WESTPORT HARBOUR INQUIRY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1876, 9 October 1913, Page 5

WESTPORT HARBOUR INQUIRY.

BOARD'S ACCOUNTS. THE REPAYMENT OF LOANS. EXTRAVACANCE DENIED. The Royal Commission set up to inquire into tho administration of the •Wcstport Harbour Board' held its fifth day's sitting yesterday. Tile evidence ' tendored dealt chiefly with tho finances of tho board, with especial reference to tlie application of the special rate of 3d. per ton on coal shipped from the port, imposed by' tho Act of 1884. Members of tho commission present were Mr. S. J. Evans, S.M. (chairman), W. Ferguson, and Gerald Fitzgerald. Mr. A. T. Maginnity appeared for tho Crown, Mr. W. G. M'lionald for the secretary of tho board (Mr. C. N. Greenland), and Mr. J. Colvin, M.P. (an exchairman of the board); and Mr.. A; A. Wilson for the board. Tho present chairman of the board (Mr. F..F. Munro) was also present. An Engineer's Evidence. Mr. R. W. Holmes engineer-in-chief to the Public Works (Department, and chief marine engineer, gave evidence regarding the provisions of clause 12 of the Westpcxrt Harbour Act, 1912, which deals with tho board's finances. Questioned about the navigation of the port, the witness said that the plans for improvements submitted to the Department by the board had not been approved in every particular. Ho did not think there would be much difficulty in navigating vessels into the proposed dock, with a current of three or four _ knots. Big vessels would have to be warped in. as they would have so much "way" that they would be difficult to stop, if they entered undor their own power. . A mooring wharf below the present cattle wharf would bo needed for these vessels. Sir John Coode's plan for a floating basin on the western side of the river had been abandoned in favour of Mr. Napier Bell's east bank schpmo. In the witnoss's opinion the best scheme for the improvement of the river would bo to combine steps for ar- ■ ranging a moderate velocity of current I with dredging. A reduccd velocity I would prevent the flow of the larger gravels. , He thought tho dredges' should work double shifts., , Various Works. / The Hon. R. M'Kenzie, M.P. for Motuoka, who was called by Mr. M'Donald, said that he first went to Wcstport in 1886 or 1887 to tender for the construction of tho railway from the South Spit. He was member of Parliament for Buller for three years, and a member of the Harbour Board for twelve—lß9s to 1907. He was ' 'chairman of the board for a few months while .he was member for Buller, which included the town of Westport, he got a Bill passed through Parliament, including in tho board's endowments certain lands on the Westport side of tho river. The land was to be devoted to the floating basin, and to give access to it. Under the Act of 1896, the Land Board could grant only yearly tenancies of the land near the proposed basin. The Harbour Board could not carry out any works without the authority of the Governor-in-Coun-cil and the Marine Department.. Tho Marine Department had all the responsibility. • All' the plans must come before the Govornor-jn-Council The chairman said that the cost of tho work of extending the breakwater had been greatly under-estimated. . 'Mr. Ferguson: It must havo> been known to members of the board that tlie last extension'of the eastern breakwater cost £120 a foot. Does it not seem strange that the engineers should have estimated the cost of tho new work at only £60 a foot? —"My experience of engineers is that when thoy want a work done their estimate is a low one; when thoy don't' want it done the estimate is high." Mr. Ferguson: My estimates were always very near the actual cost. The witness: I know that. In answer to Mr. M'Donald, the witness said that he could see no reason • why the South Spit land should not bo leased. When ho was on the board they di.i not attach much importance to it, especially when it was decided to put the floating basin on the other side of the river. The idea of the floating basin was to provide safe anchorage for warships and other largo vessels in time of ■ flood. That £145,000. Dealing with the Capo Foulwind railway line, the witness said that tho cost of maintenance must be heavy, owing to the weights carried. The board had nothing to do with the Cape Foulwind Railway,' except to get the surplus revenue, and therefore was not directly concerned in tho £145,000 which the lino had cost to construct. He had neyer looked on this amount as a liability of the board. ' , The chairman: Was not the £145,000 made a special charge on the rate ? The witness: I do not think so. Ho vent on to say that the board was a Government trust, and could hardly move without the consent of the Governor-in-

