WESTPORT HARBOUR INQUIRY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1875, 8 October 1913, Page 5

WESTPORT HARBOUR INQUIRY.

THE COLVIN LEASES. RAILWAYS AND WORKSHOPS EXPENDITURE. EXTRAVAGANCE ALLEGED. LIFE OF THE COALFIELDS. Tho Royal Commission set up to inquire into the administration of the Westport Harbour Board Bat again yesterday, this being the fourth day of sitting in Wellington. Further ovidence was called with regard to the granting of a pastoral license over the board's lands on tho South Spit to Mr. Jamep Colvin, M.P., and subsequent transactions.. Other evidence dealt'with the administration of tho board's engineering workshops, which was alleged to ba extravagant, and with the board's finances. Very important evidence with regard to tho probable life of the coalfiolds was also given. Members of the Commission present wero Messrs. J. S. Evans, S.M, (chairman), W. Ferguson, aiid Gerald Fitzgerald. Mr. A. T. Maginnity appeared for the Government; Mr. W. G. M'Donald for the secretary of the board (Mr. C. N. Greonland) and Mr. J. Colvin, M.P. (a former chairman of the board);' and Mr. A. A. Wilson for the board. Mr. F. F. Munro (the present chairman of "the board) was also proBent. i

. Mr. Colvln's License. Mr. A. A. Wilson, solicitor, of Westport, said that when Mr. Colvin sold his pastoral license over the board's iunds on the South Spit to Mr. Egan, the transfer was subject to the Golf Club's agreement. Egan was a bonafide purchaser, and when he bought Mr. Colvm's reversion, Mr. Colvin had no further interest in the land. Mr. Egan had since sold his interest. The witness, did not think it was within the scope of the inquiry to say who the latest purchaser was, but it was not the witness himself, as had been stated before the Commission. Later, the witness said that the purchaser was his wife, who had paid Mr. Egan £800. In his; transactions with' Mr. Colvin, Mri Egan had never acted in any way as an agent of tho witness or Mrs. Wilson. How the Case . The chairman: Tlio position, so far as tho evidence now shows, is this, Mr. Wilson. The Golf Club made application for tho land, which was refused by the Land Board. That application, prior to its refusal, was submitted to the Harbour Board, and the board " asked for certain, restrictions to be put on the lease. On its refusal, you anticipated that the arrangements previously made by the club with Mr. Colvin would be carried out. You'applied, ostensibly as solicitor. for Mr. Colvin, for a twenty-one years' lease, under the impression that your option was still ' over it,-and that tho land was to become a golf links. That application did not go before the Harbour Board, but only before its officials. The witness: I don't know whether it came before tho officials.

The chair/Jan: When tho plan came to be drawn up, a reservation was made by two officials of the board, consisting of 74 acres, for harbour works. t The witness:-Two officials without authority. •> The chairman: Still, it was made; we are only dealing with the facts. There was a-good deal, of correspondence between you' and others, including the Land Board, but nothing came before the Harbour Board. Nothing was reserved but'6s acres.' The witness: And the railway reserve. The chairman: Well, that seems to be . all you can tell us. Wo have not yet found out how this reservation came to be taken off. The witness: I don't think it was ever put on. "Professional Etiquette." The chairman: Mr. Colvin was at tho game time a member of the board and an' applicant for the land. You. were at- .the same time solicitor for the Golf Club and the Harbour Board. You were acting ostensibly for Mr. Colvin, but rea'.ly you were solicitor for the Golf Club. If you are solicitor for the Harbour Board don't you think it your duty to act in its interests? Mr. Mac Donald: I don't think it is right to describe Mr. Wilson as the board's solicitor. The witness explained that ,he had been appointed by resolution of the board, but he had no retainer or salary. - He simply, acted for them as required. The chairman: Do you not think your first duty is to tho Harbour Board? — "Not necessarily." Mr. Ferguson: If the board were to come in conflict with the Golf Club, you would notify one side that you could not act for it in that particular matter?—"l don't tliink their interests were ever in conflict." The chairman: Ah, but we do. The interests of the club were to have no restrictions on the lease; the interests of tho board' wero to have the restrictions put on. Clearly their interests were in conflict. I am putting the,matter quite frankly, Mr. Wilson, so that you can make any explanation you think fit. Mr. Ferguson: It is a question' of professional etiquette,;is it not? Tho chairman: I don't know. The question is how the reservation came to be taken off. If we don't get. the facts we can only draw our inferences. The, witness: I don't see that the reservation was ever on. It was only put on by a draughtsman in the office. The chairman: It was on all right. We say thi4 matter should have come ( before the board. There was a cood deal of correspondence from the Land Board to the secretary which should 1 have come before tho board.

