The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1874.

Evening Star, Issue 3627, 7 October 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1874.

The Harbor Board does not make the progress in its work we should like to see. It does not appear to be in such insuperable straits as to paralyse all exertion. Propositions for carrying out the necessary works by men capable of executing them have been received, in faith that the revenue will be ample for all purposes; and there can be no doubt whatever financial difficulties beset the Trust; they are mainly theoretical. Like commencing a new business, II n'y a que le 'premier pas qui coute. One principal.difficulty appears to be within the Board itself. Mr M‘Dermid is the embodiment of caution : he would not advise taking any step until he has money in the bank to meet tbe liability. Faith is not his forte ; he must see the hard cash ready to pay the salary of an engineer before consenting to the appointment. There is much that is praiseworthy in this determinate prevision. A Board, as well as a man, does wisely to see its way, and not to enter into engagements that it is not likely to fulfil: but it will not do to carry this amiable feeling to an absurdity; yet Mr M'Dermid’s motion amounted to nothing less. It would really seem as if that gentleman had entered systematically upon a course of action for the express purpose of bringing tbe proceedings of the Board into ridicule. If the design for which it has been appointed is to be fulfilled, the first step in the process is to ascertain the work to be done, and the difficulties to be overcome ; and this can only be accomplished by the appointment of a competent officer. The preliminary work might have been done by tbe Provincial Government years ago, and the deepening of the harbor would have been materially forwarded had a thorough survey been made of it when recommended by Mr Balfour. For a variety of reasons connect°d with the trade of the Province and the sanitary condition of Dune■din it ought to have been done. It is impossible, however, to disconnect the obstructive cautiousness of Mr M‘Dermid from the efforts he made in the Provincial Council to thwart the movement towards deepening the harbor. He did not hesitate in Council to express the opinion that a deep water channel up to Dunedin would be detrimental to the interests of Port Chalmers ; and we confess that with so evident a bias in view of raising the question of Port Chalmers versus Dunedin, more faith has been evinced in the worthy member’s sense of fairness by placing him on the Board than might have been expected. Entertaining the opinions he did, nothing has occurred likely to work a change in them, and we do not think we do him an 7 injustice in expressing the belief that he has no serious intention of forwarding the work of deepening the Upper Harbor. It is always unlucky when harrow views on subjects so important are allowed to interfere with public duty. The harbor dredging is not a merely local work : it is a Provincial one. The fact that its accomplishment will add much to the value of property in Dunedin may be considered to be what logicians term an accident—it is not the primary design of the work. The advantage of bringing vessels of heavy tonnage up to Dunedin is manifold: time, labor and capital will be economised. Time will be saved by bringing up a whole cargo for delivery to consignees instead of sending it up piecemeal by lighter or by rail. The cost of towage will not be nearly that of wharfage or haulage; and delivering vessels within a small area will justify the introduction of labor-saving appliances that will so shorten the process of unloading as to lead in the end to a reduction of freight. The labor at present expended in handling goods two or three times will be saved, as one handling will be sufficient; and capital will be saved, because if trade continues to be cramped up at the port a large outlay will be found necessary in the construction of expensive warehouses there—au expenditure not needed to the same extent in Dunedin. In fact, unless large vessels are brought up here, duplicate mercantile establishments will be necessary for the same amount of business that can now be transacted with only one. The effect of all these additional charges enhances the cost of goods very materially. If time is economised, interest of money is saved; if labor is lessened, there is a direct reduction of cost of goods, and either they can be afforded at less money, or a better article can be supplied for the price; and if present warehouses are enough, the aggregate capital required in commerce is so much less than it would be, by the amount of floating capital that must have been converted into fixed through the construction of additional warehouses. These considerations should be sufficient to justify any member of the Board straining his energies to forward the intention with which it was established, although he may have some direct interest in property in or near the Port. •

No greater mistake can be made than to suppose Port Chalmers can go ahead and Dunedin stand still. They must rise*or fall together. If Dunedin does not improve, Port Chalmers will languish. It used to be thought that a nation could become rich by keeping others poor. With this idea monarchs and rival nations of old destroyed rich commercial cities, such as Tyre, Sidon, and Carthage, but had they acted upon mankind’s true interests they would have found their account in trading with them instead. Precisely the same spirit seems to inspire Mr M‘Dermid : he appears to think keeping Dunedin back is to enrich the Port, Mistakes of this sort, like all economic truths, are difficult to prove. Although cause and effect follow with unerring certainty, the process is so gradual that the links connecting theni together cannot be traced ; but however unnoticed in the transformation the result is certain : if property in Port Chalmers is to advance in value, it will be the result of extended trade and enterprise of the merchants of Dunedin.