GREYMOUTH HARBOUR

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 155, 26 March 1919, Page 3

GREYMOUTH HARBOUR

. A BANKRUPT BOARD GOVERNMENT COMES TO AID The Grevmoiith Harbour Board is bankrupt, has been bankrupt for some little time in fact, and the members of that bodv have had to appeal to the Minister of Marine for assistance from the Government. Tho Minister tf'hc Hon. T. M. Wilford) wri' on the West Coast some davs ago, and he then ciiscissed the matter with the board.. The question wns considered by Cabinet at two meetings, and yesterday Ml', jwltord made a statement as to what the Government is going to do. . "The board," said the Minister, was in a parlous position . financially largely owine to the drop in revenue, through (he decreased quantity of coal going over lis wharves. Tho members of the board had a conference with mo at Greymoutn recently to consider the question as to whether the" board should_.be taken oyer by, the Government or helped bv the •Government. The question of the relation of .the Railway Department to the board has yet to be gone into, but Cabinet has decided that in the meantime, and until legislation can be provided and a policy decided upon, tho Government will assist the board to carry on until the end of August, 1019. <'» the basis of the estimntes of the amount, required according to the representations made'to me by the board. This means that the-Government .puts, itself behind the bran! until the end of August. It is no. final decision, for, on the contrary, tho policy to be carried out in relation to the wfiol9 question has yet to-be considered with a view'to the prenaration of legislation to provide for the permanent policy of the Government. "The board at the present time owes the Government -€300.000, and some •#14,200 in arrears of Interest, and though the drop in the coal traffic its revenue to-dav. notwithstanding" careful management—because we aye all satisfied that it has boon careful in the -past two years— will not pav its interest and ordinary management expenses. Consequently, it has to nsk the .Government, to assist u or to, take over the port.-" Mr. Wilford indicated that the amount involved in backing the boa.rd with thi bank would not be considerable-prob-ably about .£2500. '.