Mr. Ferguson: What ia tho custom of the board? Is a list of correspondence mado out and read over at the i board meeting?—"l don't think so." Mr. Ferguson: You know the cus- ' torrt, Mr. Munro? Mr. Munro: I have been on the board only for tho last three months. My . system is that I go through tho correspondence and sort out what I think should go before tho board. Mr. Ferguson: You don't know what •happened before? It may have been tho secretary who did this? Mr. Munro: Yes. As a matter of ( fact, that is ono of my charges—that the business was dono by tho officials which should have been done by the board. ■ ■ Mr. Ferguson: You haven't made . that clear to us. , The chairman: It is only coming out I now - . \ . , Mr. Munro: I have just; received a telegram from ono of my colleagues on tho board that the secretary has sent • letter to tho Commission without tho • authority of the board. He has acted In thjs way; so long that he has come to think it is right. Mr. Ferguson: He is the executive officer of tho board between, meetings. He cannot hold up everything for a meeting. Of courso his action has to be confirmed or otherwiso at the next ' meeting of tho board. Coll Club's Application. The witness was submitted to crossexamination by Mr. Munro with regard

to the negotiations between the Golf Club, Mr. Colvin, and tho Land Board. It appeared that after tho club's application was refused, Mr, Colvin applied for a license, it being understood that ho was to dispose of his right to tho club for £500. Tho club took a threo months' option over his right. After ho got tho license, however, he declined to carry out the arrangements. Mr. Munro: Why did Mr. Colvin refuse to sell to tho. Golf Club?—" The club didn't wish to "have the land." Mr. Munro: But you stated at a club meeting that Mr. Colvin absolutely refused to sell—that he would liavo nothing more to do with the club.—"Most of the members of tho club did not wish to havo tho,land, although I did personally." v ' Mr. Ferguson: The position is somewhat changed. Mr. Colvin had an agreement with tho Golf Club to get a lease, and when ho got it ho refused to carry out his arrangement with tho olub. He definitely refused to renew the option. » The witness: The club was better without it. It was better to pay £12 a year than £500. Mr. M'Donald: The club could easily have raised tho money. Mr. Munro : What is tho value of the land for leasing purposes? The chairman: For cutting-up and building ? Mr. Munro: No; for grazing. Tho chairman: The ground rate is 6d. per acre. How much stock does it carry ? The witness said that there had been 300 sheep—rather more than one'to the acre—and some oattle on the land for the past year. The Board's Extravagance.

Ernest Edward Gillon, manager of the Hillsido Railway Workshops, said that he was locomotive engineer at Westport from 1905 to 1912. During ■that period several of tho Harbour Board s works came under his notice. As chief mechanical engineer he was in charge of all tho coal-loading appliances on tho wharves. He had had no official correspondence with'headquarters with regara to the board's works. Mr. Ferguson: Any private corres•pondence ? The witness: Hundreds of times. The chairman: From your observation, do you think tho board's work is done economically? . 1 The witness: Certainly not. He went on to say that' the board employed far too many men, and there was not enough work for them all. On the Capo Foulwind i line permanent way there wore 18 men—far too many—permanently employed, and the line was kept in a very bad way. The board once employed 33. men on relaying a small number of rails. There were far too many employed on the job. The board's workshops were run uncconomically. "An Absolute Farce." Mr. Ferguson: With regard to tho board's storekeeper? The witness: It was an absolute farce." They had a small store,, and a man sat on a barrel all day doing nothing. There was ho need for a storekeeper. That st<)re could havo been nut alongside "the workshop and looked after bv tho foreman.

