THE DOCK.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 934, 29 September 1910, Page 4

THE DOCK.

—-o ; •The Chairman- of the Harbour Board, Mr. Fletcher, is to'be "complimented on the very full and clear statement which he placed before the Board last evening "concerning the, position of the dock contract. There are one or two" matters arising out of his remarks which call for further explanation,but the larger is ; sues, were set out by ,him in a plain straightforward manner which will enable 'citizens' to form a very fair idea of the situation from all points of view. The amount of the unexr pended portion of the dock loan which, is to be devoted to '■ "other works" was not stated, nor were-the other works specified, but these particulars can be supplied later. It will also be. interesting to learn in due course how far, if at all, the Bo&rd expects to-be recouped for its net loss (realised and contingent) of £38,857, by. utilising the present dock site for other purposes. It may be taken for granted that if the dock> undertaking is abandoned, the existing site, about which there has been much diversity of opinion, will be turned to pthcr uses. The departure involved in permitting contractors to abandon a large undertaking of jthis kind without enforcing tho penalties prescribed under the contract , is not one to be lightly passed over. Mb. Fletcher has touched on this aspect' of the situation indirectly in his explanation of. the position which would have" arisen had the contractors. carried through tho work to its completion. According to his figures, which no doubt' are reasonable estimates, the Harbour Board would, in such circumstances, have been saddled with an annual charge of from £20,000 to £24,000, and in the present state of the Board's finances this would bo. a very serious matter. We have no. doubt that it was this consideration' which influenced' the Board in its decision to permit the contractors to abandon their undertaking without enforcing the penalties attached to such a course of action. No doubt the contractors have lost very heavily on the work they have so far done, but we doubt very much whether, in the circumstances, a private individual or a

public company would . not have driven a much harder bargain. On the general question of the abandonment of the work, both the Board and the citizens of Wellington are to be congratulated. The dock, when completed,'would have been a heavy drain on the Board for years to come, - involving increased port charges. Already the port charges are high enough to cause concern and any further increases would be likely to have a most prejudicial effect on the future of the port, and, consequently, on the city and province. The dock undertaking as it is will prove a costly • luxury— £38,000 is not a small sum even for the Wellington Harbour Board to throw away—but it is better to cut that loss ; now than to proceed with the work , and incur a, still greaterone.