 1 . . Aug. 9 , 7 days Poherua Aug. 2 ' Aug.-13 '. 18 days. Annie Hill 3. Aug.lli .' ml Laura' . 3 not yet loaded nil Kittawa . ' Aug: 7 . Aug. 13 ; 3 days ' "It will -therefore- be scon that, .with the exception of the Poherua, which. loaded coal, nono of the above-mentioned vessels has been delayed anything like ..the time stated, arid that the Laiira and Annie Hill have not been delayed at all, as they "had- not, when the article ■ appeared, completed- their loading. Further, , the cost of 'the delay of steamers is not an average of M a day,' but only about half that sum." ••'••.. ••' ■'-. , , In the course of a lengthy speech dealiDK with the paper's action, Mr. \ Campbell asserted th.-.t nobody felt so keenly as he did.the attack mado on the board. When ho took office he adopted.a policy which he strenuously endeavoured to carry out, and excellent progress had been made.- The Government .had sent engineers to report on the works, the loans would be consolidated, ' and -tne revenue was increasing. The .board was in as sound a position as any body of its kind in the Dominion. The most rigid economy had been practised, and it was wrong to telegraph all over New Zealand incorrect information. The Harbour Board had already spent .£700,000, and yet its debt was only .£300,000. Its revenue had increased last year to £32,000, and ho felt confident, ho said, that before ho vacated tho chair it would bo .£50,000. If iiioney, industry, and energy.conld do it, Greymouth would havo a port as good as : it was'possible to make. The Press Association telegram sent out was totally unwarranted and 'misleading.