The chairman; So the position was unnecessary?—" Quite unnecessary." Mr. Ferguson: We have been told that tho storeman was a relative of one of the board members. —"The first one was." XTr. Pe'rguson: And the inference is that the iob was found for him.—"lt looked like it.!' Questioned by the chairman, the witness said that. considerable economies could ho effected in the board's railway; For one thing there should be a reduction of train mileage. Moro trains wore Tun than were nccessary. Tho workshops had too many men, and the methoc] }pf 'forking, ..decidedly uneconomical." Mr. Ferpuson: In fact, as an engineer, it "hurt you to see tho way things went on?—"It hurt a good few of us. We had to run our shop very economically, and we could not help observing the difference between'the shops." Uneconomical Working. • ' The witness said further that many of the men employed by the board were very incompetent, although there were several excellent men. The Railway Department had fully six times the rolling stock of tho Harbour Board, but employed fewer men in the workshop. Ho had seen the board's men making concrete piles. This work was done most uncconomically, there being far too many men about. There was a concrete mixer, but the witness had never seen it working. Were ho in charge of the works, he could • effect very great savings, by the adoption of common mechanical devices. Tho board also employed too many men "fishing" for logs. He saw 16 men on the punt one day; there was hardly standingroom for them all. The board's works generally were carried out with a great lack of system. He did not blame the foremen, who were generally excellent men, but those in authority. Tho dredges were on one shift—B a.m. to 5 p.m. —irrosDective of the state of the tide. He had seen the d r edges idle many a time. He should have sot them to work according to the tide and conditions. He could not see. what use the floating basin would be, or how it could be worked economically. Ho thought there. was sufficient berthage accommodation in the river for many years to come, with necessary equipment. Two more cranes would be required. Ho was surprised to hear that the esplanade had cost £6000. This was a most exorbitant price for the work done. There was very little erosion at the point where it was made.

To Mr. Wilson: Ho was not awaro of any rivalry between the Harbour Board and the Railway Department. To Mr. Ferguson: Fitters in the railway shop received lis. 6d. a day (the board rate being 12s. Id.). • Skilled labourers received 9s.' 6d. and 10s.- after some years of service. (The board's' "handy men" get 10s. 6d.). From the wages of the Railway Department's men must be deducted superannuation. The Board's Finances. Percy S. Waldie, Public Works Inspector, gave cvidenco with regard to tho sums mentioned in Clause 12 of the Westport Harbour Act, 1884. This clause provided that when the sum of £250,000 had been expended in the improvement of the harbour, a special Tate of 3d. per ton should be paid by coal shippers, to be applied to the repayment of moneys borrowed under the Act, with interest, together with tho repayment of the sum of £145,511 charged upon the Bullor Coal Field Reserve and the Westport Colliery Reserve by the AVcstland and Nelson Coal Fields .Administration Act, 1877. He could riot say definitely how tho amount was arrived at. Up to June 30,. 1876, there had been expended on the lino the sum of £103,615. In the year ended Juno 30, 1877, a further £54.1-74 was spent, making a total of £157,789. Up to March 31, 1884, the amount spent was £206.944. So far as ho knew the Harbour Board had paid no interest on tho £145.000. The £18.000 paid in by the board was held by the treasurer, as the spocisl coal rate of 3d. per ton. The chairman:.Tho board claims that part of this £18,000 is for the payment of interest, and part for the payment of principal. The witness: /That may be so.' Mr. Ferguson: It has not been appropriated ? fhe witness: No, it has,not been appropriated for that purpose. Mr. Ferguson: Has the £18,000 been earning interest?—"l do not think so. I should very much doubt it. It is simply on deposit account, and may bo operated on at any time." . Mr. .Ferguson: By whom?—'"'By the Treasury, on tho representation of the Department concerned. I tako it." Mr. Ferguson: So that by default of tho Harbour Board to ouerate on the

account, that money has lain there all these years without earning a penny P — "I suppose tho Government has had the uso of it." (Laughter.)

