HARBOR BOARD.

Evening Star, Issue 3959, 2 November 1875, Page 3

HARBOR BOARD.

The monthly meeting of the Harbor Board was held to-day, present—Messrs Held (in the chair), MTvianon, MLNeil, Reeves, Tcwa’ey, and Davie. Captain Thomson, Harbo* Master, recommended that leading lights at the entrance to 0 ago harbor show d be erected without any further delay, adding that if such lights had been exhibited on Saturday morning, 'he H>th nit., the pr-b dulby is that the m ister of tbie s e nmr Bruce would have seen them under He fog that ob cu ed the light on Taiaroa H ad, and the vessel been thereby saved. They would occupy the position of the present guide beacons, and be serviceable by night as well as bv day. " aiaroa’s Head light is shut off on the outer edge of the bar, which leaven an interval between that point and the Timaru lielrship, through which (amid much danger in n, (!mk night) the - hip-master has to gropo his way. In 1664 the establishment of leaning b’glds was aj proved cf by the Provincial Covernment, and the lant-ms wore ordered from Home, hut on arrival of the pi -nt the Government did nor soo its way to u r cfc them, and they ha ve Din at Put Chalmers ever since. He ws of opb ion that the cost of the en-c ion would be about LIOO, while the cost, of maintenance would not exceed 1.20 p*-r annum. He further recommended that a largo-dz d gong be procur- d for use at the Heads in foggy weather, as tie bell is the fug signal used on board of vessels; also a four-pounder gun for use to reply to a signal gun from a ship. The recommendations were adopted, and the Works Committee empowered to cany them out. The Pinar.ce Committee reported inter alia:

Thntthe Harbor Board Empowering Bill, 1875, had received the asseut of the Governor on the 21st ult., and was now law. The committee Lad by last mail sent Home instructions through the Colonial Bank of New Zealand to have LIOO.OOO of tho Board’s debentures placed upon the London Stock Exchange. By tho agreement with the Manager of the Colonial Bank of New Zealand, it would bo seen that t he Board’s debentures are not to he sold under par, and that very satisfactory terms have been made with the Colonial Bank of Now Zealand tor the negotiation of the loan and placing the proceeds to the credit of the Board’s account here. Several cases of refusal to pay would be reported by the Secretary to the Board; and the committee reco'ji ai'udcd that all such bo at once handed over to tan R v.rd’s solicitor for immediate recovery. Accounts for October, amounting to L 1,319 18s 9d, were recommended for payment. The report was ad ipted. The Boar l’s engineer reported as follows : Now that the scheme of Harbor Improvement submitted by mo has been ad ipted by the Board, it is imperative that certain works should he commenced without delay, so that when the new dredge under construction is completed reclamation can bo undertaken simuHanc onsly with the work of dredging. I w.mld theiefore recommend for the consideration of the Board that the following works he authorised, in order that tho preparation of the contracts may be proceeded with:—l. Removal of timber of training wall between the termination of Iho present wharf extension contract and the red beacon. 2. Extension of wharf from outer end of Rattray street wharf along frontage and up the side of tidal dock io Stuart street jetty—to ho formed to a width of 20ft.- fronting channel, and 30ft. alongside of import dock. 3. Additional row of piling along cross-wharf between Rattray and Jetty streets, to enable a greater depth of water to ho attained without injury to the wharf. The piles of present framing have only been driven to an average deptli of 13ft. -1. Erection of a frontage along cross wharf from Rattray street Jjethy, so as to allow dredging for deep water and the running of a new jetty extending parallel to Rattray street wharf, then following frontage of reclamation towards Anderson’s Bay, the one side of the'eoal and timber basin. 5. Construction of steam barges, trucks, and staging for the disposal of the dredged material onproposcdreclamationsites. G. Newhull fordredge “ New Era.” I would also bring under the notice of tho t oard the necessity for sending to Britain for tho following plant ns soon as possible, viz.:— One locomotive, rails and fastenings, for reclamation pm poses; two 2-ton steam travelling cranes, one 5-ton do. do. The present drainage discharge, especially during floods, from the City into the bay and sedemeutary deposits therefrom, in conjunction with sewerage, must of necessity be interrupted and gradually checked as tho work of reclamation advances. It will therefore be necessary for steps to bo taken by the City Council to provide, without delay, a place or places of deposit other than the bav, from which it will bo evident that this means dealing with the entire question of City drainage a-d ts permanent outlet. I trust that the importance of the subject will recommend itself to the Board and lead to prompt action being taken, so that this question may be effectually dealt with and the present interference with the harbor and the works therein contemplated avoided. PAYMENT TO MEMBERS. The Finance (Dnunii-tcu reported on this matter as follows : Your Committee have to report that they have gone into the subject of payment to the members of tho Board, ns remitted to them. Your Committee finds that, by the present bye-laws, the Board meets once a-monta, but looking to the business done during the period the Board has been iu existence, the time of the members has been chiefly taken up iu attending committee meetings, and these have been very numerous and often lengthened. Your Committee would recommend that instead of tho Board meeting oneo a month it should meet fortnightly, and that instead of remitting business to committees tho Board, as a whole, when the public business is completed, should resolve itself into a committee, and deal with those matters which hitherto have been remitted to special committees, and that payment of two guineas be made to every member who is present at each such fortnightly meeting by ten minutes past the notified time of meeting. Farther, your Committee recommend that a small emergency committee, consisting of three members, be appointed to deal with exceptional matters which might crop up in the fortuightly intorva’s of such importance as io require action ; such committee to receive no payment. On the motion of Mr Tews LEY, seconded by Mr M'Kinnon, the recommendation was agree i to.