DEPUTATION.

Evening Star, Issue 4056, 25 February 1876, Page 2

DEPUTATION.

This morning a depu'a'ion of merchan'a in the Lity, comp isiug Means W, J. M. l.a - E. B. Oirgill, K. Ramsay, D. Baxter, h\ Wilson, J. B vudie, J. llatiray, W. Guthrie, and T. Austin, waited upon the -uperintende it with ieferer.ee to a difficulty that ha J a isen m the .ranshipment of j>o..ds from vessels discharging at the Pm t Chalmers rsilwa / pier, A] r Cargill said the deputation sought his Honor s ndvice and assistance with regard to a difficulty that had cropped up in the toliowirg maon-T; -Mt ssra Guthrie and jLarnach wtre corsigoees of a quantity of cement in tlie ship Oamnu, which they desired.to t anship to Oamaiu, The Oamarti was I>iug at the railway pier, and the conni.-nees wished the coasriog vessel to go almg.ride fur as usual when, transhipping, f r which the Hub r Board levied the i-mail rote of 6d a ton._ The May Queen, however, is moored outside the Oamaru, an! the Harbor-Master refuse! to allow her to be moved, although he at first promised to do so, ami the consequence was that the cement would have to be discharged into trucks on the jetty, and *. ut into the o aster at another b-rth—thus incur, ing «nextr. charg? of 2s per ton. Be (Mr Cargill) understood the argument used to the couBigr.e -s was : “We must throw as much as possible into the bauds of the railway.” TheitWas a curious c» nfl ct of authority, and the deputation thought it be t to lay the matter before hj s Honor.

His Honob said such a state of things was quite new to him, and he was astonished to hear of ic.

Mr Larnach said the consequence of this action, if continued, would be to entail on consignees an extra charge of 3s per ton on goods for tranßhip.r.ent, and compe! them to instruct their agents t-> forward tuch cargo in ships that wnu d discharge in the sfream only. His firm had n -w 3,000 tons of cargo coming forwar : for transhiptue-.it, and they would have to telegraph to that effect to their agents. It seemed o seruc ive of the Harbor-Master t» object to. renter faci i ies to consign* e< ■ y ihe simpL-. re moval of « vessel for an hour or tub. , Mr Cabgill said his firm had for a length of tune done all they could to bring their vessel* alongside the pier, but it would be a most extraordinary thing if all cargo was to be forced to pass over the jvtt/. M Bamsat remarked that the captains of Home vess Is trading to Dunedin tri d to gel all goods for transhipment to other ports consigned to Port Chrtlmer,*, and it would be a gieat pity if their efforts wtre frustrated by over-snxie’y to do busincsi on the part of offic als.

. Mr Larnach said the goods in this esse wer for t ie harb >r works at Oamaru, which would be delayed in c.' ns -qu nce. Hi* Honor promised to subnrt the matter to the Harbor-Ma ter for explanation, and he bos ed the wouldi uot have cause t complain again. As Mr Caig tl was aw.ue he the slxpeimy rMo ol.aged by the Hsrborß .i>rd and would nit tuen foi e be in f .vor of putting cons gnees to fu ther < x ense. • -