A Geologist's Opinion. Percy G. Morgan, M.A., Director of Geological Survey, gavo evidence of the geology of tho Westport district, with especial roferenco to the coalfields. He said that in 1911 he estimated the total quantity of bituminous coai originally in situ in tho Buller coalfield at 231,000,000 tons. To this estimate might now bo added 9,000,000 tons in tho \\ estport-Stockton lease, and, say, 3,000,000 tons in the Blackburn district. This made a total of 243,000,000 tons. Iho coal won to date was 12,000,000 tons. This left 231,000,000 tons in tho ground at tho present time, to which might be added possible but improved coal in the Bkckburn district and beneath the Westport flats. Under present conditions, however, the greater part of this coal could not be won. Much coal was left in the mines because its extraction' was dangerous, and some hard and some soft coal was unprofitable to mine. It was safe to say that moro than two-thirds of the coal in the ground would not bo mined until either tho price of coal greatly increased or the working costs wore materially reduced. Ail increased demand for soft or friable coal would, of course, be equivalent to an increase in price. The witness therefore estimated the quantity of extractable bituminous coal originally in the Buller coalfield as 81,000,000 tons, of which 12,000,000 tons have been mined, leaving 69,000,000 tons. This estimate, by men qualified to judge, would be regarded as highly optimistic. Personally ho much feared that it iyas to some extent misleading, though probably future improvements in methods of utilising tho coal would lead to tho estimate being ultimately realised, and, he hoped, exceeded. Expected Improvements. The improvements the witness anticipated were: (1) Methods of using friable coal to advantage—for example, dust firing; (2) manufacture of coke, now being carried out on a small scale in Germany; (3) converting the potential energy of the coal at the mine into electrical eneigy for transmission to factories near the coast,, and also, if required, to manufacturing centres perhaps 100 miles or more distant. Of these threo methods of using coal to better'advantage tho witness considered that tho third offered the greatest promise. If fully developed, it would enable friable and dirty coal to be utilised without loss. Household Goal. In the Brighton-Charleston district, the witness continued, thero was a considerable amount of lignite, more suitable for local use than for export. Ho estimated the proved quantity of coal at 7,000,000 tons. In the Inangahua Valloy there was a large area holding brown coal of excellent quality for household use. Including tho Eeefton' district, perhaps 10,000,000 tons of coal might be considered proved. Tho possible coal might bo estimated at 100.000,000 tons. The witness gave details of the various coalfields. In the Blackburn area .there might be <10,000,000 to 50,000,000 tons of coal, but before an attempt to work it was made, the field must lie proved by boring. Extrome caution in developing the fields was necessary. Access to tho Blackburn field was very difficult, the easiest way of reaching it being from the Westport-Stockton lease, a j]istiyice of, three or four miles in a straight line. It would be expensive to approach tlio field from any direction. Ho recommended thd construction of a horse-track from tho Westport-Stockton lease to tho Blackburn pakihi, at a cost of £1200, for tho exploration of the Blackburn area. After the Blackburn pakihi had been drilled, further trackmaking would be nccessary before the area to the east and north-east could bo proved. , Bituminous Coal. "The amount of bituminous coal exported from Westport," the witness continued, "will increase in the next few years, but I do not see any reason for expecting that the total produce of the present mines will become much larger than at present. A number of years must elapso before the Blackburn coal will be available, and it may be that the field does not warrant development during the present generation. As for the Westport fiats, tho presence of bituminous coal in workable quantity is doubtful, and, in any case, I.foel certain that it will take at least ten years to prove tho field, and open a colliery. Only a limited export trade, in Charleston lignite is likely to. be developed. When tho railway line is extended through the Buller Gorge to Inangahua Junction, a* small export of brown coal to Wellington and other New Zealand ports will probably be induced. This, doubtless, will increase as time goes on. It has to bo noted, however, that some of the Inangahua coal will be shipped from Greymouth, and some will go overland to Western Canterbury. The limestone and marly, clays near Cape Foulwind are suitable for cement manufacture, and within a few years a cement industry, leading to the export of 20,000 or 30,000 tons of cement per annum, will, one hopes, be established. Small quantities, of lime, bricks, etc., will also he shipped in future years. It is hazardous to make a prophecy, for unknown factors will probably come into play, but if the export of coal and other minerals from Westport within the next twenty years reaches one and a half million tons, it will exceed my present expectations. Tho export of agricultural products, and tho general import trade will increase in a greater ratio than .tho universal export. Westport is undoubtedly the best harbour on the West Coast of tho South Island, tho Otago Sounds excepted, and with the extension of the railway through the Buller Gorge, the area commanded by tile port will be greatly increased. It is possible, moreover, that some method of utilising the Pakihi Flats, near Westport, will soon bo discovered, and such utilisation will certainly increase the trade of,tho port to a notable extent."