Council and tho Marine Department. For years tho Government objected to , tho levying of the special rate, as damaging to the part. t Before any loan was raised, the witness continued, the plans had to bo approved by tho Government. As an exmember of the board, ho had no hesitation in saying that the officers of the Marine Department were responsible for all plans regarding harbour works at Westport. They had the power to vetoplans, and had dono so on many occasions. The Department was more responsible for works at Westport than at any other port of tho Dominion, as the Department had oomplete control there. He kneW'Of cases whero work had been held over for long poriods—two years on 0110 occasion—by tho Department. The Governor had to approvo of the engineer. Departmental Extravagance. The witness said that the Bailway Department had been extravagant in its working in and around Westport. The.v had insisted on supplying the board with steel trucks, which were useless because of tho sulphur in tho coal. Tho Department had built n double line to. Waimangaroa, when a single lino would Ilavo done. Tho railway' officers who chargod the board with extravaganco were possibly biassed in their opinions. Hs would back the board's administrative expenses against those of the Railway Department. The Price of coal, William Alfred Flavell, Wellington manager of the Westport Coal Company, said that tho'prices at which coal was sold at Westport, as given to the Commissioner by the Westport manager, were only for casual sales. Contracts wcro arranged in Wellington, and the Westport manager would have no knowledge of them. To Mr. Forguson; Ho could not give any idea of the probable life of the coalfields, a matter on which geologists disagreed. It was purely a matter of guesswork. It was estimated that the company's mines would be ablo to maintain their present output for another thirty years.' Some of tho mines would probably be exhausted in that period, but the output of others would bo increased. To Mr. Munro: All coastal boats bunkered with New Zealand cor.l. Most 'if the intercolonial boats, beinu Union

Compaay'g boats, bunkered at Wellington, with Wcstport coal. Many of tliem used Newcastle coal, which could bo obtained moro cheaply at Sydney than New Zealand coal. The Vancouver mail liners as a rule did! not take in Now Zealand coal, as they could bo moro cheaply supplied in Australia. They were not run on a philanthropic basis. Mr. Ferguson: Thoy are in a Now Zealand port only for a few hours. Mr. Munro: Tho Government subsidises those vessels. Tho chairman: That is another question. Mr. Munro: Well, if tho Government pays £20,000 a year, they might stipulate that tho vessels should use New Zealand coal. Wo have had evidence 'that there are hundreds of acres of first-class steam coal lying untouched, because there is no market for it. Tho Special Rats. Henry J. Hawthorn, officer in charge of pay, revenue, and imprest accounts in the Treasury Department, also gave evidence with regard to Section 12 of the Westport Harbour Act, 1884. The, Treasury, on March 31 last, held £18,893, which had .been paid by the board in accordance with tho provisions of the Act. The first payment was in 1905-6, when £6152 was paid. The rate was tho subject of a law-suiti in 1905. The chairman said that the rate had been levied since 1901, and the Court ordered that it should be appropriated in certain proportions. This payment v.'as obviously tho amount duo for the four years during which' the rate had been levied. i The witness continued that since 1905 payments had been made annually. The money now in the hands of the Treasury did not bear interest. Tlie chairman pointed out that tho money raised by the 'special rate had been devoted to the repayment of tho board's loans generally, instead of the £500,000 loan for which it was specifically provided by law. Ho asked if there was any authority for this. Mr. said that he knew of ho authority. Mr. Ferguson: You had better apply to Wcstport and find out. A Misapprehension Corrected. Mr. J. Colvin appeared before tho Commission to explain his position with regard to his dealings with the Golf Club. He referred to a statement made on tho previous day by Mr. Ferguson, and reported in tho newspapers, that he fcitd arranged with the Golf Club to pet a pastoral license over the South 2&TS' lands, which he was to transfer to tho club, and that when the license was granted, ho refused to carry out his arrangement with the club. " This statement, he said, made it appear as if he had broken faith with the club. This was not so. He had never played fast aT?*'looso with the club. The chairman said that the evidence of Mr. .Wilson had led the commission to believe'that this \vas the position. Mr. Ferguson said that he bud mndo the statement in justice to Mr. Colvin. He was calling the witness's attention to the position his evidence was putting Mr. Colvin in. Mr. Colvin said that Mr. Wilson was greatly mistaken if, he had made such a statement. Mr. Ferguson repeated that he had made the statement to protect Mr. Colvin. He saw the drift of the evidence, and wished the witness to realise the position fully. Mr. Colvin said that many charges had been made against him, and ho knew that the whole thing arose from political feeling against him. He had his good name to look to, and ho did not and would not allow any man to interfere with him, no matter what his position was. The chairman: Wo are here to get at the truth. 1 Mr. Colvin: Very well; I don't fear ■the truth. Mr. Ferguson Baid that after Mr. Wilson had given his evidence they fully expedted that Mr. Colvin would bo recalled by his solicitor. Tho Board's Accounts. Peter P. Webb, chief clerk of the Audit Department, said that ho was familiar with the Supreme Court decision regarding the special__rnte, and how the rate was to bo applied. The money was to be divided rateably between the'£soo,ooo loan and the £150,000 loan; none of it was to bo devoted to the £200,000 loan, which was subsequent. The board had been greatly surprised when tho lato Mr. Seddon had insisted in making tho £145,000 a charge against the board. They had expected to be relieved of this liability. Unless there was any snecific authority, any payment out of the rate towards the liquidation of the £200,000 loan was wrong. It was against the decision of tho Supreme Court. The board had no account showing the £1145,000 loan aB a liability. There was no asset to balance it. • The chairman: The asset is a railway, which belongs to the Railway Department, and of which the board gets the revenue. The witness said that there was no. direction in law as to how boards should keep their accounts. Tho Audit Department was inot concerned with anything but the balance-sheet, and its officers had- no powers over books. The commission adjourned until 10 a.m. to-day.