HARBOUR BOARD

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 196, 14 May 1919, Page 3

HARBOUR BOARD

ANNUAL MEETING MR. J. G. BARENESS ELECTED CHAIRMAN The annual meeting of the Wellington Harbour Board was held yesterday, the principal business being the' election of a chairman for {he year. Those present were:—Messrs. C. E. Daniell, C. M. Turrell, J.-G. Ha.rkness, W. Cable, C. H. Chapman, M. W. Welch, J. W. M'Ewan, J. G. Cobbe. A. D. M'Leod, li. E. Sinclair. E, A. Wright, M.P., C. J. B. Norwood, and Captain C. M'Arthur. Leave of absenco was granted to Mr. M. Cohen.

In relinquishing tho position of chairman, which ho had held for four years, Mr. Daniell expressed his appreciation ■of the cordial feeling existing between the. members of the board and himself. He said 'he had been a member of the board for sixteen years, and when he was appointed to the position of chairman he strove to work for the interest of tho board nnd tho general welfare of the port. During tlie term of his chairmanship they- had had to "go slow" owing to tlio war, and had decided that constructivo works should not be proceeded with. However, plans had been prepared for the future development of the port. If .Wellington was to hold ite own as the chief distributing centre'cf the Dominion they must be prepared to provide ample facilities for the ships which would visit hero. Had it not been for the. war they would have been farther ahead with their development worki than they were. That they should go on with that work now was one of the demands of tho time, as moro wharf accommodation was Iβ' quired. If ships were to come to Wellington and get tho best accommodation the board would have to provide sheds of ample capacity for sorting,, distributing, and reshipping the goods. The plans of,the engineer (Mr. Marchbariks) .provided for a good deal of that work. In this connection he felt sure that the experiences of Mr. Marehbanks in studying, the uiorkg in other ports would be increasingly valuable, ''anil they'might look forward to keeping abreast of the times. There was another aspect of the matter; and that was" tho relative values of the money market, which would have a serious bearing on tho works that had to be done. Money would have gone up, perhaps 25' pur cent., and he had estimated that the difference to the payers of dues would be represented by an increase in the charges of about 80 per -cent. ]t had been estimated that the i:ost of the works which had.been proposed would Bo 'JEiiOil.OWi, so, as business men, ■ they would have reason to think well before gcjiig on with any big scheme. He was not a pessimist by any means, and he believed New.Zealand was eoine to hold its own and develop. ■He was-glad that the buard was a commercial, 'organisation, and that it was trying to do its duty for the good of the ■country as a whole. Mr. Daniell took the opportunity of* welcoming to the board Messrs. Chapman, Turrell,' and M'Leod. Mr. Turrell was a representative of th,6 shipping interests, and his advice would no doubt prove extremely valuable to the board. In Mr. M'Leod, a representative .of the Wairarapa/'they would bo.suro. that the interests of the primary industries would bo safeguarded. "I glory in the fncl that we have not had anything in the way of partisanship during my'term'as chairman," remarked' Mr. Daniell, in referring to the election of Mr. Chapman, a Labour member of .the board. 'They .welcomed Mr. Chapman', but, they hoped that the day of special representation was over. , . Mr. ■ Sinclair. then proposed that Mr. Harkness be elected chairman of the board. - : '' ". . ' "" Mr, Cablo seconded the motion. . Mr. M'Ewan considered that"- Mr. Daniell should b'e re-elected for another term, and ho proposed an , amendment in that direction, which was seconded byMr. Cobbe. ' ' Mr. Cobbe- thought that, the present was not the most favourable timo to ga in for a change; Mr. Daniell had tho confidence of everybody, and that was an important thing at n timo when there was so much industrial unrest.' ' Mr. Daniell declined to stand for the office of, chairman again. Ho said he bad' done his best, but felt that Mr. Harkness might yery .well bo appointed to the position. ' The amendment was withdrawn, and Mr. Harkness was unanimously elected. Mr; Harkness, expressed his indebtedness to Mr. Daniell for retiring in his favour, and said he looked to every member of the board for loyal support in carrying on the work of the board. He also asked for the co-operation of the executive staff, and he trusted that they would all work harmoniously together. Mr..Hark- J ness,also extended.a welconio to the new members. Rgarding tho labour problem, his view was that ' if. tlio subject-was approached, fairly by both sides an amicable arrangement would bo arrived at in the very, near, future. As chairman of the board, he would do his utmost to prevent any further, increasei in the. wharf .charges,. The whole question would have to be looked at fairly..and..isqiiatoly, ana if, it was. proved beyond all question that •there must bo an increase, tlion he must give. way.. But his impression was that the charges should not bo increased during the year. He recognised that they must liave a. more progressive policy in the works of the board. They must do everything that.was necessaa-y and adequate ..for the port's requirements. In considering what it would cost..to raise the money it would bo their bounden duty to take out from the schedule of .works which had been proposed only thoso projects (Which, wero practically important and necessary. Mr. Hai'kness concluded by indicating that he-would do Ills best to .promote tlie interests of the board, wliich was so.important to the Wellington district. Mr. Daniell was elected representative of the Wairarapa district, and Mr. M.Cobbe, tho representative of the Monawatu" district, on the "Wharves and Accounts Committee. • ■ Tlio following were appointed the Sinking Fund Investment Committee: Messrs, Cable, Chapman, Harkness, Norwood, Sin. clair.HVright, and Captain M'Arthur. , After a number of members had declared their willingness to loyally support Mr. Harkness in the office of chairman, the meeting terminated.