HARBOUR CONTROL.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1920, 1 December 1913, Page 8

HARBOUR CONTROL.

BOARD AND DEFENCE COMMITTEE. At t-he meeting of the Harbour Board 011 Wednesday, the chairman (Mr. R. Fletcher) remarked that the- Wellington Employers', Farmers', and Citizens' Defence Committee was trying to run the Harbour Board at the present time, and. that ho objected to it. 011 tho saino day tho board passed a resolution which is mentioned in tho following correspondence :— On November 27 tho secretary of tho Harbour Board (Mr. H. E. Nieholls) wrote to tho Defcncc Commit-fro as follows :—"1 have to inform you that tho board at its monthly meeting yesterday decided that 011 ami after this date tho allotting of berths to the vessels and control of the loading and discharging of vessels will be entirely in tho hands of tho board's officers, viz., the Harbour Master and Wharfinger respectively." The secretary of the Defence Committee (Mr. W. Pryor) replied in the following terms 011 November 2!): —"I am instructed to reply to your letter of November 27 with regard to tho loading and discharging of vessels. To the extent that your letter indicates that it is thought that this committee has been undertaking same of the functions of the Harbour Master and Wharfinger, it is believed there, must be some misapprehension ill tho minds of tho members of the board. "This committee has never, in any way, either desired or attempted to allot tho berthing or control of the loading or discharging of vessels. The Labour Committee has met the Harbour Master and Wharfinger each day, and stated the vessels it was desired to have alongside next day. After the board's officials allocates the" berths to he taken and the sheds to be worked the Labour Committee arranges the "available labour in accordance with t-lio requirements of the various employers. "My committee thinks it necessary to make'this statement- in fairness to tho board's officials, and in order to make it perfectly clear that nr-ifclic-r the Harbour Master nor the Wharfinger have permitted tho slijjhtcst abrogation of their duties." ■