On account of the magnitude of the interests' at stake, the witness advocated the boring of the Westport Flats sooner or later. Since deep bores v.'cro required the work would be expensive, and therefore certainly ought to bo conducted on a systematic plan, under systematic guidance. The boring hitherto done had not given any information beyond confirming to a great extent the inferences drawn from the geological examination of the surface. Need for Caution. In . answer to Mr. 'Ferguson, the witness said that his estimato of' the amount of coal in tho ground was a full estimate. Sir James Hector had arrived at tho samo figures, but had halved them. To Mr. M'Donald: He estimated tho coal lifo of tho district nt 45 or 50 years, provided that tho miners could get out a tliird of tho coal in tho ground. Ho doubted if this could bo done. Mr. Ferguson: Therefore it behoves people who are expending monoy in connection with tlie port to be careful that tlioy will have their return within CO years? Tho witness: Yes: unless the price of coal increases considerably in the meantime. Tho chairman: Or that thcro is a hig development of the pastoral interest? Mr. M'Donald: The coal life of tho district would bo trebled if all the coal could bo mined. The witness: That is impossible. All tho coal can not be won, although improvements might lead to a bigger percentage being mined. To Mr. Munro: There was a difference oi ibovit 10 per s*nt. in calorific.

value in favour of Westport coal, as compared with Newcastle coal. Mr. Munro said that it seemed a great pity that so much fine steam coal was being used for domestic purposes, while big fields of domestic coal were lying undeveloped. The witness: It is a pity. Pure Cuessing. Frank Heed, inspecting engineer of State collories, said that to make an estimate of the life of tho coalfields waß a pure hazard. When ho was engaged on the Duller field 28 years, ago as mine manager, geologists had made certain estimates, but practical mining had shown that thero was not nearly so much coal as they had estimated. Most of tho mines on the field had proved a failure, and with one exception—the Westport Coal Company—none of the mining companies had been ablo to pay a dividend. Tho Deiiniston coal field was almost exhausted. They were extracting pillars, which was one of the last stages. Another twenty years would see the mine exhausted. The Millerton mine would be exhausted in 40 years. Ho had recently examined the Stockton mine. There was thero 9,000,000 tons in situ, of which they should win 3,000,000. This, ho considered, a close estimate, as the ground had been well bored. The chairman: Is that tho usual proportion of coal won —a third? The witness: One of our most successful mines, tile Brutuier, got only 25 per cent. The old Cardiff mine (Seddonville), tho witness continued, was exhausted ; it never contained much. He advocated a systematic boring of the Blackburn field. There had been so many failures on the West Coast that work should not bo commenced until they wero absolutely sure that coal was there in payable quantities. The chairman: Who should do the boring?—" Well, I can hardly mako any recommendation, but I think tho results would be obtained by the Government, who would put on trained men, with the best appliances. But then tho troublo is—if they find coal, who owns it?" The chairman: Might not tho Harbour Board carry out boring?—" From what I.have seen of the board's boring previously I should certainly not recommend it." Mr. Ferguson: Don't you think that it would be better for the work to bo carried out by the Government 'in a systematic manner than for other people to blunder along in the way of private enterprise, in the hope of making something out of it?—" That is' a difficult question to answer. If the Government prospected and found coal, pressuro might be brought to bear on them to work it'as a State coal-field." , Mr. M'Donald: Would that be a catastrophe ? ' The witness: I have.nothing to say about that. Mr. Ferguson: That is not a fair question to ask of the witness. In reply to Mr. M'Donald, tho witness said that he had not been pessimistic in his view of the life of the fields. Mr. Ferguson: Therefore it behoves those in charge of the port to see that they incur no expenditure for which they cannot pot an early return? —■ "Certainly. But I agree with Mr. Morgan that there is a possible field on the plains—in fact, a probable field." Tho chairman: Which should _bo thoroughly prospected under the direction of your Department?—" Yes." The witness concluded that he agreed with tho evidence of Mr. Morgan in every respect, except with regard to his estimates of the amount of coal available. That was a mere matter of guess. He had seen eeologists mako many mistakes on the West Coast. The board adjourned until 10 a.m. to-day.